The bulk of my time as a child consisted of collecting sports cards, playing sports and video games and watching professional wrestling.
In some ways, not much has changed since then 鈥 although, I have added a few new interests to that list and spend much less time playing video games these days 鈥 but watching what I will refer to as vintage wrestling remains a top priority thanks to the availability of it on streaming services and YouTube.
The two eras that I enjoy most are the so-called golden age 鈥 the 1980s into the early 1990s 鈥 and the attitude era 鈥 the late 1990s into the early 2000s. Some of those highlights occurred before my time, but I really enjoy the history of the squared circle and often look back on the highlights and relive the memories of events, matches and interviews that happened in previous eras.
I mention all of that because one of my favorite days of the summer took place on Friday, as the Lakeshore Chinooks hosted Pro Wrestling Night. The guest of honor was 鈥楬acksaw鈥 Jim Duggan and I was given the opportunity to interview the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer.
The legendary brawler enjoyed a long career in the ring spanning several territories and companies, but I focused most of my questions around his time in the then-WWF, which began in early 1987, because that is the time period I remember him best from.
I still watch a lot of programming from that era and was curious about some of the things he was involved with during that portion of his career and some of the opponents he shared a ring with at that time.
Before I get to specific things that aired on television, here are three things I had to ask about relating to his character.
While most wrestling fans know Duggan by the nickname 鈥楬acksaw,鈥 he had a few others before finding the right fit.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 start off as 鈥楬acksaw.鈥 I started off as 鈥楤ig鈥 Jim Duggan. Then I wore a mask for a while and I wrestled as 鈥楾he Convict.鈥 Then I wore fur for a little while and I wrestled as 鈥榃ildman鈥 Duggan,鈥 he reflected. 鈥淭hen I evolved into 鈥楬acksaw,鈥欌 he explained. 鈥淥ut of 40 years, probably 36 have been 鈥楬acksaw.鈥欌 The reason for the frequent changes early in his career is obvious.
鈥淭he 鈥楤ig鈥 Jim and 鈥楥onvict鈥 and 鈥橶ildman鈥 wasn鈥檛 working,鈥 he said with a laugh. 鈥淪o, I went back to my football days, cutting through the wedge, hacking my way through the wedge there, and it was something different.鈥
Duggan is known for carrying a 2-by-4 with him everywhere he goes. He joked that it might not necessarily make sense to be known as 鈥楬acksaw鈥 while carrying a piece of wood 鈥 adding that 鈥渋t鈥檚 wrestling, it doesn鈥檛 have to make sense,鈥 鈥 but it also had a practical use throughout his career.
鈥淭he 2-by-4 came from back in the old days, before it was sports entertainment,鈥 Duggan said, adding that wrestlers would often have to fight local tough guys that thought wrestling was phony and that they could beat the guys in the ring. 鈥淛ust getting back and forth from the ring was dangerous. People would spit at you, punch you, kick at you, because they really hated you. All the bad guys would walk out to their cars together, you all stuck together, so I was sitting in Lubbock or Amarillo, Texas, in this nasty old dressing room all covered with loogies and bruises rethinking my career choice. Bruiser Brody, who was my mentor, comes in and says, 鈥楧uggan, if you carry something to the ring, carry something you can use. Forget the feathered boas and sequined robes.鈥
鈥淚 was sitting there, I looked down and here was a piece of wood,鈥 he added. 鈥淚 came out yelling, waiving that 2-by-4, and it was like parting the Red Sea. I got to the ring without getting touched and I was like, 鈥楾his is great.鈥欌 Duggan also developed his own catch phrase, becoming known for shouting 鈥淗ooooo鈥 to the crowd.
鈥淛ust to interact with the people,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was just yelling back and forth, and it kind of evolved into hooing at folks.
Duggan entered the then-World Wrestling Federation in early 1987 and was introduced as someone standing up for his country. The company regularly had characters that were patriotic heroes such as Sgt. Slaughter and Corporal Kirchner that would feud with the likes of the Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff. Duggan effectively slotted into that spot upon his introduction and gained immediate popularity when he would come to the ring and interrupt Volkoff鈥檚 singing of the Soviet national anthem.
Later that year, he got involved in a storyline with Harley Race. The eight-time champion of the National Wrestling Alliance was a legendary performer who portrayed himself as the king of wrestling when he debuted in the WWF. At one point in the rivalry, Duggan took the crown and cape his adversary wore to the ring, but Race eventually got the crown and cape back.
