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Before Jim Duggan became
a professional wrestler, he made a name for himself as a star
athlete in his home town of Glens Falls, New York where he
earned high school letters in football, track, wrestling, and
basketball, set local sports records (one in shotput which is
still unmatched) before being recruited for Southern Methodist
University (SMU). While playing football at SMU, Duggan
caught the attention of promoter Fritz Von Erich who suggested
to Duggan that he might make a good professional
wrestler. Duggan later played professional football for
the Atlanta Falcons and trained at the Dallas Sportatorium
during the off-season. After recurring knee injuries led
to his exit from football, Duggan began wrestling for Von
Erich's Texas promotion before getting a try-out with the
World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). At the
suggestion of Vince McMahon Sr., Duggan went to Hawaii to
train under Peter Miavia for six months before returning to
the WWWF.
Duggan learned the ropes
in a number of territories such as Georgia Championship
Wrestling (GCW), Hawaii (under a mask as "The Convict"),and
Rob Fuller's Alabama territory before catching his first
break in Joe Blanchard's San Antonio, Texas promotion.
There, Duggan became known as "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and worked
a program with Bruiser Brody.
"Hacksaw" began to make
a name for himself in Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling (MSW)
where he wrestled as a heel, teaming with Ted DiBiase and Matt
Borne to form "The Rat Pack". When Duggan felt his
association with DiBiase was limiting his title opportunities,
Duggan left the Rat Pack and teamed with Magnum T.A. to win
the Mid-South Tag Team Titles from DiBiase and Mr. Olympia
(eventually dropping them to Jim
Neidhart and Butch Reed).
Duggan's wild brawling style earned him the respect and
admiration of fans in MSW. It also helped him win the North
American Heavyweight Championship from Dick Slater.
Duggan held the belt until MSW became the Universal Wrestling
Federation (UWF) and the North American Championship was
retired. On May 30, 1986, Duggan battled Terry Gordy in
the tournament final to crown the UWF's World Champion
but lost. However Duggan found further tag team success
when he teamed with Terry Taylor to defeat Bill Irwin and
Leroy Brown for the UWF World Tag Team Titles on December 27,
1986. However the reign was cut short when Duggan was
forced to leave the UWF after dropping a loser-leaves-town
match to the One Man Gang.
Further success was found in the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where Duggan's patriotic
nature was emphasized. Duggan battled foreign heels such
as the Iron Sheik, Nikolai
Volkoff, Boris Zhukhov, and Dino
Bravo. Duggan became the first winner of the Royal
Rumble and earned a win over Harley
Race to become "King of the Ring". Duggan would hold
this unofficial title before losing to Randy "Macho Man" Savage after being
blasted with a loaded purse carried by Savage's valet Sherri
Martel.
The fans respected Duggan's
incredible patriotism and this was no more evident than when
Duggan helped Sgt. Slaughter regain
the respect of the fans after turning his back on them to join
Iraqi wrestlers Colonel Mustafa
and General Adnan during the Persian Gulf War. Duggan teamed
with Slaughter for a while before returning to solo action
when Slaughter departed the WWF.
In 1994, Duggan was one
of several former WWF wrestlers who joined Hulk Hogan in World
Championship Wrestling (WCW). After several years
without an official title, Duggan won the United States
Heavyweight Title from "Stunning" Steve Austin. Duggan
would hold the belt for four months before dropping it to
Vader. Duggan continued wrestling in WCW until his career was
suddenly placed in jeopardy in 1998. Duggan appeared
before his fans and revealed that he was battling kidney
cancer. His fighting spirit never more apparent, Duggan
returned in 1999, proclaiming that he had defeated the kidney
cancer. However Duggan's return to WCW was less than
triumphant after the Powers that Be demoted him from wrestler
to janitor. When Duggan turned the tables on the Powers
that Be, they sent members of the Revolution (Shane Douglas,
Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, and Asya) after him. Duggan
challenged the Revolution to a match with the stipulation that
they would become janitors if they lost and that Duggan would
forsake the American flag if he lost. At Starcade 1999,
Duggan lost to the Revolution after his partners (Mike
Rotunda, Kevin Sullivan, and Rick Steiner of the Varsity Club)
deserted him. However Duggan refused to forsake the flag
and was beatdown for his refusal.
During the course of carrying out his janitorial duties,
Duggan stumbled across the WCW Television Title which had
been tossed in the garbage by former champion Scott Hall.
Duggan began defending the title on WCW Saturday Night
before the belt was officially retired in April 2000.
Duggan had a memorable match with Bill Goldberg in June
2000 before he announced his retirement in September 2000. At
his retirement, he passed the torch in a sense by giving his
American flag to General Rection. At Fall Brawl 2000,
Duggan was appointed as special enforcer for a U.S. Title
match between General Rection and champion Lance Storm.
Duggan shocked the fans when he blasted General Rection with a
2x4, helping Storm to retain the U.S.
Title. Duggan turned his back on the United States
and joined Team Canada. However Duggan outstayed his welcome
in Team Canada and at Starcade 2000, Duggan was laid out by
his former teammates. Duggan acted as a special referee
at WCW Sin 2001 during a "Penalty Box" match between Team
Canada and the Filthy Animals.
Since leaving WCW,
Duggan has remained active on the independent wrestling
circuit and continues to entertain fans with his wild brawls
and heartfelt patriotism. He has appeared on WWE
television recently where his popular catchphrase
"Hooooooooooo!" has been put to new use in describing
Lita. | 
