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Fence Posts
- Les Thatcher 3/23/06 Excerpt for Pro Wrestling Insider |
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The Real Sheriff Slim Gabriel Lest you think all those characters that lived in Blackjack's interviews and promos were purely a product of his fertile imagination, check out this blurb in the November 18, 1999 edition of the Odessa American newspaper, in their daily countdown leading up to the new millennium of the years 1900 through 1999, with a short summary of some news and newsmakers affecting residents of Odessa in 1956: "Primary elections: A record number of Ector County residents (21,012) paid their poll taxes for the privilege to vote in the July primaries. Slim Gabriel defeated Andy Fenton for sheriff." (LINK)
Sheriff Slim Gabriel was mentioned numerous
times in Blackjack's promos. One of the best ever is included in the
Jukebox, and his story is briefly told by
Blackjack himself in Eagle
Pass Biographies. - Dick Bourne Eagle Pass An E-mail from Jack after I had asked from where the inspiration for Eagle Pass came - When Vince was putting this together, creativity was put a lot in my hands. He told me he would give me the TV time and to take the character and develop it as much as possible, with in reason. He wanted a character as anti-Italian, anti-Spanish, anti-Jewish, etc., that could be found! An Irish son of immigrants living in Eagle Pass, Texas is as about far out as you can get !! I had to drive an old pick-up to the Garden and around the territory living the gimmick! -BJM Feb 2006 Dreams "It seems that no matter how big a star someone becomes in his or her own world, they still have dreams of doing something else. I saw that years ago in Charlotte North Carolina when after a concert Blackjack Mulligan was excited to be introduced to Willie Nelson, and Willie knew not only who he was but was a wrestling fan and began talking about all the pro wrestlers from Texas like Mulligan, the Funks, and Wahoo McDaniel. These two stars in their own field stood there marking out for one another." - Les Thatcher August 2004
from LOOKING AT A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STAR'S LOVE OF PRO WRESTLING, FIRST HAND WRESTLER’S EYE VIEW By Les Thatcher 8/26/2004 on PWInsider What a Difference A Year Makes Blackjack Mulligan first wrestled in the Greensboro Coliseum on March 13, 1975. He teamed with Mr. Fuji to defeat Charlie Cook and Swede Hanson in the tag bout just before intermission. Ric Flair wrestled Dusty Rhodes on that show, 3rd from the top, Dusty's 2nd appearance in Greensboro. Exactly one year later, March 13, 1976, in the same building, Blackjack Mulligan was in the main event, defeating Paul Jones for the United States Heavyweight Championship. The semi-main event was Ric Flair against Dusty Rhodes. During that one year, Mulligan had several matches in the Mid-Atlantic area (against Dusty Rhodes and Wahoo McDaniel among others) before leaving late in the summer of 1975 to go to the WWWF where he and Blackjack Lanza won the WWWF Tag Team titles. Blackjack was lured back to the Mid-Atlantic area in November of 1975 by booker George Scott after the October 1975 plane crash ended the career of top heel Johnny Valentine. Mulligan assumed the top spot and dominated the area (and the US title) for several years. -Dick Bourne October 2004 Rufus R. Jones and the Crown (From the BBQ Mailbox)
While this Flair-Blackjack angle was superb, I'm wondering if you have footage of Jack's one man rampage against Rufus R. and Burrhead Jones! As I recall, this occurred on a broadcast of "World Wide Wrestling": Rufus R. is Ed Capral's guest commentator, and with his cousin being beaten senseless by Jack, Rufus leaves his ringside post and hops into the squared circle. Jack promptly rips Jones' raggedy leisure suit top to shreds, hangs Rufus R. upside down in the ropes, then gets the crown the Freight train had taken to wearing. The WRAL crew did a great job--a tight shot of the crown on the floor of the ring...then Jack's boot from above, smashing it--followed by Mulligan's "re-crowning" of Rufus! ( All the while, Burrhead is incapacitated with convulsions.) Blackjack surveys his work, sees that it is bad, (which makes it really, really good!) offers some parting comments to Capral at ringside, then leaves the studio. After the commercial break, Rufus R. offers up a post-humiliation monologue deserving of an Emmy Award (okay, maybe not an Emmy, but at least a free week of breakfasts at the Waffle House, courtesy of David Crockett!) With tears in his eyes, Rufus R. rants about Burrhead being taken to the "horsepistol"--and how the Freight train will avenge his cousin: "I'm tired of playin' wichya, baby! Gimme an eye, I'm gonna punch it out; gimme a leg, I'm gonna break it off!"
TOUGH LEATHER The following was part of a recent forum discussion on Blackjack Mulligan and Barry Windham. Despite the rather inane topic ("Who was better? Blackjack Mulligan or Barry Windham?"), I thought this particular post was a very insightful observation. - Editor
To be pulled out of a successful tag team in the middle of a championship run in the WWWF, and featured as the centerpiece heel in MACW by George Scott does speak volumes about how confident the brass was about choosing Blackjack Mulligan. And the way he eased Ric Flair into the role he was destined to play, and then turned babyface, makes Mulligan my choice. The son as the hungry young lion was a good story with a very likable character. But the father's tale of tough leather softened over time on one side has more plot to chew on, in my view. (Originally Posted by "OneFanGang")
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While on that subject, a good example of a strong character on promos is
one of the latest announced inductees for WWE’s Hall of Fame. Blackjack
Mulligan was one of the best promo men I have ever worked with, and that
my friends takes in a lot of territory. “BJ” has a complete cast of
characters from his “Uncle Reba Joe” to his Ranch Foreman “Spider Grip”
and everything in between. Almost every interview or promo told a story,
and Mulligan would grab your attention with his words, appearance,
characters and personality. Realize that when we were together in the
Charlotte territory in the early seventies on any given Wednesday at the
studios of WRAL in Raleigh, NC. we cut somewhere around 100 2 minute
plus promos for all the markets. Doing those interviews were a group of
guys consisting of talents on the microphone like “Superstar Billy
Graham”, Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, Boris Malenko, and Wahoo McDaniel to
name a few. So, as they say Blackjack was “walk ‘in in high cotton”. I
have remembered many of those promos after all these years. If you would
like to hear some of the big Texans interviews surf on over to The
Mid-Atlantic Gateway site and check them out. You can also get to
Mulligan’s web site from there. I always enjoyed working with “Mully”,
and happy to see him getting this recognition after all these years.