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Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 2, 1998) was an American professional wrestler who was best known for wrestling with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring names, Junkyard Dog and JYD for short. He died in Forest, Mississippi on June 2, 1998 after he fell asleep at the wheel of the car he was driving home in and crashed into another car.[1]
| Junkyard Dog | |
|---|---|
![Thumb](#/media/File:Sylvester_"Junkyard_Dog"_Ritter_in_the_mid-80s.jpg) | |
| Born | December 13, 1952 Wadesboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 1998 (aged 45) Forest, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Leroy Rochester Stagger Lee Big Daddy Ritter Junkyard Dog |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (130 kg) |
| Billed from | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Trained by | Larry Johnson |
| Debut | 1977 |
| Retired | 1993 |
Ritter held many championships during his professional wrestling career:
- Mid-South Wrestling Association
- Mid-South Louisiana Championship (three times)
- Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship (four times)
- Mid-South Tag Team Championship (eight times) – with Buck Robley (one), Terry Orndorff (one), Killer Karl Kox (one), Dick Murdoch (three), Mike George (one), and Jerry Stubbs (one)
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (one time) – with Gypsy Joe
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year in 1980.
- PWI ranked him #51 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (two times)
- United States Wrestling Association
- USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (one time) with Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich
- World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
- Wrestling Classic tournament winner in 1985.
- Slammy Award – Best Single Performer in 1986.
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Feud of the Year in 1982 (vs. Ted DiBiase)
- Worst Feud of the Year in 1990 (vs. Ric Flair)
- Worst Tag Team in 1986 (with George Steele)
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