Edward John White (May 18, 1949 – August 26, 2005) was a Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, best known as Sailor White and as Moondog King of

The Moondogs The Moondogs are a Northern Irish rock band formed in 1979, and consisting of Gerry McCandless, Austin Barrett and Jackie Hamilton. Their career spans three albums, four singles and two television programmes. Discography Singles *"She's Nine ...

when he joined the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

in the early-1980s. White won championships in Canada and around the globe. He also wrestled in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

as Big John Strongbo.

Professional wrestling career

After doing work on Great Lakes boats, White made his professional wrestling debut in

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke ( ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley, northwest of Ottawa. Though containing the administrative headquarters of Renfre ...

, on May 22, 1972, against Michael Gango for promoter Larry Kasaboski. While in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

he was the Grand Prix tag team champion in 1976, International Heavyweight champion in 1982, International tag team champion twice in 1982–1984 and won the Canadian Television Championship in 1984. He was most known for his time in the WWF as Moondog King where he teamed with

Moondog Rex Randy Colley (May 2, 1950 – December 14, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Moondog Rex. He was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as a part of The Moondogs. Colley was also ...

and won the

WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...

(then WWWF) from

Tony Garea Anthony Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Garea. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/ World Wr ...

and

Rick Martel Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, "The Model" Rick Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling As ...

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, in March 1981. After he was denied re-entry to the United States at the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, the WWWF replaced him with substitutes including

Stan Hansen John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949), best known as Stan "the Lariat" Hansen, is an American retired professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributed to his poor eyesight, and for his gimmick a ...

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...

and Sgt. Slaughter before selecting

Moondog Spot Larry Wayne Booker (June 6, 1952 – November 29, 2003), better known by his ring names Moondog Spot and Larry Latham, was an American professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Early career (1977–1981) Booker debuted in ...

as a permanent replacement. Gorilla Monsoon explained his absence stating King had been hit by a car. White claims the border dispute involved a rival wrestling promoter alerting the authorities to his criminal past whereas some say it was drug related. After the WWF, he worked in Montreal for

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

teaming with

Gilles Poisson Gilles Poisson (born 1947) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, known by his ring name Pierre or Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, who competed in North American regional promotions including the American Wrestling Association, International Wr ...

. He retired from wrestling in 1986. Then on October 22, 1990, he returned to a WWF house show as "Sailor Moondog White" where he lost to The British Bulldog at the Ottawa

Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

. In 1991, he appeared a few appearances for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

in house shows where he fought against Brad Armstrong. His last match was a victory over Mike Winter. White was active in

Canadian politics The politics of Canada functions within a framework of Parliamentary system, parliamentary democracy and a federation, federal system of Parliament of Canada, parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutio ...

. In May 2000, White stood for election to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in a

St. John's West St. John's West could refer to: * St. John's West (federal electoral district) * St. John's West (provincial electoral district) {{Disambiguation ...

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, representing the Canadian Extreme Wrestling Party. His motto was "Parliament Needs a Moondog". On July 28, 2004, White again ran for the House of Commons of Canada, this time representing the

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...

in Bonavista—Exploits, but lost to

Scott Simms Scott Simms (born August 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame from 2004 until 2021. Early life Scott Simms was born on Au ...

of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

. White received 367 votes to Simms's 15,970.

Illness and death

White suffered from

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary f ...

in 1999 and had two

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

s by then. In 2002, he underwent triple bypass surgery and on December 2, 2004, his taxi crashed, breaking two bones in his neck and pinching a nerve in his spinal cord. He remained hospitalized on life support until his death on August 26, 2005. White was survived by his daughter, Rozlynn White, and grandchildren, Keygan Hewitt, Hudson, Owen, Ethan and Quinton. His biography ''Sailor White'' was written by Dave Elliott.

Championships and accomplishments

Eastern Sports Association The Eastern Sports Association, often referred to in the business simply as "the Maritimes," was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It ran during the spring and summer months from 1969 to 1976. History The ...

** NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship ''(Halifax version)'' ( 1 time) *

Canadian International Heavyweight Championship The Canadian International Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was defended in the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It was originally the top singles title in the Montreal-based wrestl ...

( 1 time) **

Canadian International Tag Team Championship The Canadian International Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal ...

( 3 times) – with Serge Dumont (1 time),

(1 time), and

Rick Valentine Kerry Brown (February 3, 1958 – September 10, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Brown was best known for working in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s under his real name, but also wrestled in Puerto Rico, Montreal and the Maritimes using ...

(1 time) *

( 1 time) – with

References

External links

Redemption of Sailor White
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moondog King 1949 births 2005 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers Canadian sportsperson-politicians Green Party of Canada candidates in the 2004 Canadian federal election Independent candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election Newfoundland and Labrador candidates for Member of Parliament Professional wrestlers from Newfoundland and Labrador Sportspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) 20th-century Canadian sportsmen