[4] After graduating in 1957, Kirby attended a wrestling event at his high school, where he got into an altercation with Ron Shire for standing on the ring apron.

"[4] Kirby made his name wrestling through the territories of Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Minnesota and Kansas City (where he lived until his death).

[7] With blonde hair and a resemblance to his close friend Buddy Rogers[7][8] he took on the moniker "Nature Boy", wrestling as a heel and taking on numerous world champions, including Pat O'Connor.

For the rest of the 1960s, he became a successful singles competitor throughout the American South, becoming a prominent star in the Central States and Pacific Northwest territories.

Bill Watts had decided that Kirby was the man to carry the Junior Heavyweight Championship, which he went on to lose to Ramon Torres.

[10] He lived in Grandview, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City where he bred exotic fish and enjoyed amateur photography.

[7] Kirby died on March 18, 2019, due to complications from pneumonia brought on by stage-four pancreatic cancer.