John Mortl Lanzo (October 14, 1935 – December 8, 2021) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, better known by his ring name, Blackjack Lanza. Along with his long-term

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partner,

Blackjack Mulligan Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in ...

, Lanza was one-half of The Blackjacks: "black

cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern Unit ...

-wearing,

cowboy boot Cowboy boots are a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a high heel that is traditionally made of stacked leather, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing. Cowboy boots are normally ma ...

-stomping, rugged hombres who drew money wherever they went". From the 1960s to 1980s, Lanza wrestled for promotions such as the American Wrestling Association,

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in 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 ''luchadores'' a ...

, and the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

, winning the

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapoli ...

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. A ...

, and WWWF World Tag Team Championship alongside Mulligan. He is a member of the

WWE 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 ...

and the

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

Early life

Lanza was born on October 14, 1935 to William Lanza and Louise Mortl, and attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, where he worked as a

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

teacher.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1961–1962)

Originating from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lanza was trained by local promoter

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrest ...

. He began his career in late-1961, wrestling a handful of matches for the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

-based

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by ...

promotion as "Joe Lanza". In 1962, he briefly held the promotion's

NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers, board-controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance since December 1949. It originally was used by various promotions across the Southeaste ...

St. Louis Wrestling Club (1962–1963, 1966–1978)

Lanza wrestled sporadically for the

St. Louis Wrestling Club The St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. ...

from 1962 to 1963, then again from 1966 to 1978. In February 1969, Lanza wrestled former NWA World Heavyweight Champion

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...

to a 60-minute draw, establishing him as an "instant contender".

American Wrestling Association (1962–1979)

In mid-1962, Lanza returned to Minnesota, where he joined Gagne's American Wrestling Association as Jack Lanza. He teamed with Bobby Duncum and was managed by

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

. During his time in the company, his gimmick was that of a Western cowboy. The duo won the

on July 23, 1976. In the 1970s, Lanza and Mulligan teamed up to form The Blackjacks. Lanza was a main-eventer when the duo began teaming together. They were managed by Bobby Heenan.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1963)

In 1963, Lanza joined the

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

-based

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promoti ...

promotion, wrestling as "Jack Lanza". He left the promotion the following year.

World Wrestling Association (1967–1972)

Lanza wrestled for the

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

-based

from 1967 to 1972. Accompanied by Bobby Heenan, he defeated

Wilbur Snyder Wilbur Snyder (September 15, 1929 – December 25, 1991) was an American football player and professional wrestler. Wrestling career Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during football's 1953 off-season. He was trained by Sandor Szabo and Warren ...

for the

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 world ...

in September 1967. His reign lasted until August 1969, when he was defeated by

Dick the Bruiser William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and former NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Pac ...

. In 1971, The Blackjacks began wrestling in the WWA. In November 1971, they defeated

Paul Christy Paul Christy (born Paul Christerson, March 20, 1939 – May 24, 2021) was an American professional wrestler known mainly for his work in the National Wrestling Alliance and International Championship Wrestling as well as a stint in the World Wre ...

and Wilbur Snyder for the

. Their reign lasted until September 1972, when they lost to The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1973, 1975)

Lanza debuted in the

in mid-1973 as "Blackjack Lanza". His regular opponents included

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess ...

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 ...

, and Dean Ho. He left the promotion in December 1973. In 1975, they joined the WWWF. On August 26, 1975, The Blackjacks defeated

Dominic DeNucci Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American professional wrestler and trainer better known under his ring name of Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 197 ...

and Pat Barrett for the WWWF World Tag Team Championship. The match was a two-out-of-three falls match, and the Blackjacks won the match by winning the first and third falls. As part of his tenure in WWWF, Vince McMahon Sr. promised Lanza that he would receive one World singles title shot a month.

NWA Big Time Wrestling (1974–1975)

In January 1974, The Blackjacks joined the

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

-based NWA Big Time Wrestling promotion. Later that month, they were named the NWA American Tag Team Champions. Their reign lasted until July 1974, when they were defeated by

Ken Patera Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

and

Tex McKenzie Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

. In December 1974, he won the vacant

NWA American Heavyweight Championship The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in ...

. He lost the championship to

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champio ...

later that month.

Georgia Championship Wrestling (1979)

In 1979, Lanza wrestled for

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

. He defeated

Bob Armstrong Joseph Melton James (October 3, 1939 – August 27, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Bullet" Bob Armstrong. In the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Armstrong held numerous championships ...

for the NWA Georgia Television Championship in April, holding the championship until August 1979, when he was defeated by

Ray Candy Ray Canty (December 3, 1951 – May 23, 1994), better known by the ring name Ray Candy, was an American professional wrestler who worked for a variety of different wrestling promotions in the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico such as Jim Crocke ...

Late career (1979–1985)

After Georgia Championship Wrestling, Lanza was inactive from wrestling until 1983. He returned to AWA American Wrestling Association where he feuded with Bobby Heenan in bunkhouse matches defeating Heenan in all of them. That same year he reunited with Blackjack Mulligan working St. Louis and AWA. The Blackjacks broke up in 1984. He retired from wrestling in 1985 and worked for WWF as a road agent.

Personal life

Lanza married Barbara Jean Kalil on September 28, 1957, and they lived in

Douglas County, Minnesota Douglas County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 39,006. Its county seat is Alexandria. Douglas County comprises the Alexandria, Minnesota, Micropolitan Statistical Area. Dougl ...

Death

On December 8, 2021, Jim Ross announced via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that Lanza had died. He was 86 years old, and had been in poor health.

Championships and accomplishments

* American Wrestling Association **

( 1 time) – with Bobby Duncum **

AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship The AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship was a short-lived mid-card professional wrestling title contested for in the American Wrestling Association promotion between 1969 and 1979. The title was primarily defended in Canada, hence the Br ...

( 1 time) *

** NWA Georgia Television Championship ( 1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling **

( 1 time) **

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The cham ...

( 1 time) – with

** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' ( 3 times) *

( 1 time) *

**Class of 2016 - Inducted as a member of The Blackjacks *''

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

'' **PWI ranked him # 338 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. *

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with Blackjack Mulligan *

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

WWWF Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

( 1 time) – with Blackjack Mulligan **

( Class of 2006) as a member of The Blackjacks

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanza, Blackjack 1935 births 2021 deaths American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Minneapolis Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestlers from Minneapolis Professional wrestling executives The Heenan Family members WWE Hall of Fame inductees University of Minnesota alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers AWA World Tag Team Champions WCWA Brass Knuckles Champions NWA National Television Champions