James Harold Fanning (born August 6, 1942) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

"Handsome" Jimmy Valiant.

Early life

Fanning was born in

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma microp ...

as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fanning.

Professional wrestling career

Fanning started wrestling in 1964 as "Big Jim Vallen". He went to the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

in the 1970s as "Handsome Jimmy Valiant" and formed a team with

Johnny Valiant John L. Sullivan (born Thomas Sullivan; November 25, 1946 – April 4, 2018) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Johnny Valiant. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which ...

that would dominate the tag team scene for a while as WWWF Tag Team champions. In the later 1960s in the

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, 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 ...

, they were managed by

Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, color commentator, and wrestler. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the Wo ...

. Valiant had entered the WWWF in 1971 as a babyface, originally known as "Gentleman Jim Valiant," but quickly switched to heel. He had title matches against champion

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federati ...

in secondary arenas, such as Philadelphia, and feuded with short-term tag partner

Chief Jay Strongbow Luke Joseph Scarpa (October 4, 1928 – April 3, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer who was best known by the ring name Chief Jay Strongbow. Much like his contemporary Wahoo McDaniel, he portrayed a Native Americ ...

. Jimmy and his kayfabe brother

held the tag belts from 1974 to 1975 and main evented Madison Square Garden against Chief Jay Strongbow and

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

(Strongbow and Sammartino won 2 out of 3 falls, but one fall via disqualification; hence the belts didn't change hands). During the late 1970s to early 1980s, Valiant was a central player in the

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

wrestling scene. He feuded regularly with

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

and teamed with

Bill Dundee William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is an Australian retired professional wrestler and author better known by his ring name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and was the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton. Ca ...

to dominate the tag team matches of that time. He even recorded a song, "The Ballad of Handsome Jimmy", which was used in wrestling arenas as his entry music and became a mainstay on some Memphis radio stations for a few years. Despite the Memphis promotion desperately wanting to keep him in Memphis full-time, even offering to buy him a house in Memphis according to Jerry Lawler's biography, Valiant decided to move on after holding the

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started wh ...

for roughly a year. Valiant also spent a brief amount of time in

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

in the late 1970s as the heel "King James Valiant" managed by

Lord Alfred Hayes Alfred George James Hayes (8 August 1928 – 21 July 2005) was an English professional wrestler, manager and commentator, best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation between 1982 and 1995 where he wa ...

. In 1979, Jimmy returned to the WWWF with Johnny occasionally wrestling and went into the manager role. He managed Johnny 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 Va ...

as they won the tag belts. In the early 1980s, Valiant returned as a babyface to

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

as "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant and called his fans "the Street People". His theme music around this time was "Boy From New York City", by

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

. While in Jim Crockett Promotions, he would sometimes appear in a black bandit-style mask and call himself "Charlie Brown from Outta Town". This usually occurred when Valiant was (in

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

) banned from wrestling. Charlie Brown was billed as someone other than Valiant, despite "Brown" having Valiant's legendarily prodigious beard. January 1984, Valiant was attacked by Paul Jones and The Assassins. They tied him to the wrestling ring ropes so that Jones could cut his beard off. This led to a grudge match with hyped supershow called 'Boogie Man Jam '84' in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. For this match, Dusty Rhodes was in Valiant's corner and tied by a rope to Paul Jones. Valiant defeated Assassin II, who was unmasked and revealed as

Hercules Hernandez Raymond Constantine Fernandez Jr. (May 7, 1956 – March 6, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hercules Hernandez, or simply Hercules. Fernandez began his career in 1979, primarily w ...

. Due to the beard cutting attack, he feuded heavily with Paul Jones and his army of wrestlers, from 1984 through to late 1986. This army of wrestlers included The Barbarian,

Baron von Raschke James Donald Raschke (born October 17, 1940) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Baron von Raschke. Early life Raschke was a three-year letterman with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cor ...

Teijo Khan Thomas Leroy Kasat (March 24, 1956 – April 10, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Teijo Khan/Teijho Khan. As Khan, Kasat portrayed an Asian savage despite being Caucasian. He worked as part of Paul Jone ...

