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Corsica Joe

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Corsica Joe
Birth nameCorsica Joe
Born(1920-01-17)January 17, 1920
Bonbillett, France
DiedMarch 14, 2010(2010-03-14) (aged 90)
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Corsica Joe
Francois Miquet
Billy Virag
The Blitzer
Mephisto #1
Mr. M
Billed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Billed weight260 lb (120 kg)
Billed fromCorsica
Debut1947
Retired1973

Francois Miquet (January 17, 1920 – March 14, 2010) was a French-born professional wrestler who worked primarily in the United States of America under the ring name Corsica Joe. As Corsica Joe he teamed up with Jean Louis Roy, who was billed as "Corsica Jean" to form a very successful tag team known as "The Corsicans". The Corsicans held a number of tag team championships, especially in the southern National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories of NWA Mid-America, Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He was the brother of Felix Miquet who was also a wrestler, but worked primarily in the United Kingdom. He was married to female pro wrestler Sarah Lee, some times billed as "Sara Corsica".

Professional wrestling career

Miquet moved to the United States at some point before 1947 and made his professional wrestling debut in 1947, using his real name as his ring name. In 1948 he defeated Bob Lortie to win the Canadian Junior Heavyweight Championship, a championship he was said to have held for two years.[1] Miquet spent most of 1953 wrestling in Germany where he used the name Billy Virag, possibly to avoid confusion with his brother Felix Miquet that was known in the wrestling circuits throughout Europe. In 1954 he worked as the masked ring character "Mr. M" in Germany before returning to the United States in mid-1954, once again billed under his birth name. After competing in the north eastern United States and Canada for several years Miquet began wrestling in the south east around 1957. In Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling he became known as "Corsica Joe", billing his as hailing from the French island of Corsica. A few months later wrestling promoters Nick Gulas and Roy Welch in the NWA Mid-America promotion teamed Miquet up with French-Canadian Jean Louis Roy, billing him as "Corsica Jean" to form a tag team known as "The Corsicans". The team became the first holders of the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship and over the next two of years the Corsicans held the championship on no less than seven occasions as well as the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship on three separate occasions.[2][3][4][5] The Corsicans faced off against virtually every tag team in the NWA Mid-America promotion at the time, including The Fabulous Fargos (Jackie Fargo and Don Fargo), Mike and Doc Gallagher, Yvon Robert and Billy Wicks, Don and Luke Fields and The Heavenly Bodies (Don and Al Greene).

In mid-1959 the Corsicans toured Texas, working for the Dallas, Texas based Southwest Sports, Inc.. In Texas the duo won the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship on one occasion as well as the local version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[6][7][8][9] Miquet, as Corsica Joe also held the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship for a few weeks.[10][11] By 1960 the Corsicans were back in the south west, holding different versions of the NWA Souther Tag Team Championship, including the Gulf Coast version twice,[12][13] the Florida version once,[14][15] the Georgia version twice,[16] and the Mid-America version again.[2][3] They also captured the Mid-America version of the World Tag Team Championship and Georgia Championship Wrestling's NWA International Tag Team Championship.[17][18] After years as a tag team the Corsicans finally split up in 1966, leaving Miquet to team with Chin Lee for one last run with the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship.[4][5] In 1969 he briefly worked for Central States Wrestling as the masked Mephisto #2, and would work as the masked "The Blitzer" for NWA Mid-America in 1972. Miquet retired from wrestling in 1973 at the age of 52 or 53. Although retired in 1973, Joe did make appearances for the NWA World Wide area, with Bert Prentice being the promoter. Joe did team up with his wife in a match, in Nashville, against Clarence Santini (as Spunkmeyer) and Shorty Taylor. this was Joe's last match.

Personal life

Francois Miquet was the brother of Felix Miquet who was also a wrestler, but who worked primarily in the United Kingdom so the two never worked together. Miquet was married to a female pro wrestler named Sarah Lee, some times billed as "Sara Corsica" or "Mrs. Corsica Joe", and they were together as husband and wife for almost 45 years of marriage until she later died at the age of 76 in 2008.[19] Miquet died on March 14, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 90.[19] On 2008 Miquet, as Corsica Joe, was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame[20]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "Canada: NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  2. ^ a b c Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "(Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: NWA World Tag Team Title [Nick Gulas & Roy Welsch]". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 191–193. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  3. ^ a b c "NWA World Tag Team Title (Mid-America)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "(Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: NWA Southern Tag Team Title [Nick Gulas & Roy Welch]". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  5. ^ a b c "NWA (Mid-America) / AWA Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "WCCW Texas Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 269. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. ^ a b "NWA Texas Tag Team Title (E. Texas)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  8. ^ a b Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Texas NWA World Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 270. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  9. ^ a b "World Tag Team Title (E. Texas)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  10. ^ a b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Texas) Dallas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 271. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  11. ^ a b "Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  12. ^ a b Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "Alabama and Florida: NWA Southern Tag Team Title [Welch]". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  13. ^ a b "NWA Southern Tag Team Title (Gulf Coast)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  14. ^ a b Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "Florida: NWA Southern Tag Team Title [Eddie Graham]". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  15. ^ a b "NWA Southern Tag Team Title (Florida)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  16. ^ a b Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "Georgia: NWA Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  17. ^ a b Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "Georgia: NWA International Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4 ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.
  18. ^ a b "International Tag Team Title (Georgia)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  19. ^ a b James Caldwell (March 14, 2010). "Other News: NWA Hall of Famer Corsica Joe dies today at age 90". PWTorch. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  20. ^ a b "NWA Hall of Fame". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  21. ^ "NWA Southern Tag Team Title (Georgia)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  22. ^ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Alabama: NWA Tri-State Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  23. ^ "NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship (Alabama version)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
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