10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (June 4)
5. The Junkyard Dog Was The First African-American Wrestler To Have His Own Action Figure
Starting his career for various territories in Tennessee and Canada (including Stampede Wrestling), Sylvester Ritter moved to Mid-South Wrestling in the early-1980's. It was there that Bill Watts handed him the name of The Junkyard Dog, transforming the charismatic performer into one of the most popular in the promotion. Meanwhile, Vince McMahon was watching.
Joining the then-WWF in 1984, JYD retained his popularity, but would never actually win a title in the company. He did win the ill-fated Wrestling Classic tournament in 1985, but failed to crack the main event scene regularly. According to Jim Ross, he had another first to shout about anyway.
Ritter was the first African-American to have his own action figure manufactured. The toy would prove to be ground-breaking, because no other black wrestler in the industry had received such an honour.
That was a testament to JYD's kinship with fans, even in the WWF. Ross did say not to quote him on this fact, but that he's sure it's true. For The Junkyard Dog, cementing his legacy in plastic would have been thrilling, breaking ground for other African-American wrestlers to follow.