Claude Patterson (born July 8, 1941) is an American retired professional wrestler, known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Thunderbolt Patterson. He began his career in 1964 and wrestled primarily in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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and the Carolinas. During the early 1970s, he was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

by the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

for repeated appearances with outlaw promotions, his complaints of

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organizati ...

and attempts to form a wrestlers'

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Professional wrestling career

Patterson had grown up in Iowa and worked for

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

when he broke into professional wrestling in the Kansas City area. Promoter Gus Karras put Patterson in matches against Don Soto in 1964. In 1965, Patterson moved to Texas and worked with promoter Dory Funk Sr. The following year, he traveled to California, where he held the WWA Tag Team Championship with Alberto Torres. He also continued to work in Texas, where he worked as a villainous character in Dallas until he was turned on by his partner Boris Malenko.

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was ...

had a Russian chain match with Malenko for Patterson's contract which Malenko owned. In 1969, he worked for Big Time Wrestling in Michigan and Ohio. In 1970, he feuded with Jose Lothario and held the Florida version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship. Patterson agreed to work for an outlaw promotion (that is, one outside of the NWA) run by Ann Gunkel, the widow of his old friend and Georgia promoter Ray Gunkel, in January 1974. In January 1975, he moved to Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. In December 1975, he began to wrestle for the NWA promotion in Florida where he remained until April 1976. In 1976, he won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Bruiser Brody. In 1977, he scored a surprise pinfall win over The Sheik in Toronto for the U.S. title but lost three weeks later. He then switched to Georgia Championship Wrestling where he remained until 1980. He spoke out against poor working conditions for wrestlers in the 1970s and participated in a racial discrimination lawsuit. He has claimed that as a result, he was blacklisted from wrestling in the mid-1970s. He had been complaining about racism from promoters for many years (he would later recall that only Dory Funk Sr. had backed him) and wanted to start a wrestlers' union, a dream he shared with former NFL player and wrestler Jim Wilson, himself blacklisted. He has said that it was years, with Patterson claiming to be working at the ''

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'' in the interim, before he has said his blacklisting was lifted, when

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

took ill in Florida in 1975. Patterson joined Ole Anderson as a tag team partner in 1984 and they briefly held the NWA National Tag Team Championship. Ole's

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

cousin, a young

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Agent, road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. Although he ...

, came to the sport, and Ole, saying he was "tired of carrying guys like Patterson and Dusty Rhodes" broke up with Patterson, and joined Arn in what would be the foundation for the Four Horsemen which would include NWA Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard. Patterson retired from full time wrestling in 1985. He then appeared in the ring in 1993 at a "Legends Reunion Match" at Slamboree '93, where he teamed with Brad Armstrong to defeat

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "the Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, where he was billed from Russia and, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ...

and Baron von Raschke. He would also mentor Ice Train, until retiring completely in 1994. On July 27, 2019, Patterson was inducted into the 2019 Class of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in his hometown of Waterloo. On March 13, 2024, it was announced that Patterson would be inducted into the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

Personal life

In 1988, he was a labor organizer for Service Employees International Union in Atlanta. Patterson is also an ordained minister. Thunderbolt Patterson is featured in the film, "This World Is Not My Own: The Limitless Life of Nellie Mae Rowe" which premiered in 2023 at South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW). The artist watched Thunderbolt faithfully on television during the 1970s and drew likenesses of him from time to time. They never met in person. Patterson found out about Rowe and her drawings of him and said that Rowe "kept me alive."

Championships and accomplishments

* Cauliflower Alley Club **Men's Wrestling Award (2021) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Championship Wrestling from Georgia ** NWA National Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (September 22, 1942 – February 26, 2024), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), was an American professional wrestler, booker, and promoter. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Rogowski made his professional ...

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...

** CWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame **Lou Thesz Award (2019) *

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was r ...

( 3 times) - with Mr. Wrestling (1),

Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Wo ...

(1), and Tony Atlas (1) ** NWA Georgia Television Championship ( 2 times) * International Championship Wrestling ** ICW United States Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name of a Canadian professional wrestling promotion owned by Frank Tunney and based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. Founded in 1930, Maple Leaf was a territory of the National Wrestli ...

** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Toronto version)'' ( 1 time) * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling ** NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Jerry Brisco * NWA Big Time Wrestling ** NWA American Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) - with Wahoo McDaniel (2) Toru Tanaka (1), and Johnny Valentine (1) * NWA Tri-State ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' ( 1 time) * Western States Sports ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 4 times) *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...

** WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Alberto Torres *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' ** Worst on Interviews (1985) * WWE **

(Class of 2024)

References

External links

An interview with Thunderbolt PattersonThe Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Thunderbolt 1941 births 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century African-American people African-American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Atlanta Sportspeople from Waterloo, Iowa Professional wrestlers from Iowa NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version) NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version) NWA Americas Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA National Tag Team Champions NWA National Television Champions WCWA World Tag Team Champions WWE Hall of Fame inductees