Tunney was 1st now we have our 2nd..

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

It is with great sadness that we now must say goodbye to one of the true great characters of entertainment, Hard Boiled Haggerty.

 

Here's the tribute put together for him for the Cauliflower Alley Club web site:

 

http://mrkurtnielsen.com/CAC-RIP/HBHaggerty-RIP.html

 

 

 

Real name: Donald Stansauk

 

He first became interested in wrestling while attending Denver University, and was trained by Danny Loos. After graduating from D. U. he was drafted by the Detroit Lions football team. After a season with the Lions, he was traded to the Green Bay Packers and during the off season, he wrestled for the local promoter under his real name (Don Stansauk). The first match I show in my records for him is 11/30/1951 in Chicago against Johnny Carlin, which Don won by DQ.

 

Don next ventured to Chicago whre he wrestled for Karl Pojello, who claimed that Don flew around the ring like a bird, and named him DON SPARROW. Next Don was under the guidence of promoter Al Haft, and he started to make more money in pro wrestling than at football, and he gave up the gridiron.

 

Don landed in Minneapolis unannounced and (then matchmaker) Wally Karbo gave him the HARD BOILED HAGGERTY ring name, and convinced then promoter Tony Stecher to add H. B. as a bonus match against Kostas Davallis. He was such a sensation that the Minneapolis office kept promoting all summer instead of taking of their customery break.

 

In the Minneapolis territory, Haggerty was ALWAYS the top heel, as fans just loved to hate him! He virtually wrestled against names like Leo Nomellini, Dick Raines, Mike DiBiase, Abe Kashey, Lu Kim, Pat O'Connor, Hans Hermann, Yukon Eric, Karl Karlsson, Kinji Shibuya, Verne Gagne, and NWA champions Lou Thesz, Whipper Billy Watson, Dick Hutton and O'Connor. His feud with Gagne was on going, and never settled. They continued to battle into the 1960's.

 

When Verne Gagne formed the AWA in August of 1960, he called on Haggerty to be one of his primary stars to get the promotion off the ground, as he knew that with H. B. the fans would come. Gagne built the early AWA promotion around himself, Haggerty and others like Bill Miller, Wilbur Snyder, Leo Nomellini, Tiny Mills, Stan Kowalski, Joe Scarpello and Gene Kiniski.

 

Haggerty would pop in and out of the AWA for most of the 1960's, and always be involved in main events. Here are some of the memorable tag partners and titles H. B. held in the AWA:

 

10/4/1960 with Len Montana won AWA tag title from Mills & Kowalski in Minneapolis.

 

3/18/1961 Montana's leg is broken and the AWA allows Haggerty to choose a new partner. He picks Gene Kiniski. They lose the belts to Snyder & Nomellini on 5/23/1961 in Minneapolis.

 

7/19/1961 with Kiniski, they win back the belts from Snyder & Nomellini in Minneapolis.

 

8/8/1961 the team of Haggerty & Kiniski has a falling out when Haggerty's interference in a cage match between Kiniski and Gagne backfires, and Kiniski loses the match.

 

9/26/61 Haggerty defeated Kiniski in a match that allowed the winner to choose a new partner and retain the AWA tag belts. Haggerty chose "Texas" Bob Geigel as his new partner.

 

11/16/1961 Haggerty & Geigel lost the belts to Dale Lewis & Pat Kennedy (aka Bobby Graham) in Rochester, MN.

 

Haggerty continued his long feud with Gagne into the mid 60's, and then left the AWA for a few years. During his time gone, he continued to main event where ever he wrestled. For a while, he donned a mask and worked as Mister "M". It should be noted that almost during the same time period, Bill Miller was also working as Mister "M" under a mask in the AWA.

 

Haggerty was very close friends with Dick Beyer, who was The Destroyer. Together they teamed and held the Los Angeles WWA tag title on two occaisions (7/30/1964 to 10/27/1964 and 11/3/1964 to 12/9/1964).

 

He also held tag titles with Butcher Vachon, Bill Savage and El Shereef (aka Jerry Woods). In the 50's, he formed a devastating team in Minneapolis with Kinji Shibuya. In 1967, Haggerty returned to the AWA as a surprise partner of Harley Race who was involved in a feud against Gagne and Bill Watts. Orginally it was announced that Race was going to team with Bobby Graham, but then when the match was signed, Race announced that he had fooled Gagne (and Watts) into signing thinking his parnter would be the more unknown (to AWA fans) Bobby Graham. He then brought out Haggerty. The two teams met in several matches. The reason for Race needing a partner, and feuding with Gagne, was because it was Gagne that broke Larry Hennig's leg and put him out of action.

 

While Race continued to battle Gagne, Haggerty then announced that he had a new partner to help him in his chase of the tag title......it was Dutch Savage.

[Sonic Reducer 0]

And it just mysteriously ends there?

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

that's where the wrestling legends website stopped...........

????????????????????