The King of New Orleans: How the Junkyard Dog Became Professional Wrestling's First Black Superstar

by Greg Klein

A Big Easy legend returns to the limelight New Orleans was once one of the hottest cities for pro wrestling because of one man ― Sylvester Ritter, better known as the Junkyard Dog. JYD became a legend in the Big Easy, drawing huge crowds to the Superdome, a feat no other wrestler ever came close to. In 1980, he managed to break one of the final colour barriers in the sport by becoming the first black wrestler to be made the undisputed top star of his promotion. This biography aims to restore JYD to his deserved place in the history books by looking at his famous feuds, the business backstories, and the life of the man outside the ring. The King of New Orleans recounts the story of how an area known for racial injustice became the home of wrestling’s most adored African-American idol. A remarkable tale of a man still remembered on the streets of New Orleans and in the hearts of pro wrestling fans.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Sports

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A

When promoter Bill Watts found himself in charge of the "dead" wrestling territory of New Orleans, he made an unprecedented decision. He would make a black man his territory's focal point. Enraged, Watts' business partner LeRoy McGuirk split the business, ending his partnership with Watts. Undeterred, Watt's found his new hero in a charismatic young, black man from North Carolina named Sylvester Ritter.

Wearing a dog collar and lugging a massive chain, Ritter became the Junkyard Dog. He drove fans into arenas throughout Louisiana to watch him wrestle, chanting, "Who dat dey say gonna beat dat Dog?" Over a five-year period, from 1979 to 1984, the Junkyard Dog was one of the biggest draws in the nation, raking in over a million dollars in ticket sales and attracting hundreds of thousands of fans.

By making JYD the star of his promotion, Watts tapped into Louisiana's traditionally overlooked black community. It was surreal to see a black man presented as the conquering hero. Traditionally, Mid-South had been the stomping grounds of heroes like "Captain Redneck" Dick Murdoch and Dick Slater, who wore a Confederate flag on his tights.

But it wasn't just black fans paying to see JYD give heels their just deserts. The white community was drawn to the JYD because of his self-sufficiency. When a group of rulebreakers (such as the Fabulous Freebirds or Skandor Akbar's Army) attacked the Dog, he didn't wait for someone to save him like other baby faces. JYD stood firm and fueled his own comeback.

Even though New Orleans had recently been named the most racist place in America, an impartial observer wouldn't recognize the city's racist underbelly by watching fans in the Superdome or the Municipal Auditorium (nicknamed the Dog's House, where JYD never lost a match) as people of all ethnicities filled the seats each week to cheer on the Dog.

For Sylvester Ritter, fame came with a cost. His weight ballooned, diminishing his physical capabilities while he spiraled into cocaine addiction. After Ritter left Mid-South for the WWF, Watts spent years trying (unsuccessfully) to recreate the lightning-in-the-bottle moment JYD had brought to New Orleans. Watts and Ritter died having never again achieved the success they had together.

Greg Klein's well-written and extensively researched biography of Ritter explores his time in Mid-South Wrestling and the racial turmoil brewing throughout New Orleans. This unlikely yet combustible combination led to an incredible surge in wrestling's popularity for a region that had long been considered barren. It's the story of how one man can unite the masses by giving them a hero to cheer -- even briefly.

The King of New Orleans is a must-read for any professional wrestling fan.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Junkyard Dog was a dynamic figure on the wrestling scene in the 1980s. His charisma helped win over the city of New Orleans and put the city at the top of the wrestling world. He was also the first black wrestler to break through the still prevalent racial barrier and reign as champion. Outside the ring, Sylvester Ritter struggled with drug abuse and personal turmoil. The demands of the job meant he was on the road more than at home, alienating him from his family. As the Junkyard Dog’s wrestling career came to a premature end brought about by drugs, weight gain and waning popularity, so did Ritter’s life. He died in a car accident in 1995 at the age of 45. Despite the titles, years of popularity, and advances in civil rights (as far as wrestling is concerned) his legacy in the sport is minimal.

Read my complete review at TheCelebrityCafe.com

[Donald Armfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched a lot of wrestling when I was younger. (8-13) Kinda grew out of it I guess. Nowadays I can't really watch because of all the yapping. I remember Junk Yard Dog can't say he was one of my favorites but was pleased to read the book. My favorites was Legion of Doom, Shawn Michaels, Demolition and many others.

