 Mulligan, circa 1979 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Deroy Windham (1942-11-25)November 25, 1942 Sweetwater, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | April 7, 2016(2016-04-07) (aged 73) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Texas Western College |
Spouse | Julia Windham[2] |
| Children | 3, includingBarry Windham andKendall Windham |
| Family | Mike Rotunda (son-in-law) Bo Dallas (grandson) Bray Wyatt (grandson) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big Bob Windham Big Machine Blackjack Mulligan The Texan |
| Billed height | 6 ft 9 in (206 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 300 lb (136 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Eagle Pass, Texas El Paso, Texas (1982) |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne |
| Debut | 1967 |
| Retired | May 23, 1993 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  Marine Corps |
Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by hisring nameBlackjack Mulligan, was an Americanprofessional wrestler andAmerican football player. He was the father of wrestlersBarry andKendall Windham, father-in-law ofMike Rotunda, and the maternal grandfather ofBo Dallas andBray Wyatt.
As a young man, Windham playedfootball atTexas Western College, now known as theUniversity of Texas at El Paso. Windham served a tour of duty in theUnited States Marine Corps, serving inGuam.[3] He then went on to play for theNew York Jets during the 1966 pre-season and received tryouts with theNew Orleans Saints andDenver Broncos.
After football, at the urging ofWahoo McDaniel, Windham trained withJoe Blanchard inCorpus Christi, Texas and later withVerne Gagne and became aprofessional wrestler in theAmerican Wrestling Association. Billed as being 6 foot 9 inches and over 300 pounds, Windham was a raw-boned cowboy in the vein ofBobby Duncum orStan Hansen.
In November and December 1970, Windham (as "Bob Windham") wrestled in Japan for theInternational Wrestling Enterprise promotion as part of its Big Winter Series. Teaming withLarry Hennig, he defeated Great Kusatsu andThunder Sugiyama in atwo-out-of-three falls match to win theIWA World Tag Team Championship. Kusatsu and Sugiyama regained the titles from them several weeks later.[4]
In 1971, Mulligan joined theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) where he was transformed into "Blackjack Mulligan". Mulligan donned black trunks, black hat, a black fingerless glove, moustache and used theiron claw submission hold.
When he arrived in the WWWF, he was managed byThe Grand Wizard. Early stills of the two actually identify him as "Big Bob Windham". Mulligan went on to great success in the Northeast and was an early challenger to newly crowned championPedro Morales. His push was interrupted when he was slashed in the thigh by a fan at theBoston Garden and required hundreds of stitches to close the wound. The culprit was actually captured byGorilla Monsoon, who threw him at the ringside police – who promptly let him go because they thought "it was part of the show".
Before he left to recover from his wound, Mulligan participated in aMadison Square Garden match againstBruno Sammartino, who was making his first appearance at the arena since the end of his nearly eight-year championship reign. Mulligan attacked Sammartino before the bell. Sammartino quickly recovered, slammed Mulligan twice and pinned him in 64 seconds. In wrestling terms, everybody "got over" – the building was sold out to the delight of promoterVincent J. McMahon, Sammartino made a strong return to New York and Mulligan, who was in no condition to work an actual match, received a large pay-off to aid his recovery.
Once he healed, Mulligan returned to the Midwest and tagged withBlackjack Lanza to formthe Blackjacks. Although Mulligan was the much bigger star, the duo went on to capture numeroustag team championships in various NWA affiliated promotions as well as theWWWF World Tag Team Championship in August 1975.
Blackjack returned to singles wrestling in theJim Crockett Promotions where he would go on to hold theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship and the Mid-Atlantic's version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship withRic Flair.
Mulligan often battledAndré the Giant, feuding in many different regions in the early 1980s. When they brought their feud to the WWF (formerly the WWWF) in 1982, Windham was noted as saying Andre had no limit to his strength. Mulligan then wrestled in Florida. He often teamed withWest Texas starsDusty Rhodes,Dick Murdoch, and his sonBarry Windham. Mulligan returned to the WWF as a full-time performer in 1984, hosting an interview segment titledBlackjack's Barbecue onWWF All-Star Wrestling, the counterpart toRoddy Piper'sPiper's Pit.
In 1986, Mulligan wrestled under a mask as "Big Machine", part of a team with "The Giant Machine" (André the Giant) and "Super Machine" (Bill Eadie) collectively known asThe Machines. They won several high-profile matches against the Heenan family, later recruiting members such as 'Hulk Machine' and 'Piper Machine'. After that angle ended, Mulligan wrestled for the WWF as himself, until he finally left in 1987. Later on, Jack traveled to Dallas and competed inWorld Class Championship Wrestling, wrestling againstBruiser Brody,Chris Adams andKevin andLance Von Erich. Mulligan also returned to Florida in 1987 to fight against the Funk brothers, teaming with Kevin Sullivan.
Mulligan returned for his last match on May 23, 1993, at WCW'sSlamboree '93: A Legends' Reunion in a six-man tag teaming withWahoo McDaniel andJim Brunzell againstDon Muraco,Dick Murdoch andJimmy Snuka in a no contest.
Mulligan worked as a match booker and promoter all around the South, eventually co-owning the Amarillo, Texas-basedWestern States Sports promotion withDick Murdoch after purchasing it from Dory and Terry Funk. Mulligan and his Blackjacks partner, Jack Lanza were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame[5] on April 1, 2006, by their manager,Bobby Heenan.
In 1990, Blackjack Mulligan and his son Kendall Windham were arrested by theUS Secret Service in a joint investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for counterfeiting. The authorities found close to $500,000 in phony $20 bills. As a result of a plea agreement, both father and son spent 24 months in a federalprison and were released in 1992.[6]
In 2007, Windham published his book titledTrue Lies and Alibis, which tells about his personal life and his professional wrestling career.
In 2012, Windham, a born again Christian, was ordained a minister by Divine Hearts Ministry located in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri.
In July 2015, Windham was named as a defendant in a 2015 lawsuit filed by WWE after they received a letter from him indicating that he intended to sue them forconcussion-based injuries sustained during his tenure with them. He was represented by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who is involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers.[7] Over two years after his death, US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.[8]
After dealing with health problems in recent years and being hospitalized with aheart attack several months earlier, Windham was hospitalized in Florida in October 2015. He died on April 7, 2016. He was buried at theFlorida National Cemetery.[9]
Mulligan's sonBarry Windham wrestled as Blackjack Mulligan Jr early in his career.[10][11] Upon turning heel and joining the Four Horsemen, Barry adopted the signature black glove. Decades later, upon joining The Miz as his henchman, Mulligan's grandson, Bo Dallas, also incorporated the black glove into his look.[citation needed]
Mulligan used the "hulk up" style comeback long before Hulk Hogan emerged in the business.[citation needed]
His grandsonWindham Rotunda was signed toWWE until his death in 2023, performing under the name Bray Wyatt.
British wrestler Laurence (Laurie) Coulson (Coulton) was billed as "Black Jack Mulligan" (and related variants) while wrestling forJoint Promotions in the 1970s and 1980s.[12]
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