Haystacks Calhoun

Early life

Born on August 3, 1934, William Dee Calhoun grew up on a farm in McKinney, Texas, a rural suburb located in Collin County about north of Dallas. By age 14, he already weighed , as he routinely ate a dozen eggs for breakfast. By the time he was in his early 20s, Calhoun weighed over . Legend has it that Calhoun was discovered by a traveling wrestling promoter who saw him pick up and move cows across a field. Calhoun first broke into wrestling in 1955 and he began competing for local promoter Orville Brown.

Professional wrestling career

Initially performing under the name "Country Boy Calhoun", he performed in various regional territories, including Houston, Kansas City, and Canada. However, he first appeared nationally on Art Linkletter's House Party, a televised variety show where Calhoun tossed full bales of hay into a high loft. As a result of this feat, he adopted the name "Haystacks Calhoun." Recognizing the show business potential of such a gimmick, Calhoun decided to exaggerate his hillbilly persona by adopting the fictional birthplace of Morgan's Corner, Arkansas, while sporting a bushy beard, white t-shirt, blue overalls, and a genuine horseshoe around his neck on a chain. Moreover, while promoters typically did not book him for championships, he seldom lost a match. He was often booked in handicap matches and battle royals. He was matched up against fellow wrestling giant Happy Humphrey (who was billed as the heaviest wrestler in the world) in a series of highly promoted altercations at Madison Square Garden during the early 1960s. At over 750 lbs (340 kg), Humphrey outweighed Calhoun by over and was considerably slower than Calhoun. Calhoun took the majority of the decisions over Humphrey, many by count out as Humphrey often could not get himself back into the ring by the count of 20 when thrown out. Calhoun stated: "He had very poor balance, was easy to get around and easy to handle. I slammed him easier than the average-size fellow. When I learned he was up to 800 pounds I warned him that it wasn't healthy." Calhoun had also lost his first championship bout with Rogers in New York's Sunnyside Garden Arena on January 28, 1961. Although mainly active in the eastern half of the United States, he also wrestled in Australia, on tour with other American wrestlers in bouts promoted by United States promoter Sam Menacker. He also wrestled for NWA: All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver, where he twice won the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship with Don Leo Jonathan. He formed a tag team with the over Man Mountain Mike on the West Coast. Their combined weight was over in the ring. After engaging in a feud against Dick the Bruiser, Calhoun then generally traveled from territory to territory, never staying in one region for too long.

In 1966 he won both the NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship and the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship while teaming with a young Jack Brisco and Don Leo Jonathan, respectively.

Calhoun was more directly an influence on British super heavyweight wrestler Martin Ruane, best known in America for his stint as Loch Ness in World Championship Wrestling. Ruane achieved fame in his home country as "Giant Haystacks", a modified version of Calhoun's gimmick. Ruane first wrestled as "Haystacks Calhoun", a direct copy of the American original, while working for Wrestling Enterprises (of Birkenhead) in the early 1970s, before modifying his name and character. Thus adapted, Ruane later moved to Joint Promotions where he achieved television exposure and national fame as the tag team partner, and later arch enemy, of Big Daddy.

Calhoun often appeared at Capital Arena in Washington, D.C., scuffling on televised bouts. A. J. Weberman was head of Haystacks Calhoun fan club.

He and colleague Andre the Giant were known for a story Andre told about their visit to a diner:

In 2003, WWE listed him as one of the 50 greatest WWE superstars of all time. On March 31, 2017, Calhoun was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Legacy Wing. He was known for his frequent appearances on television including Groucho Marx' show You Bet Your Life and talk shows hosted by Jack Paar and Merv Griffin.

On April 26, 2022, Haystacks Calhoun was depicted on NBC's Young Rock in season 2 episode 7, "An Understanding." Calhoun was portrayed by Steve Moulton in this episode which told the story of how Dwayne Johnson's parents met and fell in love.

Championships and accomplishments Big Time Wrestling BTW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sweet Daddy Siki Championship Wrestling From Florida NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kevin Sullivan Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Amazing Zuma NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) – with Don Leo Jonathan Worldwide Wrestling Associates WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Abe Jacobs