Thunderbolt Patterson began his career in 1964 and wrestled primarily in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
12 Facts About Thunderbolt Patterson
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In 1965, Thunderbolt Patterson moved to Texas and worked with promoter Dory Funk Sr.
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Thunderbolt Patterson continued to work in Texas, where he worked as a villainous character in Dallas until he was turned on by his partner Boris Malenko.
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Thunderbolt Patterson agreed to work for an outlaw promotion run by Ann Gunkel, the widow of his old friend and Georgia promoter Ray Gunkel, in January 1974.
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Thunderbolt Patterson then switched to Georgia Championship Wrestling where he remained until 1980.
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Thunderbolt Patterson spoke out against poor working conditions for wrestlers in the 1970s and participated in a racial discrimination lawsuit.
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Thunderbolt Patterson has claimed that as a result, he was blacklisted from wrestling in the mid-1970s.
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Thunderbolt Patterson has said that it was years, with Patterson claiming to be working at the Los Angeles Times in the interim, before he has said his blacklisting was lifted, when Dusty Rhodes took ill in Florida in 1975.
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Thunderbolt Patterson joined Ole Anderson as a tag team partner in 1984 and they briefly held the NWA National Tag Team Championship.
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Thunderbolt Patterson 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 and Baron von Raschke.
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On March 13,2024, it was announced that Thunderbolt Patterson would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
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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.