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.
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Early life
Casey was born in Saraland, Alabama, one of nine children to John and Viola Casey.[ John was of Irish ancestry; Viola claimed American Indian Blood—less than one eighth Creek Indian.][ After the family moved to a Mississippi cotton farm, Casey attended school at Agricola, Mississippi.][ Once she graduated, she married and had a son, but soon divorced.]
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.[ Her first match was a tag team match that pitted her and Judy Grable against Rita Cortez and Brenda Scott that fall.][ Casey also wrestled Miss Brenda in a two out of three falls match for the opening of a December 1962 card also featuring Freddie Blassie.][ While in Hawaii, Casey fell in love with a local champion surfer and took a brief hiatus from wrestling.][
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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.][
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With Vivian Vachon as her partner, Casey defeated Donna Christanello and Cora Combs in a 1970 match.[ In 1972, Casey discovered that her son had gotten involved in drug trafficking with a truck driver, and after she forced him to stop, the truck driver shot her six times.][ 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.
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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.][
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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.][
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After retiring from the ring, Ann Casey wrote an autobiography titled ‘Autobiography of professional woman wrestler, Ann Casey: The Lady, The Life, The Legend.’
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
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Cauliflower Alley Club
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National Wrestling Alliance
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NWA United States Women's Championship (1 time)
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Pro Wrestling Illustrated
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Girl Wrestler of the Year (1975)
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Other titles
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USA Women's Wrestling Championship (1 time)
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Southern States Ladies Championship
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Mississippi State Ladies Championship
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Further reading
External links
