Jeff Van Camp Sr. (born April 3, 1962) is an American police officer and retired

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 or ...

. He is best known for his appearances with the

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...

and

Southeast Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

in the mid-1980s under his real name and the

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 projectin ...

Lord Humongous Lord Humongous is a professional wrestling character also known as a "gimmick" that was originally introduced in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in 1984. The character was based on a gang leader called "the Humungus" or at times ...

Early life

Van Camp attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

, studying

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. He played

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

in 1980 and 1981. His football career ended after he suffered a knee injury. During his football career, Van Camp worked part-time as a security guard at the

Louisville Gardens Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory. It celebrated its 100th anniversary as former city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years ...

. During a show by the

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

Continental Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

, his large frame impressed several of the wrestlers, and promoter

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 ...

invited him to come to the

Mid-South Coliseum Mid-South Coliseum is an indoor arena in Memphis, Tennessee. The facility was opened in 1964, and became known “The Entertainment Capitol of the Mid-South” due its significance in hosting events such as concerts, sports games and professi ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

, to train as a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Van Camp was trained to wrestle by Lawler, making his debut for Continental Championship Wrestling in 1983. In 1984, Van Camp joined the Indianapolis-based

. On January 7, 1984, Van Camp and

Dick the Bruiser William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and former NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Pac ...

defeated Abdullah the Great and

Jerry Valiant John Steele Hill (July 8, 1941 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known under the ring names Guy Mitchell, The Stomper and "Gentleman" Jerry Valiant. During his career, he held the top singles titles in Australia and V ...

to win the

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based ...

. The duo held the championship until September of that year where they were defeated by the Wild Warriors (

Mad Maxx John Richmond (born 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Eli the Eliminator. Richmond competed in North American regional promotions during the 1980s in Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation an ...

and

Super Maxx Samuel DeCero (born c. 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler, manager, trainer, and promoter, better known by his ring name, Super Maxx. He was one-half of the Maxx Brothers, also known as the Wild or World Warriors, with Mad Maxx wh ...

). In late 1984, Van Camp moved on to a wrestling promotion closer to his home in Florida as he began working for

(SECW) out of Alabama. In SECW he was given a new ring character,

, a menacing masked wrestler inspired by an evil gang leader in the 1981 movie '' Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior''. He was brought in by SECW's main bad guy Ron Fuller to target the promotions top good guys. His first storyline feud saw him win the

NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship The NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship was created in October, 1962. Since its creation, the championship has been defended in a number of NWA territories throughout the decades. Initially, the title was a part of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestl ...

from

Porkchop Cash Bobby Cash (born October 22, 1947) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He competed primarily in promotions operated by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), like the Continental Wrestling Association and Georgia Championship Wrest ...

in September, 1984 only weeks after starting with the promotion. He would hold on to the title into 1985 where he would lose it to and then regain it from Johnny Rich as part of an ongoing storyline. On March 4, 1985

Austin Idol Michael McCord (born October 26, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Austin Idol. He is best known for his appearances in the Mid-South with the Continental Wrestling Association, in particular his re ...

ended Lord Humongous' second run with the championship. Once Lord Humongous regained the title on April 6, 1985, he became involved in a storyline where Ron Fuller started to feel remorse over the Humongous' actions. This led to Humongous turning

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

(wrestling term for those that portray the "good guys") and started to fight against Lord Humongous. Fuller ended Humongous' third and final fall on June 17, 1985. Following that he moved onto a storyline feud with The Flame, from whom he won the

NWA Southeast Continental Heavyweight Championship The NWA Continental Heavyweight Championship was a major title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Alabama territory called Southeastern Championship Wrestling. It existed from 1984 until 1988 when SECW became the Continental Wrestling Federati ...

in July 1985, only to lose it back to the Flame a few weeks later. Van Camp's final match took place on August 3, 1985, when The Flame defeated him in a

loser leaves town match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, with Van Camp retiring thereafter to start a family with his wife.

Policing career

Van Camp Sr. began working for the

Pensacola Police Department The Pensacola Police Department (or PPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for Pensacola, Florida in the United States. History Early history The department was founded on July 19, 1821, by Gen. Andrew Jackson, who had appointed city co ...

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

, in 1986. In 1989 he became deputy sheriff for the

Escambia County Sheriff's Office The Escambia County Sheriff's Office (ECSO) or Escambia Sheriff's Office (ESO) is the primary law enforcement agency of unincorporated Escambia County and the town of Century. ECSO is headed by a sheriff, who serves a four-year term and is elect ...

Escambia County, Florida Escambia County is the westernmost and oldest county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is in the state's northwestern corner. At the 2020 census, the population was 321,905. Its county seat and largest city is Pensacola. Escambia County is incl ...

. During his tenure with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office he served as vice president of the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers in 1998 and president from 2004 to 2006. he authored the Florida Crime Stoppers Act - an act imposing a surcharge on criminal fines to provide funding for the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers - which was passed by the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

in 1998, making Van Camp Sr. one of a small number of serving police officers to successfully draft new legislation. In 1996, Van Camp Sr. created and went on to appear in ''Wanted Fugitives'', a show airing on

Blab Television Blab TV is a local television channel in Pensacola, Florida, United States. It airs local programming as well as locally produced infomercials for businesses in the Florida Panhandle. Blab TV programming airs on local cable systems and on WPAN ( ...

modeled after ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American Television show, television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alter ...

'' that resulted in over 4,000 arrests. Van Camp Sr. left the Escambia County Sheriff's Office in 2012. He worked as a police officer for the Okaloosa County Airport Police Department in

Okaloosa County, Florida Okaloosa County is located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview. Okaloosa County ...

, before joining the Ocean Ridge Police Department in

Ocean Ridge, Florida Ocean Ridge is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,786 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,956. It is part of the Miami Metropolitan Area. Geography Ocean Ri ...

, in 2015.

Personal life

Van Camp Sr. has two children,

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

and Brandon, both of whom have had successful football careers at the collegiate level. Van Camp Sr. made an unsuccessful bid for Sheriff of neighboring

Santa Rosa County Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities within ...

in 2007.

Championships and accomplishments

* South East Championship Wrestling / Continental Championship Wrestling **

( 3 times) **

( 1 time) *

( 1 time) – with

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Camp, Jeff Sr. 1962 births American male professional wrestlers American police officers Living people Louisville Cardinals football players Masked wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Indiana Troy University alumni University of Louisville alumni