Blackjack's BBQ | The WWE Hall of Fame

Former WWWF Tag Team Champions: Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza

Blackjack Mulligan locks in the claw hold on Andre The Giant.

PHOTOS FORM THE 2006 WWE HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS

Top left: Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza at the podium during the Hall of Fame inductions. Top right: Bobby Heenan, who managed the Blackjacks in the AWA, inducted them in the WWE Hall. Center Left: Blackjack addresses the crowd at the 2006 Inductions. Center right: Blackjack acknowledges the crowd at the WWE 2006 Inductions. Bottom left: The Class of 2006: Sherri Martel, Mrs. Eddie Guerrero (excepting posthumously for Eddie Guerrero), Blackjack Lanza, Blackjack Mulligan, Bret Hart, William Perry, Tony Atlas, Gene Okerlund, and Verne Gagne. Bottom right: Bret Hart chats with Barry Windham, Blackjack's oldest son.

(Photos: WWE)

BLACKJACK'S GOOD FRIEND TONY ATLAS WAS ALSO INDUCTED INTO THE CLASS OF 2006. BLACKJACK IS CREDITED, ALONG WITH SANDY SCOTT, WITH DISCOVERING TONY ATLAS IN THE GYMS IN ROANOKE VA AND GETTING HIM INTO WRESTLING DURING HIS MID-ATLANTIC DAYS.

Top left: Tony Atlas accepts induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Top right: Vince McMahan greets Tony Atlas. Bottom left: Tony Atlas with Linda and Vince McMahan. Bottom right: Tony Atlas with Hulk Hogan.

(Photos: WWE)

EXCERPTS FROM BLACKJACK MULLIGAN'S INDUCTION SPEECH

Get momma from the kitchen baby, get those nasty mouth kids in here, this is the last time you’ll see the Blackjacks. You wonder about what you are looking at, these old geezers: You’re momma and daddy – check that, you’re grand daddy – it’s what they used to do on Saturday mornings, when there wasn’t 150 channels, they were chasin’ me and Lanza, could have been Bruno, could have been Kowalski or Kininski.

Every Saturday from somewhere between the Road Runner and the Cisco Kid was Lanza and Mulligan.

Every Saturday. Different days, different seasons, there was a lot of flamboyant teams in this business, that probably had a lot of fun. But there was none tougher, there was no quarter given, and no quarter asked.

Joe Blanchard, you know I love ya. Verne Gagne, you know I love ya. Lanza and Heenan, thank you for letting this thing maturate into one of the biggest monsters ever turned loose on this business, thank you very much.

I can hear the Bruiser and the Crusher crying out, sell out after sell out. Every now and then the god Lord looks down on something and He says “This is good.” The dust was spread over us, stardust, from the first day, and I hate to give you guys some disillusions; we’ve putting asses in the seats a long time guys. Everywhere.

It was so hot, never before had the seen white hot heat like this before and never since have they seen white hot heat, so big, that it just internal combusted from inside. It didn’t last long, for a very brief period, WWE held the illusive butterfly in its hand, and it had to fly away. Lana and Mulligan’s split was a sad day. We all went on to have individual careers second to none. There were just too many cowboys in the corral, people calling every night, offering more and more money. And sadly enough it ended so quickly. When you hear about the good ol’ days, you’re looking at it. The sweet part of the bat, the groove, the American Pie. If you ever try to figure out Don McLean’s song, American Pie...bye bye. When Heenan and Lanza left for the coast, the music didn’t play. Good night.

Not much was said about Blackjack's Mid-Atlantic days during the Hall of Fame inductions, since the focus is on Mulligan and Lanza as a tag team. They held the WWWF tag titles in 1975.

So we thought we'd showcase a clipping from Blackjack's reign as US Champion in the Mid-Atlantic territory in 1976.

WWE HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2006 - THE BLACKJACKS

The BlackJacks were one of the most infamous and merciless tag teams ever. They were two rough and tough Texans who could back up their intimidating look with relentless offense and rule-breaking.

BlackJack Mulligan and Jack Lanza formed the famed BlackJacks tag team in the 1970s, and they were a main attraction wherever they went. Along with their manager, Bobby Heenan, the BlackJacks would win the WWA Tag Team Championship; two tag-team championships in WCCW and the World Tag Team Championship in 1975.

BlackJack Mulligan was a brutish 6-foot-9, 340-pound native of Sweetwater. And he’s one of the most accomplished wrestlers ever to come out of the state of Texas. He’s also one of the biggest and most-powerful. In addition to many regional championships, Mulligan was NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Ric Flair), NWA United States Heavyweight Champion and NWA World Heavyweight champion, defeating WWE Hall of Famer Bobo Brazil. Mulligan also had many memorable battles with WWE Hall of Famer Andre the Giant, as well as matches with Pedro Morales and Bruno Sammartino.

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Mulligan was a star football player at West Texas State University. But he would trade in his cleats for a pair of wrestling boots and train under fellow 2006 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Verne Gagne. Mulligan (Robert Windham) is the father of Barry and Kendall Windham.

Mulligan had a highly successful singles career, but after adopting a black hat and black glove it seemed he was destined to join forces with Jack Lanza.

Lanza, with his devastating Iron Claw, was mean and sadistic in the ring. The AWA superstar was once referred to as “the embodiment of evil.”

This Laredo, Texas, native made his debut in 1962 and achieved early success under the tutelage of Bobby Heenan. With Heenan at his side, Lanza & Bobby Duncum won the AWA World Tag Team Championship from Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher. Lanza also had memorable battles with WWE Hall of Famer “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd, among many others.

At the 2004 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Lanza paid tribute to the crucial role of Heenan in his career by inducting “The Brain” into the Hall.

More than a decade after the Black Jacks dominated, Mulligan’s son, Barry Windham, and Lanza’s nephew, Bradshaw, would form the new Black Jacks, paying homage to the legendary figures who came before them.

WWE Hall of Fame | Class of 2006 | The Blackjacks