Bob Orton, Sr. Passes Away

**Xero** · 07-17-2006, 04:25 PM

PWInsider.com is sad to report that Bob Orton Sr., father of Cowboy Bob Orton and grandfather of current WWE star Randy Orton passed away on over the weekend at the age of 77 following a heart attack.

During his career, the Kansas City native wrestled in a number of territories including the AWA, Georgia, Florida, St. Louis, and Stampede Wrestling using the ring names Bob Orton, Rocky Fitzpatrick, The Zodiak, and El Lobo.

Orton held a number of championships including the United States title, the AWA MidWest Tag Team championships (with Mike DiBiase, father of Ted DiBiase) and Mad Dog Vachon, and the NWA World Tag Team belts with Eddie Graham.

Orton had three children, a daughter and two sons, Randall and Bob, both of whom followed him into the wrestling business. Randall is best remembered as "Barry O" of 1980s WWF enhancement fame (using his middle name), while Cowboy Bob soon became one of the most well known heels of the 1980s WWF national expansion as Roddy Piper's bodyguard "Ace". Bob's grandson Randy went on to become a star in WWE over the last several years, including a WWE World championship win over Chris Benoit at Summerslam 2004.

Orton, who lived in Las Vegas, remained in touch with a number of stars from his era and was well known for calling his friends every weekend to fill them in with what was going on with their other former comrades.

I believe Orton Sr. made his last public appearance (before wrestling fans) during a signing in Rhode Island last year where he, Cowboy Bob, and Randy all appeared together.

On behalf of everyone involved in PWInsider.com, I'd like to extend our deepest condolences to the Orton family, Orton's friends and fans during this sad time.

Source: http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=19170&p=1

RIP

07-17-2006, 04:25 PM	#1
Xero He's Here Posts: 60,735	Bob Orton, Sr. Passes Away PWInsider.com is sad to report that Bob Orton Sr., father of Cowboy Bob Orton and grandfather of current WWE star Randy Orton passed away on over the weekend at the age of 77 following a heart attack. During his career, the Kansas City native wrestled in a number of territories including the AWA, Georgia, Florida, St. Louis, and Stampede Wrestling using the ring names Bob Orton, Rocky Fitzpatrick, The Zodiak, and El Lobo. Orton held a number of championships including the United States title, the AWA MidWest Tag Team championships (with Mike DiBiase, father of Ted DiBiase) and Mad Dog Vachon, and the NWA World Tag Team belts with Eddie Graham. Orton had three children, a daughter and two sons, Randall and Bob, both of whom followed him into the wrestling business. Randall is best remembered as "Barry O" of 1980s WWF enhancement fame (using his middle name), while Cowboy Bob soon became one of the most well known heels of the 1980s WWF national expansion as Roddy Piper's bodyguard "Ace". Bob's grandson Randy went on to become a star in WWE over the last several years, including a WWE World championship win over Chris Benoit at Summerslam 2004. Orton, who lived in Las Vegas, remained in touch with a number of stars from his era and was well known for calling his friends every weekend to fill them in with what was going on with their other former comrades. I believe Orton Sr. made his last public appearance (before wrestling fans) during a signing in Rhode Island last year where he, Cowboy Bob, and Randy all appeared together. On behalf of everyone involved in PWInsider.com, I'd like to extend our deepest condolences to the Orton family, Orton's friends and fans during this sad time. Source: http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=19170&p=1 RIP Last edited by Xero; 07-17-2006 at 04:42 PM.