, and The Assassins. During this three-year feud, Valiant received help from

Héctor Guerrero Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes (born October 1, 1954) is a Mexican American former Commentator (professional wrestling), commentator and professional wrestler. He is a part of professional wrestling's Guerrero family along with his father Gor ...

and "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez. Although Jimmy Valiant would lose a Loser Leaves Town Tuxedo Street Fight to Paul Jones at

Starrcade 1984 Starrcade '84: The Million Dollar Challenge was the second annual Starrcade professional wrestling closed-circuit television event that was produced by Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took plac ...

the feud with many from the Paul Jones stable continued, which would come to include

Abdullah The Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...

. In 1985, Valiant and Ragin' Bull Manny Fernandez formed a team called ''B and B Connection'' ("Boogie Woogie" and "Bull"). During The Great American Bash 1986 summer shows, Paul Jones adopted a military style look in his long feud with Valiant and labeled his stable of wrestlers ''The Army''. Valiant would beat Shaska Whatley in a hair vs hair match, but with outside interference lost a hair vs hair match to Paul Jones only weeks later. In the fall of 1986, the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez, Valiant's best friend accepted Jones' money and turned on Valiant, starting a feud between the two. Paul Jones at this point shortened his army to his newly acquired tag team of Ragin Bull and Rick Rude. The war between Valiant and Paul Jones climaxed at

Starrcade 1986 Starrcade '86: Night of the Skywalkers was the fourth annual Starrcade professional wrestling closed-circuit television event, produced by Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on November ...

with Valiant putting up the hair of his valet Big Mama against the hair of Paul Jones in a No DQ Match which Valiant won (while the Ragin Bull was placed in a cage above the ring). In the late 1980s, he teamed with Hector Guerrero (then masked as Laser Tron) and

Bugsy McGraw Michael Davis (born November 1, 1944), best known by the ring names Bugsy McGraw and The Skull, is an American retired professional wrestler. McGraw is known for his long beard and for his philosophical, crazed rants during wrestling interviews. ...

and feuded with The New Breed. When Jim Crockett Promotions became

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

, Valiant left and returned to Memphis to wrestle in the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...

. In 1990 he twice won the

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship The USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship formed in 1988, which consisted of the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship from World Class Championship Wrestling and the AWA World Heavy ...

from Jerry Lawler, losing it back to him both times. His last match was for WrestlePro in Rahway, New Jersey, where he teamed with Buster Jackson to defeat the team of Colt Cabana and CPA on February 8, 2020. He now enjoys his time with his wife Angel and training wrestlers at Boogie's Wrestling Camp located in

Shawsville, Virginia Shawsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,310 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Blacksburg, Virginia, Blacksburg–Christiansburg, Virgi ...

. Jimmy currently wrestles under the ACW Banner (American Championship Wrestling) around the Roanoke Virginia Area. He has also recently wrestled with

George South George South (born September 7, 1962) is an American professional wrestler. In the course of his career, South has wrestled for professional wrestling promotions such as Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestl ...

, Stan Lee and

Ricky Morton Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. For most of his career, Morton has performed with Robert Gibson (wrestler), Robert Gibson as the Rock 'n' Roll ...

in ASW Wrestling and New OCW in Ashland, KY with Matty B and Violet Rayne against Beau and Misty James and Scotty Ace. Valiant remains in the wrestling world today with continuing to appear at independent shows signing autographs while his students appear in a few matches on the card. He keeps in touch with fans through his official Weekly website. Most recently, Valiant lent his name to a foreword for a fiction novel called "Only The Beginning". It is a book set in the 1980s about a girl's life during high school. While the book is not wrestling related, the author Jason Strecker is a personal friend of Valiant's and in the forward Valiant responds to his friendship with the author along with the book's message of being of strong character and doing positive actions for others. The book also has a foreword by

Nikolai Volkoff Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-Americans, Croatian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler from Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, ...

