| The Blackjacks | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Blackjack Mulligan Blackjack Lanza |
| Billed heights | Mulligan: 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Lanza: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 585 lb (265 kg; 41.8 st)[1] |
| Billed from | Texas |
| Debut | 1971 |
| Disbanded | 1984 |
The Blackjacks were aprofessional wrestlingtag team consistingBlackjack Mulligan andBlackjack Lanza. After forming in the 1970s, they wrestled in a variety ofprofessional wrestling promotions, including theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) andWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). They were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2006.Blackjack Bradshaw andBlackjack Windham briefly rebooted the idea in 1997.
Blackjack Mulligan andBlackjack Lanza first joined forces in 1971. They were managed byBobby Heenan.[1]
The Blackjacks won multiple tag team titles, including the WWA Tag Team Championship and two in WCCW. Their most-known run came after theWWWF Tag Team Championship (withLou Albano as their manager) on August 26, 1975, by defeatingDominic DeNucci andPat Barrett.[2]
After their tenure in the WWWF they disbanded and went their separate ways. They reunited in 1983 in St. Louis and the AWA until disbanding in 1984. Lanza retired from wrestling in 1985 and became a road agent for WWF (WWWF). Mulligan returned to the WWF, Florida and Texas until his retirement in 1989.
On April 1, 2006, The Blackjacks were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Heenan.[1]
Mulligan died on April 4, 2016, from heart failure and other disease at 74 years old.
Lanza had died on December 8, 2021. He was 86 years old, and had been in poor health.
In February 1997, Mulligan's son,Barry Windham, andJustin "Hawk" Bradshaw formed The New Blackjacks in the WWF. They were known as Blackjack Windham and Blackjack Bradshaw, who originally competed asheels, but later asbabyfaces it was rumored in early 1997 that they would be bodyguards forThe Undertaker (for hisWWF World Heavyweight Championship run in 1997).[3] They competed in a four-way tag team match atWrestleMania 13, which was won byThe Headbangers. They then feuded withThe Godwinns. They never reached the success of their predecessors and disbanded in January 1998, as Windham turned on Bradshaw to join the invadingNWA stable.
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