Hard Boiled Haggerty

This week's column is dedicated to the memory of Don "Hardboiled" Haggerty. He was a no-nonsense type of guy that was a constant main event competitor and became a household name in the old AWA territory.

He was born Don Stansauk in 1926 and attended Denver University, where he became a huge wrestling fan. He was drafted in 1950 by the Detroit Lions and, a year later, was sold to the Green Bay Packers because of his more than rough style of football playing.

It was during the offseason of 1951 that Don took to the rings as a full-fledged wrestler. His actions in the ring and the riots that he caused by badgering fans at ringside became a trademark of his for nearly 35 years.

Haggerty had many feuds with guys like Verne Gagne, Adrian Baillargeon, George and Sandy Scott, John Paul Henning, Johnny Foti, Fritz von Erich and Karl von Schober. He also wrestled against The Mighty Ursus (Jess Ortega), Roy Heffernan, Al and John Smith and Wilbur Snyder.

Some of the largest gates were drawn against Reggie Lisowski, Whipper Watson and Yvon Robert, as these men were the top in their profession. Many times Haggerty, would team up with guys like Bob Geigel, Stan Kowalski, Tiny Mills, Kinji Shibuya, Len Montana and Gene Kiniski.

Following a fantastic wrestling career, Don headed back to California and began another successful career in the film industry. In 1968, he was in a movie called "P.J." and, the following year, was in "Paint Your Wagon" with Lee Marvin. He also starred in “The Muppet Movie” and “Dirty Harry.” He continued to crank out at least one movie a year and, in 1977, was included in "Walking Tall, The Final Chapter". His career lasted until 1987, when he made his final movie, "The Million Dollar Mystery."

Haggerty made many promos for television following his movie days and kept busy until 2003, when he was involved in a tragic auto accident that broke his neck and several ribs.

Don was very active in the Cauliflower Alley Club from it's inception in California by Mike Mazurki in 1965. In 2001, at the age of 76, he was awarded the Iron Mike award by the Club. In his acceptance speech, he said … "We all have memories, and this is something that you cannot buy because everybody who comes to the Cauliflower Alley is a rich man. They're all rich in the fact that memories you cannot buy. I'm having the greatest time seeing my old friends. This is the greatest."

He also mentioned that night during the speech that he would have to be called "Soft Boiled" from now on as he shed a tear and grinned from ear to ear. It was a sight that all in the room applauded him for.

Red Bastein, former president of the Cauliflower Alley Club, said that Haggerty was one of the few wrestlers who could really say that they succeeded in Hollywood. "It's not always easy to make a dent in entertainment or wrestling because of all the competition out there. HB not only made a dent, he kicked the door down! He was his own man, and he did things the way he wanted to. I'm surprised he didn't get sued for some of his behavior, but that was just the charm of HB. I really liked him tremendously."

Don passed away on January 28, 2004, just a couple of months before I was given my place in the honor circle of the Cauliflower Alley Club on April 17, 2004.

In a phone conversation with him just a few weeks before his passing, he expressed a wanting to come to Las Vegas and be with his friends, but he never got that chance. He was called to that big ring in the sky.

Thank you for the opportunity to be friends with you Don; my life was made better by knowing you.

R.I.P. my friend.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree