Robert Windham, known famously to wrestling fans as Blackjack Mulligan, was an imposing figure at 6 feet, 8-inches tall, and 320 pounds. This meant he cut a mean, intimidating figure inside and outside the ring, and this toughness and physical stature helped him become one of the top heels in wrestling.
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Mulligan was one-half of The Blackjacks, along with Blackjack Lanza, a popular tag team that captured several titles across the country, including promotions like NWA and WWE. He was also the patriarch of quite the famous wrestling family, but fans today may not be aware of him and his legacy.
Blackjack Mulligan was quite a successful football player, having played at Texas Western College, now known as the University of Texas at El Paso. He also served a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps.
Once he was back, Mulligan played for the New York Jets during the 1966 pre-season. He even received tryouts with the New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos.
9 Began Wrestling Training After Being Urged By Wahoo McDaniel
With his football career done, the legendary Wahoo McDaniel requested Blackjack Mulligan to take up pro wrestling. As a result, the latter began training with Joe Blanchard in Corpus Christi, Texas, and then with Verne Gagne.
Mulligan even became a pro with Gagne's American Wrestling Association, where he was billed as being 6' 9" and over 300 pounds. He adopted the character of a rawboned cowboy, similar to Stan Hansen and Bobby Duncum.
8 WWE Tag Team Champion & Hall Of Famer
For those unaware, Blackjack Mulligan is a WWE Hall of Famer, having been inducted with the Class of 2006. His fame may have been more due to his work outside the promotion, but there was no denying his impact on the business.
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Also, he was the WWE World Tag Team Champion in 1975 for 74 days, alongside Blackjack Lanza. The Blackjacks, with their prominent mustaches and cowboy hats led by manager Bobby Heenan, were one of the most identifiable tandems in the 70s.
7 Famous Family
Blackjack Mulligan, born on November 25, 1942, in Sweetwater, Texas, was so tough that he even squared up to Andre The Giant and Ole Anderson. Also, his family lineage is quite something, as his sons, Barry and Kendall Windham, clinched the WCW World Tag Team Championship in 1999.
Barry, a former NWA World and United States Champion, entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of the Four Horsem*n. Mulligan's son-in-law is former WWE, NWA, and WCW performer Mike Rotunda, while his grandsons are Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas, recognizable names after their stints in WWE.
6 Attacked By A Pedro Morales Fan
This is one of the most notorious stories of a fan attacking a wrestler, as Blackjack had to get 100+ stitches after getting stabbed in the leg and arm with a stiletto-type knife by a Pedro Morales fan. He was feuding with the newly-crowned WWE Champion when the attack happened in Boston in 1971.
Incredibly, Gorilla Monsoon caught the culprit and handed him to ringside police, who let him go as they believed "it was part of the show." Also, apparently, the attacker ensured the damage from the injuries would be as nasty as possible by dipping the knife in pig fat.
5 Post-Injury Angle With Bruno Sammartino
Despite being severely hurt, Blackjack Mulligan took part in a Madison Square Garden match against Bruno Sammartino. The legend was returning to the arena for the first time since his mythical near-eight-year championship run ended.
Despite attacking Bruno before the match, Mulligan lost in 64 seconds, meaning it was a win-win for everyone. Bruno had a triumphant return, the gates were sold out, and a gravely injured Mulligan barely worked and rode off into recovery after picking up a hefty payday.
4 The Machines
Blackjack Mulligan would often feud with Andre The Giant in the early 1980s. However, they also became quite the popular tag team partners after forming The Machines, which also had "Super Machine" (Bill Eadie).
Mulligan would wrestle under a mask and call himself "Big Machine," while Andre adopted the moniker "The Giant Machine." The group also had members like "Hulk Machine" (Hulk Hogan) and "Piper Machine" (Roddy Piper) and feuded a lot with the Heenan Family.
3 Arrested For Counterfeiting
In 1990, the US Secret Service arrested Blackjack Mulligan and his son Kendall Windham for counterfeiting. It was part of USSS' joint investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
The authorities recovered around $500,000 in phony $20 bills from the duo. After a plea agreement, father and son spent two years in a federal prison before getting released in 1992.
2 Published A Book
Blackjack Mulligan has also written an autobiography, True Lies and Alibis. It was published in 2007.
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The book recounts his personal life and tells tales from his professional wrestling career. Per the book's description, the stories in these pages have never been told outside the wrestling world.
1 Defendant In 2015 Lawsuit Filed By WWE
Blackjack Mulligan has had quite a few legal troubles in his lifetime; this is just another example. He was a defendant in a lawsuit filed by WWE in 2015 after the company got a letter from him that indicated he would sue them for concussion-based injuries.
Attorney Konstantine Kyros, involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers, represented him. More than two years after Mulligan's death, in September 2018, US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit.
