Don Stansauk (April 2, 1925 – January 27, 2004)[1][2] was an American professional wrestler and actor, known by his ring name, Hard Boiled Haggerty. He was previously a professional American football player, and he became a successful character actor after his wrestling career.
As a wrestler, he made his wrestling debut under his real name in Green Bay, Wisconsin.[4] From there, he moved to Chicago, where he was given the ring name Don Sparrow by promoter Karl Pojello, who thought that Stansauk "moved like a bird".[4] He was later given the name "Hard Boiled Haggerty" by promoter Wally Karbo while wrestling in Minneapolis.[3][4] Haggerty wrestled as a heel and was hated by the crowds because he portrayed an arrogant character.[4]
In 1956, Haggerty wrestled in Canada, winning the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship while competing for Maple Leaf Wrestling. Later that year, he won his first singles title while wrestling for the International Wrestling Association in Montreal. He won the IWA World Heavyweight Championship on October 3, 1956, defeating Killer Kowalski for the belt.[12] He held the title for less than a month, losing it back to Kowalski in a rematch.[12]
Back in the United States, Haggerty formed a tag team with Kinji Shibuya in NWA Minneapolis. They won the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship on April 22, 1958.[13] They held the title for only a day, however, before it was returned to the previous champions because of concerns regarding the referee for the title match.[13] Haggerty's next stop was Hawaii, where he won the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship while teaming with Bill Savage.[14] They lost the belts to Lord James Blears and Herb Freeman, but Haggerty teamed with Butcher Vachon to regain the championship.[14]
During the 1960s, Haggerty wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and won several titles. From 1960 to 1961, he held the AWA World Tag Team Championship with three different partners.[15] During his first reign, his partner, Len Montana broke his leg. As a result, Haggerty chose Gene Kiniski as his new partner.[15] Shortly after he began teaming with Kiniski, Haggerty challenged his partner for the AWA United States Heavyweight Championship and took the belt from Kiniski.[16] Haggerty and Kiniski continued to wrestle as a team, and they held the belts together twice. The team split up, however, on August 8, 1961, after Haggerty's interference accidentally cost Kiniski a match against Verne Gagne.[15] The team vacated the championship, and a singles match between the two was scheduled to determine the fate of the title.[15] Haggerty and Kiniski wrestled a singles match. Haggerty won the match and the belts, and he chose Bob Geigel as his new partner.[15]
The following year saw Haggerty wrestling for the NWA once more. Haggerty teamed up with Kiniski again to win the Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship.[17] They won the belts twice and, during their second reign, held the title until it was retired by the promotion.[17]
He was a highly respected member of the Cauliflower Alley Club and earned one of their highest honors in 1993, the Iron Mike Mazurki Award.[2]
While living at Pacific Palisades, Don Haggerty (as he was then known) was an ardent member of Elysium Institute in Topanga, he had a great sense of humor, and was admired by all.
^Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 275–276. ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
External links
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