They had many matches during that period, including when Duggan and Race were part of a large tag team bout at the Survivor Series and were counted out as they battled at ringside. However, in my opinion, the most memorable encounter between them occurred at the 1987 Slammy Awards. Duggan and Race fought throughout most of the program, with the brawl starting near the awards podium before spilling into the backstage area.
鈥淚 had a good relationship with Harley,鈥 Duggan said. 鈥淲e had some good matches.鈥
Duggan noted that they had experienced different things during their careers.
鈥淚鈥檓 from the generation that saw the business go from high school gyms and national guard armories to Wembley Stadium and the huge Superdome,鈥 he explained. 鈥淚t was unique to see the evolution of wrestling like that. Harley came from when they were working at fairs and stuff.鈥
Perhaps the match that Duggan is most remembered for is the 1988 Royal Rumble. That contest was the first televised edition of that concept, which was a takeoff of the standard battle royal, in which a wrestler is eliminated when they are thrown over the top rope and onto the floor. The last person left in the ring is the winner. In a traditional battle royal, all the entries start in the ring, but in the Royal Rumble, two wrestlers are in the squared circle at the start, with new combatants added at regular time intervals.
Duggan ended up winning the inaugural event, eliminating the One Man Gang to claim the victory.
鈥淣obody was more surprised in that building than me. You look at the talent that was in the ring that night, for me to win that, it was huge. It was obviously the biggest feather in my cap,鈥 he said about what is now the featured match at one of the most important events on the WWE calendar. 鈥淚 was never champion, but I was the first-ever Royal Rumble winner. Of course, now it鈥檚 the No. 2 pay-per-view.鈥
Another highlight came later that year. At Wrestle-Mania IV, Duggan was part of a tournament to crown a new WWF champion. He lost a match to Ted DiBiase due to interference from Andre the Giant, which would lead to a feud with a wrestler known as the 鈥楨ighth wonder of the world,鈥 who had mainstream popular appeal due to his appearance in the movie 鈥淭he Princess Bride鈥 among other media appearances.
Duggan鈥檚 favorite part of working a program with one of the all-time legends of the ring was headlining Madison Square Garden.
鈥淚t was an honor to be in the ring with Andre the Giant,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was thrilled to be in the ring with him. Actually, that鈥檚 the most memorable point in my career.
鈥淚 grew up in upstate New York, about 200 miles north of New York City, and when I was a kid, my dad would load me and my sisters up in the car and take us down to Madison Square Garden. It was a big deal to go to the city,鈥 Duggan added. 鈥淢y pop, who was my best man in my wedding, drove down to New York City, pulled up in front of Madison Square Garden and saw 鈥橦acksaw鈥 Jim Duggan versus Andre the Giant (on the marquee). No matter what profession you鈥檙e in, if you sell out the Garden, we had 22,000 people at the Garden and Andre beat the hell out of me, but it was well worth it.鈥
That roughly 18-month stretch came right as the WWF was taking off as a powerhouse in the world of entertainment, and Duggan was an important part of it all, thanks to being involved in key storylines with legends from the ring.
He went on to enjoy a lengthy stay in the WWF that extended into the 1990s, then wrestled in World Championship Wrestling during the Monday Night Wars later in that decade. While he had a tremendous career and is remembered by wrestling fans everywhere, he said his greatest accomplishment has nothing to do with that.
鈥淢y family,鈥 he said. 鈥淓verybody sees the dark side of the ring in wrestling. They hear the horror stories about the Jake 鈥榯he Snake鈥 Roberts and Scott Hall and all the horror stories about professional wrestling, but I鈥檝e been with my wife for 40 years and I never had to go to rehab for booze or drugs.
鈥淚 put two daughters through college, I鈥檓 active in my community, I do a ton of charity work,鈥 he added. 鈥淎t 70 years old, I travel the world signing autographs. It鈥檚 been a great business for me.鈥
He is enjoying life after wrestling and gets to travel with his wife, who joined him Friday at Kapco Park.
鈥淟ast weekend we were in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Fan Boy expo. We do a lot of comic-cons, they have wrestle-cons. A couple weeks ago I was down in Pittsburgh with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, which is a minor league soccer team,鈥 he said, giving an example of his schedule, which includes a trip to Scotland in October. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing. Folks remember (Hulk) Hogan, Macho Man (Randy Savage), Jake the Snake, Junkyard Dog. It鈥檚 hard to name a football player from the 1980s, but people remember that generation of wrestling and it鈥檚 great to come out here.鈥