Thomas Edward Gilbert Sr. (January 15, 1940 – November 26, 2015) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He wrestled for

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 re ...

and throughout the South as Tommy Gilbert. He was the father of wrestlers

Doug Gilbert Douglas Gilbert (born February 5, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with regional professional wrestling promotions throughout the Southern United States, as well as for Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

and Eddie Gilbert.

Professional wrestling career

Tommy Gilbert made his debut in 1969, wrestling for promoter Nick Gulas. In March 1975, after wrestling primarily throughout Tennessee for nearly six years, he began going to other territories like

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Count ...

, the Canadian Maritimes,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, the Mid-South, Memphis,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, and the Mid-Atlantic areas.

Retirement

After retiring from active competition in 1984, he became a referee for Mid-South/UWF, until its buyout by

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

in 1987. Tommy Gilbert was inducted into the Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame at a USWA show in the Mid-South Coliseum on March 7, 1994, alongside Al Greene, Don Greene,

Jerry Jarrett Jerry Winston Jarrett (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, Jarrett is a key figure in the history of professional wrestl ...

, Lance Russell and Sputnik Monroe.Online World of Wrestlin
"Memphis Wrestling (Old)"
/ref> Tommy later wrestled in Memphis as

Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spiri ...

in the late 1980s.

Personal life

Gilbert was the father of two sons: Thomas Jr. and Doug Gilbert and a daughter Kim Gilbert Peters. The sons would become professional wrestlers as Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert and Dangerous Doug Gilbert. Gilbert died on November 26, 2015, at the age of 75.

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

**Family Award (2011) – with Eddie Gilbert and

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to a ...

** NWA Florida Television Championship ( 1 time) * Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2017 * NWA Mid-America ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ( 7 times) – with Eddie Marlin (2), Bearcat Brown (2), Ricky Gibson (1), Eddie Gilbert (2) **

NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and originally promoted in the NWA Mid-America territory based out of Tennessee. Originally called the "NWA ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) - with Eddie Marlin and Ricky Gibson (1), Gorgeus George, Jr. and

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Cha ...

(1) ** NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (

) - with Eddie Marlin (1) and

Tojo Yamamoto Harold Watanabe (January 6, 1927 – February 19, 1992) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. Early life Watanabe was born in Hawaii in 1927 to a Japanese father and an American mother. He serve ...

(1) *

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 ...

** North American Heavyweight Championship (

) * Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling/Southeastern Championship Wrestling **

NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southeastern Junior Heavyweight Championship was a secondary title for wrestlers considered "Junior Heavyweights", that is weighing under 230 lbs. It was promoted in the Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi region from 1975 un ...

(

) ** NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (

) - with Sputnik Monroe (2), Bearcat Brown (1) and Ron Wright (1) *

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestlin ...

** Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1994) * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Tag Team Championship ( 1 times) - with Scott Casey * World Wrestling Council/Capitol Sports Promotions **

WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship The WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship is a secondary title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Pue ...

( 1 time) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Puerto Rico/WWC version) ( 1 time) - with Eddie Gilbert (1)

References

External links

Memphis Wrestling History

Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Tommy American male professional wrestlers 1940 births 2015 deaths People from Lexington, Tennessee 20th-century professional wrestlers Professional wrestling referees NWA Florida Television Champions