Henry Faggart (June 26, 1930 – June 24, 2013) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

Jackie Fargo. He competed in Southeastern regional promotions and the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. A mainstay of

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s ...

(later the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually re ...

), he served as a mentor to Jerry "The King" Lawler and The Fabulous Ones, among other wrestlers in the Memphis area. He was known for his blonde hair and "Fargo Strut" mannerism, having held 45 tag team championships throughout his career, with the likes of Don Fargo, Sonny "Roughhouse" Fargo, amongst others.

Professional wrestling career

Fargo's first experience with

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

was as a teenager at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Goldsboro, North Carolina Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropol ...

; after he took part in the state championships, a local promoter suggested that Fargo could earn more money by switching to professional wrestling. Fargo was trained at th
Quonset Auditorium
in Bowling Green, Kentucky by Joe and Kenny Marshall, and first wrestled under the name "Wild Man Fargo". Fargo started his professional wrestling career around 1950 for Johnny Long in Atlanta. In 1952, Fargo wrestled in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

before serving in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. Fargo was a very successful tag team wrestler, having held tag team championships 45 times throughout his career. He formed a famous tag team with Don Fargo (real name Don Kalt) as the Fabulous Fargos; together they won the NWA World Tag Team titles in 1958 and dominated the National Wrestling Alliance during the late 1950s. Jackie and Don Fargo's match against

Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class ...

and Miguel Pérez was witnessed by a record-breaking 20,125 people at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

on March 30, 1957. Upon ceasing his tag team with Don Fargo, Jackie Fargo formed another tag team with his real-life brother,

Sonny Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

, also known in the ring as Roughhouse; this team also enjoyed success.

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

credits Fargo with popularising wild brawls and the use of tables and chairs in wrestling in the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

area, which he sees as one of the origins of the later 'hardcore' wrestling style. During the 1960s, Fargo won the NWA Georgia Tag Team title with Joe Fargo and Mario Milano as well as enjoying numerous title reigns capturing the

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship is any of a group of professional wrestling tag team championship titles in the National Wrestling Alliance. Specific titles include: * The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version) * The NWA South ...

with Don Fargo, Lester Welch, Tex Riley,

Mario Milano Mario Bulfone (15 May 1935 – 9 December 2016), better known by his ring name Mario Milano, was a professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Mexi ...

, Sonny Fargo,

Len Rossi Rinaldo Leonard Rositani (September 24, 1929 – October 9, 2020), known professionally as Len Rossi, was an American professional wrestler who competed throughout the National Wrestling Alliance from 1958–1972. A 14-time NWA World Tag Team ...

, Dennis Hall, Jerry Jarrett, Mr. Wrestling and the legendary Lou Thesz. Fargo was the originator of the "Fargo Strut". This charismatic walk in the ring has been copied by other professional wrestlers including Jerry Lawler, Jeff Jarrett and the Fabulous Ones. Although fellow wrestler Buddy Rogers also had a distinctive strut, Fargo claimed that he had never seen Rogers. A longtime mentor to many younger wrestlers in the Memphis area, he later became involved in a feud with former protégé Jerry Lawler who defeated Fargo in a handicap match with Jim White for the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship on March 28, 1973. Fargo later teamed with George Gulas and Tojo Yamamoto to capture the

NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-America Tag Team championship was a tag team title promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion NWA Mid-America that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, United States, from the 1940s until ...

title several times during the early 1970s, becoming the first NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions along with Gulas and Dennis Hall in November 1973. In 1972, Fargo had a notorious feud with Al Greene, who once during the feud shaved off Fargo's blonde hair. Although retiring in 1980, he joined Jerry Jarrett's

to help The Fabulous Ones ( Stan Lane and

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as w ...

) in their feud against The Moondogs before their departure in 1984 and retired shortly thereafter. On June 19, 2002, Fargo appeared on the first NWA-TNA Weekly pay per view along with other NWA legends. Fargo's last matches saw him wrestle both in 2004 and later 2006, at the age of 76.

Personal life

Fargo was hospitalized with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

in both lungs in December 2011. Fargo died on June 24, 2013, after being hospitalized for a week for congestive heart failure. Fargo was survived by three daughters, one grandson, two granddaughters and two great-grandchildren.

Championships and accomplishments

* Atlantic Athletic Commission / Big Time Wrestling ** AAC/BTW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **BTW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Don Fargo and

Sonny Fargo Jack Lewis Faggart (July 20, 1928 – August 20, 2008) was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling referee, better known by the ring name Sonny "Roughhouse" Fargo. He is best known for his appearances with NWA Mid-America in t ...

* Georgia Championship Wrestling ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' ( 1 time) – with Don Fargo * Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling **

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Gulf Coast Version) The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with Joey Fargo (1) and Jack Donovan (1) *

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemora ...

(Class of 2013) * NWA Chicago ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Chicago version)'' ( 1 time) – with Don Fargo * NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association **

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ...

( 1 time) – with Randy Fargo ** NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) **

( 5 times) – with Tojo Yamamoto (2) and George Gulas (3) ** NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship (

) – with George Gulas and Dennis Hall **

NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers, board-controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance since December 1949. It originally was used by various promotions across the Southea ...

( 5 times) ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 22 times) – with Don Fargo (2), Lester Welch (3), Tex Riley (1), Mario Milano (2),

(3), Len Rossi (2), Lou Thesz (1), Dennis Hall (1), Jerry Jarrett (4), Don Greene (2), and Randy Fargo (1) **

NWA United States Tag Team Championship The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used for several secondary tag team championship used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1958. There are eleven different versions of the NWA United States Tag Team Champ ...

(''Mid-America version'') ( 3 times) – with George Gulas (1), Don Carson (1),

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...

(1) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 15 times) – with Don Fargo (9), Joe Fargo (1),

(1), Len Rossi (1) Herb Welch (1), Robert Fuller (1), and Jerry Jarrett (1) * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2014 *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

** Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ( Class of 1996)

References

External links

*
Online World of Wrestling profilerovers-wrestlers-and-stars-the-quonset-auditorium-in-post-world-war-ii-kentucky
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fargo, Jackie American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from North Carolina Professional wrestling trainers 1930 births 2013 deaths People from Concord, North Carolina Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum 20th-century professional wrestlers