Sailor Art Thomas

Arthur Thomas, better known as Sailor Art Thomas or Seaman Art Thomas, born on January 30, 1924, and died on March 20, 2003, was an American Merchant Mariner, bodybuilder and professional wrestler. He was born in Gurdon, Arkansas, moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1935 and was raised in a Wisconsin orphanage and in foster homes after his mother's death. He spent 27 months in the United States Merchant Marine, serving in a construction battalion that helped build an airstrip in Guam. After working for Greyhound Lines he became a professional bodybuilder and toured the United States with a bodybuilding troupe, then trained as a professional wrestler and made his debut in 1943. A WWA World Heavyweight Champion, he was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.