Wrestler and Promoter. "Bill Lewis" was his show name and he was big in many ways. His wrestling weight was easily 350 lbs. back in the 1920's and 30's. With his cauliflowered ears operated on he was known for lifting the front ends of cars out of ditches with the help of an exhausted helper on the rear. His father died one year after his birth taking up two graves. He was born on a 110 acre farm outside of Wilson N.C. where his father worked. The owner of the farm married his mother raising him with with ten other children. He would go to the bars in Norfolk, Virginia during the war years of the forties and challenge the sailors. When men would brag about how tough they were he would say from his huge frame, "My smallest man of 210 lbs could whip any one of you whimps. Do you want to bet?" Sailors do not like to be put down in front of their buddies. It was at the Atlantic Rural Exposition Grounds where the crowds grew for wrestling. When the arena opened as a multisport entertainment center it had 4,000 permanent seats, expanding to six. The Harlem Globetrotters set a record in 1955 there (now known as Strawberry Hill) with 6,022. Wrestling, however was the mainstay especially in the Bill Lewis era. In September 1951 the National Wresling Alliance (which reached across the entire United States) accepted him as a member and promoter. He was the main - behind the scenes of Virginia wrestling between the 1930's and 50's, running shows in Richmond and Norfolk. He earned a badge of honor by being one of five wrestling promoters to remain in the same territory through a 20 year period (in Mid Atlantic Wrestling). The group including territories of New York (Toots Mondt), Houston (Morris Sigel), Charlotte (Jim Crockett), and Boston (Paul Bowser).