In this book you read about JYD beginning years in wrestling a little of his background as a person. Many different references towards other wrestlers, promoters and owners. A few pictures would of liked to see more. JYD will always be a memory to me.

A great book to read for wrestling fans of 80's and 90's.

[boofykins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than being a full-on biography of Sylvester Ritter, aka Junkyard Dog, this book more or less serves as a history of Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling and JYD is the main character. Despite a few redundancies here and there, author Greg Klein makes a great effort at presenting the information as factual as possible and avoids kayfabing the reader.

I need to mention, however, that there is a bit of misinformation on page 154. Junkyard Dog did in fact make a return to WCW in 1992. He made a surprise appearance at SuperBrawl II in Milwaukee, WI. I witnessed it as an 11 year old in crowd wearing some very cool surfer Sting makeup. I cross-referenced on wrestlingdata dot com and sure enough, JYD had a pretty unremarkable but completely existent six month run in WCW in 1992 working a mostly tag matches, partnering with Ron Simmons, Barry Windham, or Big Josh (Matt Osborne) and a smattering of singles matches against Cactus Jack and Richard Morton.

I’m sure this was just an oversight or maybe someone kayfabed Mr. Klein with some false information, but it was just a bizarre aspect of the book to me. Other than that, it was an excellent read!

[Jim Rugg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like a biography of Junkyard Dog, the character, more so than Sylvester Ritter, the person. It's not kayfabe but it focuses squarely on the wrestling business, especially Mid South and promoter Bill Watts. Fortunately, Mid South and Bill Watts are both fascinating, vital pieces of pro wrestling history. Easy read and covers history that is often referenced by Jim Ross (who worked Mid South under Bill Watts before moving onto WCW and WWE) and also Jim Cornette (who managed the Midnight Express in hot programs with the Rock N' Roll Express in Mid South).

Junkyard Dog's career occurs at an exciting time when WWF was making its move from Northeast territory (WWWF) to national promotion. So we get a glimpse of McMahaon's vision with Rock N Wrestling on MTV and the rise of Wrestlemania and sports entertainment. The primary focus concerns Mid South and New Orleans.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of JY's career and (to an extent) his cultural significance in and around New Orleans, marred by some sloppy copyediting and repetitive writing. A fair amount of padding here too, like the final chapter about the various Halls of Fame and JYD's membership or (mostly) not. I read the Kindle version so can't speak to the print version, but my edition didn't have an index or footnotes, so this is a popular, not academic bio. I learned quite a bit about Mid South Wrestling, wrestling in New Orleans, and the career of Bill Watts, so I'm still glad I read it. The discussion of Watts' attempts to find "the next Black superstar" after JYD is also interesting.

[Troy Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A misleading title and cover picture. Maybe call it Bill Watts and the Rise of Mid-South Wrestling. It’s a really good history of that territory mixed with others of the same era. But while JYD’s name is used throughout to try to keep the narrative together, it is not the biography of Sylvester Ritter/Junkyard Dog that the cover implies.

A decent read that gave a lot of interesting information on 70’s and 80’s wrestling. But I was expecting the book to be way more than 25% JYD and 75% everything else.

Because of that I should only give it 2 stars, but it gets one more for all the other interesting wrestling info that I did walk away with.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Mid-South Wrestling from the late 70s to mid 80s, this book is a must read. Obviously any JYD fans will want to read this. The book brought back fond memories of great storylines and wrestlers from Mid-South and backstage goings on. The book appears to be well written and well researched. It seemed to me there were a few details off on some of the angles, but that may be because of things I saw or remember from Arkansas matches which might not have happened in other Mid South towns. At any rate, if you're a Mid South or JYD fan, you will love this book.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s some good history here but not much of it is truly a history of Junkyard Dog. There’s some good context about New Orleans race relations and Mid-South Wrestling, but when it comes to the main subject of the book, the Sylvester Ritter biography seems to be mostly cataloguing a few famous feuds, and then reprinting things Dave Meltzer or Bill Watts wrote about Ritter’s personal life. It seems like there was a missed opportunity there to track down more people who knew him and add new details about his life from original interviews.

[Scott Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining and informational book that was as much about the Mid-South Wrestling promotion as it was the Junkyard Dog. Still, I learned several things about JYD-- who was one of my first favorite professional wrestlers. This book was very well researched. I'd definitely recommend it to those who were fans of wrestling in the 1980s.

