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Official Site: WWE

Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his time in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD). He was known for entering the ring with his trademark chain attached to a dog collar, headlining cards that drew large crowds and regularly sold out the Louisiana Superdome and other major venues. WWE author Brian Shields called him one of the most electrifying and charismatic wrestlers in the country, particularly during his peak in the early 1980s. JYD was also known for his upper body strength, which saw him regularly bodyslam large wrestlers. The word "thump," which referred to JYD's powerslam, was prominently displayed on his wrestling trunks. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004.

Ritter played football at Fayetteville State University, twice earning honorable mention All-America status. He graduated in 1975 with a political science degree and a minor in geography. He then signed with the Green Bay Packers in April 1976. Ritter was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury during the offseason. He was waived from injured reserve in October 1976.

Ritter debuted in 1977, initially wrestling for NWA Tri-State, the Continental Wrestling Association and Southeastern Championship Wrestling under his real name. In late 1977, Ritter moved to Nick Gulas's NWA Mid America promotion and adopted the ring name "Leroy Rochester". Afterwards, he wrestled in Germany. He worked for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion the following year as "Big Daddy Ritter", holding the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship twice.

In September 1979, Ritter moved to Mid-South Wrestling, where booker "Cowboy" Bill Watts gave him the name and gimmick of Junkyard Dog, taken from Jim Croce's song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". Sporting a long chain attached to a dog collar and white boots, he originally came to the ring pushing a cart filled with junk called the "junk wagon" and lost most of his early matches before his character caught on and became the top face in the company. He feuded with some of Mid-South's top heels, including a now infamous angle with the Fabulous Freebirds where they blinded him with hair cream. At the peak of the feud, his wife gave birth to their first child, which was made part of the storyline. It was explained that JYD could not see his new daughter, increasing the heat on the Freebirds to the point where they needed police escorts in and out of arenas. The feud ended with the still-blinded JYD and Freebird leader Michael "P.S." Hayes wrestling in a steel cage dog collar match at the New Orleans Superdome.

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