Terry Garvin
Birth nameTerrence P. Joyal[1]
BornMarch 1, 1937
Montreal, Quebec, Canada[2]
DiedAugust 18, 1998 (aged 61)[1]
Needham, Massachusetts, United States[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Terry Garvin
Jean Tillet[3]
Terry Dobec[3]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3]
Billed weight260 lb (118 kg)[3]
Debut1958[3]
Retired1984[3]

Terrence P. Joyal (March 1, 1937 – August 17, 1998), better known by his ring name Terry Garvin, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with kayfabe brother Ron Garvin, with whom he won several tag team championships in the Southern United States. He is also known for a case of sexual harassment in 1992 that led to the end of his employment with the World Wrestling Federation.

Professional wrestling career

Joyal trained to become a professional wrestler at a gym in the Loisirs St. Jean de Baptiste church in Montreal.[4] He made his wrestling debut in 1958 in Ontario.[4] That same year, he would immigrate to the United States.[1] He held the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling two times in 1964 with partner Chin Lee.

Beginning in 1965, Garvin began an approximately five-year stint as the tag team partner of Ron Garvin.[4] In November 1967, he wrestled for Championship Wrestling from Florida and won the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Ron Garvin, trading it with the team of Paul DeMarco and Lorenzo Parente.[4][5]

Garvin then began teaming with Duke Myers, and the pair's manager was Jimmy Garvin, the stepson of Ron Garvin.[4] In 1972 in NWA Tri-State, the team won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship. By 1973, he was working in NWA Mid-America, where he won the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship three times with Myers.[6] Later in the year, he won the title two more times with Ron Garvin.[6] The Garvins also held the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship that year.[7] He returned to the Gulf Coast in 1974, teaming once again with Ron Garvin, to win Southeastern Championship Wrestling's NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship.[8]

By the early 1980s, Garvin retired from the ring and went on to book for Bob Geigel's NWA territory, Central States Wrestling, in Kansas City. In 1985, Terry was approached by Pat Patterson and eventually was offered a job working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) behind the scenes. His employment with WWF ceased on March 2, 1992, for allegations of molesting underage ringboys.[4]

Personal life

Garvin was openly homosexual.[2][9] He was good friends with fellow gay wrestler Pat Patterson.[2] He knew Patterson, as well as tag team partner Ron Garvin, when he was growing up in Montreal.[4]

Garvin died from cancer on August 18, 1998, at the age of 61, and had been suffering from failing health.[4][1]

Ring boy scandal

In the 1990s, Garvin was accused of sexually harassing an underage ring boy, who was fired from his job after refusing Garvin's advances. He later reached a settlement with the WWF; Garvin, as well as Pat Patterson and ring announcer Mel Phillips, resigned after this incident.[2] WWF owner Vince McMahon was interviewed on Larry King Live regarding the incident; during the broadcast, retired wrestler Barry Orton called in and accused Garvin of sexually assaulting him in 1978 when he was 19.[10] Orton also accuses Garvin of harming his wrestling career after the sexual advances were declined; Orton spent most of his career as a jobber, despite being part of a famous wrestling family that included father Bob Orton, brother Bob Orton Jr., and nephew Randy Orton.[2]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Terrence P. Joyal obituary". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. September 5, 1998. p. 83.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Assael, Shaun (2004). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. Random House, Inc. pp. 113–115. ISBN 978-1-4000-5143-4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Terry Garvin". Cagematch.net. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Oliver, Greg (January 2, 2006). "Terry Garvin: A career overshadowed". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "NWA Florida Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 160–161. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  6. 1 2 3 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 194–196. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006) [2000.]. "(Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: Southern Tag Team Title [Roy Welsch & Nick Gulas, Jerry Jarrett from 1977]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, Ontario: Archeus Communications. pp. 185–189. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  8. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "NWA Tennessee Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 206–207. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  9. ↑ "12 Wrestlers Who Have Come Out Of The Closet". TheSportster. 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  10. ↑ Hemmings, Jamie (January 5, 2006). "Barry O: Scandal, drugs, recovery". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  11. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "CWA Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  12. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "NWA Georgia Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  13. ↑ Hoops, Brian (January 18, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/18): Ivan Koloff defeats Bruno Sammartino for WWWF title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  14. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "NWA Macon Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 145. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  15. ↑ "PWI 500 1991". The Turnbuckle Post. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  16. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "UWA Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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