Professional Wrestler. He was a wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s, who became one of the first Black wrestling superheroes. Nicknamed "Junk Yard Dog," he was known for his dog-like growls, head butts, power slams and wearing his trademark dog collar with chains hanging from them. He performed the rock song, "Grab Them Cakes" for The Wrestling Album. During high school, he played football and was on the wrestling team. At Fayetteville State University, he was named All American for three years by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and in his senior year, he played on the All-Star football team as an offensive tackle. After graduating with a degree in Political Science in 1975 from Fayetteville State University, he was drafted by the professional football team the Houston Oilers but played with the Green Bay Packers for two years. He was planning a professional football career but a knee and back injury halted that thought. By 1977 he had started his wrestling career in the IWA and moved to the World Wrestling Federation in 1984. Having a fan-following of thousands, he was part of the planned-drama of the sport. He was alleged blinded during a match by colleague Michael Hayes, and the audience believed this really happened, to the point that one of his fans pulled a gun on Hayes mid-match. In 1988 he participated in WWF's first-ever Royal Rumble. Drawing huge crowds to the Superdome in New Orleans, he was successful with an income of $12,000 a week. Many times playing the "bad guy" in the ring, he never had a single WWF championship. From 1984 to 1986, he appeared in 27 episodes of televised matches, making a name for himself. At an age when he should have been approaching the peak of his career, he found drugs. Cocaine and alcohol abuse led to him neglecting training, unhealthy eating, and becoming overweight, which followed by a career decline. For a short time in the early 1990s, he was a member of Ted Turner's World of Championship Wrestling. Although he attempted to "come clean" from drugs, he was never fully successful. Keeping him from being penniless, he found sporadic employment on the independent circuit by using his name and past accomplishments. He was married twice and divorced twice, he had one daughter with his first wife. Traveling home after his daughter's high school graduation, he was killed in a one-car auto accident. Posthumously, he was inducted into the Wrestling World Entertainment Hall of Fame in March of 2004. His biography, "The King of New Orleans," by Greg Klein was published in 2012.