[Randall J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of JYD's importance to Mid-South Wrestling and his significance to the business in general. Some great background on New Orleans that provides context. Occasionally substitutes solid research for garbage takes from the internet. Also gets a few things flat out wrong. This unfortunately mars the book.

[Dom Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book barely covered Junkyard Dog, he's barely mentioned, it's mainly about Bill Watts and the Mid-South Territory. I was on the 2nd to last chapter when I found out JYD was. Political Science major and they only mentioned it in one quick sentence. Wished It was more about JYD

[Jimbritt75 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story boringly told.

[David Brimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars: Interesting history of Mid-South and JYD’s involvement in it.

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The King of New Orleans” takes a deep dive into the life and career of Sylvester Ritter, the Junkyard Dog. This biography focused on his influence on the Mid-South Wrestling territory and specifically New Orleans. What was strange was that his popularity was seemingly in explicable. Although the significance of a black champion in the south was part of the reason, the author clearly paints the picture of a performer who really had to be protected by others and carried in the ring. The dynamic of his career was clear and the fall from grace was quick and hard. A solid look into the territory system and a truly regional star.

[Michael Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've said before that Professional Wrestling is a fascinating topic that deserves more study than it gets. Here is an example of using the lens of pro wrestling to discuss race in the deep south in the late 70s. In particular, it chronicles the career of the remarkable Sylvester Ritter, a.k.a The Junkyard Dog. His immense popularity in the very southern Mid-South territory was obviously a result of JYD's charisma, but it provides a an alternate means of viewing racial fault lines in America. Along the way, Klein gives an account of the history of Mid-South Wrestling and its promoter "Cowboy" Bill Watts (and makes me wish that I had seen JYD during his run there, rather than the depressing, addicted, wreck that showed up in the WWF a few years later), a rundown of major black wrestlers of the 70s and 80s (I am particularly interested in the career of "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, not only one of the most important black bookers in the business but also one of the few black wrestlers ballsy enough to work heel in the deep south) and some pretty depressing stuff about addiction ("no respecter of talent") and it's toll on the wrestling community. All of this is woven into a very readable account and peppered with great oral histories of JYD fans. Great for anybody interested in the social implications of pro wrestling, which may just be me.

[Al Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book encompasses more than just the life of Sylvester Ritter, aka Junkyard Dog, giving his life context as it explores the history of race in professional wrestling, racial tensions in New Orleans, Mid-South Wrestling and its booker Bill Watts, and the death of the territorial system of professional wrestling as Junkyard Dog moves from Mid-South to the WWE (then WWF) and participates in the first WrestleMania. It follows his fall from grace as best as it can.

With a man like Sylvester Ritter, it's difficult to truly know him without hearing it from his own words. So the book proceeds as mythmaking, but a specific kind of mythmaking. It doesn't turn his life into myth, because it already was. It tries to reintroduce that myth into our lives and the city of New Orleans so that it's not forgotten. Part of the importance of the myth is undoubtedly the importance to black history. As a biography, it could only be weak, as there is so much to Sylvester Ritter the man that is undocumented. But as myth reintroduction, this is a great text. It's a must read for any wrestling fan and should be incredibly interesting for even non-wrestling fans.

[Howard Lubinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a book standpoint, this might as well have been the JYD/Bill Watts story. Far too much is written about why the book was written. However, the story is interesting learning more about JYD and his impact on the community of New Orleans. So, if you are into JYD, might be worth checking out.

I listened to it as an audiobook and I have to say J D Jackson overall gave a good performance. My one criticism is that he mispronounced several of the names in the book.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good enough account of JYD's rise to fame in New Orleans, but Greg Klein appears to run out of steam after 80 pages or so. If you're pressed for time, skip this, buy the Mid South collection released on Blu-Ray by WWE, and cut to the part where JYD is feuding Butch Reed: that stuff is electric, even thirty years later.

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on GoodReads First Reads. I was just telling my son about Junkyard Dog when I saw the chance to win this book on First Reads I was so excited when I won it. I went through the book with my son telling him about Junkyard Dog and how great he was.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for anyone who grew up with mid south wrestling in the late 70's early 80's. Great nostalgia! Much love for The big Thump! RIP JYD