Champion the Wonder Horse series; he was one of several horses that Autry rode in that production. After learning about the horse through stunt man and movie horse wrangler Tracey Layne, Autry paid $75 for the original Champion, whose sire was a Morgan trotting horse from Ardmore, Oklahoma. Trained to perform numerous tricks, Champion could untie knots, fall, roll over and play dead, come at Autry's whistle, bow, and shake his head yes and no. In one film he pushes Autry into the arms of his leading lady June Storey. By 1939 his reported worth was $25,000. The original Champion died in 1943, at
Adrian Autry pursued a professional basketball career. He was undrafted in the NBA but had several workouts and played on the Summer Team. Autry enjoyed a more lucrative career overseas. Autry spent one year (1995-1996) playing with Besiktas Istanbul. , and then spent three seasons in Germany playing for SSV Ulm 1846. It was here that Autry and his team were the runners-up in the 1998 German Cup. Autry still holds the 1998-1999 records for points (504), assists (116), and steals (65) and was named to the All-German Imports First Team in 1999. After Germany, Autry headed to Europe where he played