King Bailey Parsons Jr. is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name "Iceman" King Parsons. Parsons started wrestling in 1979 after being trained by Nick Kozak. King started for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Paul Boesch Promotion in Houston, Texas. Boesch contacted Don Owen and was successful in landing a job for King in the NWA's Pacific Northwest territory. Both Don and Elton Owen promoted in Washington and Oregon. While in the promotion, he teamed with Rocky Johnson and won the tag team title. King moved to Barling, Arkansas and lived there while working for the Tulsa promotion and Leroy McGuirk circa 1978–79. King moved to Worland, Wyoming and wrestled for the Rocky Mountain Wrestling promotion for about a year, wrestling in Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. Bill Ash booked all the talent and the matches.

In 1982, he moved on to Jim Crockett Promotions where he teamed with Porkchop Cash and feuded with Don Kernodle and Jim Nelson over the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship. In 1983, King then moved on to World Class Championship Wrestling. He feuded with the One Man Gang and Chris Adams. Parsons feuded with Freebird Buddy Roberts who cut his hair. They ended the feud late June 1983 with Parsons using the Freebird hair cream to render Roberts bald. In early December, 1983, Parsons was "kayfabe" burnt by Skandor Akbar's flame thrower leaving Parson with a kayfabe disfigurement. At WCCW Wrestling Star Wars in December 1983, Parsons would almost win the NWA American Tag Team Championship, but with the Super Destroyers throwing Adias over the top rope, The Super Destroyers would retain the belts.

Iceman then went on to the Universal Wrestling Federation, where he was snubbed out of a tag team title tournament in 1987. Parsons turned heel and feuded mostly with Adams and with Savannah Jack for many months, and his feud with Jack carried over to Ken Mantell's new Wild West Wrestling promotion. In late 1987, he joined Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, after Michael Hayes left the Fabulous Freebirds, to help them get revenge on him. Hayes teamed with Kerry and Kevin Von Erich and they had a long feud that eventually saw Gordy side with Hayes and the Von Erich's and Roberts leave the promotion. Parsons was known as the "Blackbird" during this feud and formed a trio called "The Blackbirds" with Perry "Action" Jackson and Harold T. Harris. In 1985, Parsons would win the WCWA American Heavyweight Championship defeating Chris Adams, later losing that title to Ravishing Rick Rude. In March 1988 Parsons defeated Kerry Von Erich for the World Class Heavyweight Championship in a highly controversial bout that actually saw the lights go out in the Dallas Sportatorium.