Ann Casey
American professional wrestler (1938–2021)
title: "Ann Casey" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1938-births", "2021-deaths", "20th-century-female-professional-wrestlers", "20th-century-american-professional-wrestlers", "20th-century-american-sportswomen", "21st-century-american-women", "american-female-professional-wrestlers", "native-american-professional-wrestlers", "people-from-saraland,-alabama", "professional-wrestlers-from-alabama", "sportspeople-from-mobile-county,-alabama", "nwa-united-states-women's-champions"] description: "American professional wrestler (1938–2021)" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Casey" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American professional wrestler (1938–2021) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox professional wrestler"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ann Casey |
| alma_mater | University of South Alabama |
| image | Ann Casey_resize.jpg |
| birth_name | Lucille Ann Casey |
| names | Ann Casey |
| Panther Girl | |
| Lucille Ann Casey | |
| Lucille O'Casey | |
| height | 5 ft 8 in |
| weight | 134 lb |
| children | 1 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Saraland, Alabama, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| trainer | The Fabulous Moolah |
| debut | 1962 |
| retired | 1990 |
| :: |
|name = Ann Casey |alma_mater = University of South Alabama |image =Ann Casey_resize.jpg |image_size = |caption = |birth_name = Lucille Ann Casey |names = Ann Casey Panther Girl Lucille Ann Casey Lucille O'Casey |height = 5 ft 8 in |weight = 134 lb |children = 1 |birth_date = |birth_place = Saraland, Alabama, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |billed = |trainer = The Fabulous Moolah |debut = 1962 |retired = 1990 Lucille Ann Casey (September 29, 1938 – March 1, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Ann Casey, or Panther Girl.
Early life
Casey was born in Saraland, Alabama, one of nine children to John and Viola Casey.
Professional wrestling career
In 1962, while working at the ticket counter for a professional wrestling promotion, she met The Fabulous Moolah, who offered to train Casey to wrestle. While working under Moolah, Casey traveled all around the United States; she was also one of the first women to ever compete in a tag team match in the state of Hawaii. While in Hawaii, Casey fell in love with a local champion surfer and took a brief hiatus from wrestling.
Two years later, Casey returned to the continental United States and professional wrestling. She worked for promoters Vince McMahon, Sr., Vince McMahon, Jr., and Leroy McGuirk. During this time, she wrestled Donna Christanello at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1964, she had a match that pitted she and Penny Banner against Cora Combs and Kathy O'Brien. The following year, she defeated Kay Noble in a match, but was defeated in another match by Bette Boucher. She was also defeated by Mae Young in a 1968 NWA United States Women's Championship match.
With Vivian Vachon as her partner, Casey defeated Donna Christanello and Cora Combs in a 1970 match. Although the doctors told her that her professional wrestling career was over, Casey was able to wrestle again within several months. In 1974, Moolah offered to let Casey win the USA Women's Wrestling Championship from her, and Casey was subsequently never defeated for the belt. Later that year in December, Casey also won the vacated NWA United States Women's Championship by defeating Toni Rose in a match. She held the championship for approximately four years before losing it to Joyce Grable. Meanwhile, wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated recognized Casey as the "Girl Wrestler of the Year" in 1975.
Retirement
Casey remarried and had a daughter in the 1970s. She still occasionally wrestled, and from 1980 to 1985, she worked for the Mississippi Forestry Commission. Afterward, she received her paralegal license, as well as a bachelor's degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology from the University of South Alabama. After divorcing her second husband, she began working as a bail bondsman. Subsequently, she opened a restaurant and drove trucks.
Casey's last match occurred in 1990, when she defeated Judy Grable to retain the USA Women's Championship. In 2004, she was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club, an association for retired professional wrestlers.
After retiring from the ring, Ann Casey wrote an autobiography titled ‘Autobiography of professional woman wrestler, Ann Casey: The Lady, The Life, The Legend.’ The book, made available as print-on-demand, comprises more than three volumes and is over 1,000 pages long. A shorter adaptation of Casey's autobiography appeared in Brooklyn-based sports magazine Victory Journal in December 2014 under the title "The Legend of Panther Girl", with the tagline "She fought to win. They shot to kill."
Death
Casey suffered a heart attack in 2005, and was hospitalized in later years. She died on March 1, 2021, at the age of 82.
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Honoree (2004)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Girl Wrestler of the Year (1975)
- Other titles
- USA Women's Wrestling Championship (1 time)
- Southern States Ladies Championship
- Mississippi State Ladies Championship
References
References
- Kociaba, Bill. "Ann Casey: More than just a pretty face". [[Cauliflower Alley Club]].
- (10 December 2014). "The Legend of Panther Girl".
- (2021-03-02). "Women's great Ann Casey dies".
- Oliver, Greg. (April 18, 2004). "Heenan given CAC's top honor". SLAM! Wrestling.
- Duncan, Royal and Gary Will. (2006). "Wrestling Title Histories". Archeus Communications.
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