The King of New Orleans: How the Junkyard Dog Became Professional Wrestling's First Black Superhero (Unabridged)
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Telling the remarkable tale of a man who is still remembered on the streets of New Orleans and in the hearts of professional-wrestling fans, this book aims to restore the overlooked Junkyard Dog to his proper place in the history books.
In 1979, Sylvester Ritter, also known as the Junkyard Dog, managed to break one of the final color barriers in the sport by becoming the first Black wrestler named undisputed top star of his promotion, and this biography reveals all the famous feuds and business back stories that made him a wrestling legend. By 1985, New Orleans was one of the hottest cities in the Mid-South for pro wrestling due in large part to the Junkyard Dog; he became a legend in the Big Easy, drawing sellout crowds to the Downtown Municipal Auditorium and huge crowds to the Superdome, a feat unparalleled by any other wrestler.
The King of New Orleans delves into wrestling’s recent past and recounts how a region known for racial injustice became the home of the sport’s first Black idol.
Customer Reviews
If you like the subject, it’s OK
I’m a fan of Midsouth wrestling from this era so I like the subject and like hearing about the junkyard dog, but it seems like the rider took the entire chapters out of other peoples books sometimes I wonder if this book was about the junkyard dog or about Bill Watts, no interviews withthe dogs, friends or family in North Carolina couldn’t the author sat down with Ted DiBiase or Jim Cornett? Also, I’m not sure who was the person reading this book but it could’ve been the author I nearly delete the book several times as I kept mispronouncing plaia places and peoples names “Ol instead of Ole Anderson- Verne Gag-ne and Mr Wrestling the 2nd? Instead of Wrestling 2 to be honest, if it wasn’t for the subject, I gave this a one star