American professional wrestler (died 1998)

Junkyard Dog

Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his time in Mid-South Wrestling, where he would serve as a world heavyweight champion, and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog. 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.

Born

1952

December 13

Died

Living

Era

1950s

Country

—

About

Junkyard, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1952 Born

Also on December 13

What else happened on this day, through history

1076 The city of Salerno surrenders to Robert Guiscard. Duke Gisulf continues his resistance in the citadel until May of the following year.
1294 Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
1545 The Council of Trent begins as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.
1577 Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.

See all of December 13 →

The world in 1952

When Junkyard arrived

april 11 Bolivian National Revolution: Rebels take over Palacio Quemado.
april 11 Pan Am Flight 526A ditches near San Juan-Isla Grande Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after experiencing an engine failure, killing 52 people.
april 15 First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
april 21 Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated.

Read the year 1952 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on December 13

Albert Aalbers 1897– Dutch architect, designed the Savoy Homann Bidakara Hotel (died 1961) Alvin C. York 1887–1964 American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1964) Amy Lee 1981– American singer, songwriter and pianist Ben Bernanke 1953– American economist Dave Leduc 1991– Canadian martial artist Elizabeth Alexander 1908–1958 English geologist, academic, and physicist (died 1958) Emma Corrin 1995– English actor Larry Doby 1923–2003 American baseball player (died 2003) Laurens van der Post 1906– South African-English soldier and author (died 1996)

See everything on December 13 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1952

Bill Belichick 1952– American football coach Bill Frist 1952– American physician and politician Dambudzo Marechera 1952– Zimbabwean author and poet (died 1987) Dave Carter 1952–2002 American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2002) Domingos Maubere 1952–2025 East Timorese Catholic priest and activist (died 2025) Edward Garnier 1952– English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales Howard Hampton 1952– Canadian lawyer and politician Irina Bokova 1952– Bulgarian politician, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacques Richard 1952–2002 Canadian ice hockey player (died 2002)

Read about the year 1952 →

Keep going

More to explore

Junkyard's birthday December 13 Junkyard's zodiac Sagittarius When Junkyard arrived 1952