. On May 14, 2022, Valiant came out of retirement at 79 years old winning a 6-man tag team match at Patriotic Wrestling Federation in York, South Carolina. Valiant debuted for Beside the Ring Wrestling in Mountain City on August 31, 2024. After unveiling the inaugural Beside the Ring Championship, Valiant excited the crowd before being interrupted by Evan Golden.

Personal life

Fanning married Clara, with whom he fathered three children: Robin, Rhonda, and Dana. Rhonda died in 2016. With Monika, he has his first son Todd. With Felicia, he has his youngest son Handsome. He is now married to Angel. He has six grandchildren: Lonna, Jenae, Beau, Chassie, Clarissa and Delilah.

Bibliography

* ''"Woo...Mercy Daddy!" Welcome to My World: The Jimmy Valiant Story'' (2005)

Championships and accomplishments

**AAW Heavyweight Championship (5 times) *All Pro Wrestling **APW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Allied Independent Wrestling Federations **AIWF Hall Of Fame (Class Of 2016) **AIWF Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rob Mcbride http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/nc/aiwf/aiwf-ma-t.html *American Championship Wrestling **ACW Universal Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Ross * Big Time Wrestling ''(San Francisco)'' ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' ( 1 time) – with Johnny Valiant *Capital City Wrestling Alliance CCWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Keith Ashley *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

**Other honoree (

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

) *Championship Pro Wrestling **CPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

( 1 time) – with

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) – with Johnny Valiant *

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was r ...

( 1 time) – with Johnny Valiant *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name of a Canadian professional wrestling promotion owned by Frank Tunney and based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. Founded in 1930, Maple Leaf was a territory of the National Wrestli ...

**NWA Television Championship (Toronto version) (2 times) *

Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame The Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame was a professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the United States Wrestling Association. The induction ceremony for the Class of 1994, the inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, took place at the USWA' ...

**Class of 2024 *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

NWA Television Championship The WCW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship owned by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion. The title was introduced on February 27, 1974 in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestli ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) *

**NWA Legends Hall of Heroes (2016) * North American Wrestling Alliance **NAWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NAWA Tag Team Championship , 1 time) – with Hangman Bruce Pobanz *

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestlin ...

**Class of 2018 * Northern Wrestling Federation **NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association **

( 5 times) **

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 ince ...

( 1 time) – with

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Tel ...

CWA Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1988 through 1990, when it was abandoned and replaced with the United States Wrestling Association Ta ...

( 3 times) – with

(2) and Don Carson (1) **

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship The NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that was originally defended in the United States of Tennessee and Alabama. The current champion is Jeremiah Plunkett. History In 1957 "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers be ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Memphis version)'' ( 1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **

PWI Tag Team of the Year This is a list of both active and inactive ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' awards which are voted on by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') readers every year from 1972 onwards, expanding to more categories in later years. Unlike other wrestling ...

award in 1974 – with

**PWI ranked him # 274 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. *

Southern Championship Wrestling Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Southeastern United States, especially in eastern and central North Carolina, from November 1994 to November 2004, when it was run by Greg Mosorja ...

** SCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1997) *

USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ...

( 1 time) **

(

) * World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation **

WWWF World Tag Team Championship WWWF may refer to: * World Wide Wrestling Federation, original name of what is now WWE * WWWF-FM, a radio station (103.1 FM) licensed to serve Bay Shore, New York, United States * WWFK WWFK (107.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "Frank FM") is a radio stat ...

( 1 time) – with Johnny Valiant **Cadillac Tournament winner (1) **

WWF Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...

( Class of 1996) – with Johnny Valiant *

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their wor ...

( 1 time) **

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 language, Spanish) is a lucha libre ...

(

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) – with Johnny Valiant *''

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 Wee ...

'' ** Worst Tag Team (1987) with

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valiant, Jimmy 1942 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA/WCW World Television Champions People from Franklin County, Tennessee People from Shawsville, Virginia People from Willingboro Township, New Jersey Professional wrestlers from Tennessee Sportspeople from Hammond, Indiana Heenan Family members USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champions WWE Hall of Fame inductees World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champions Professional wrestlers from New Jersey