Buford Pusser
|
|
Buford.jpg
Buford Pusser (December 12, 1937 - August 21, 1974) was the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee (in West Tennessee) from 1964 to 1970. Pusser's life was the subject of Walking Tall, a 1973 film that became a cult classic (with two direct sequels of its own, a TV movie, and a brief TV series). This was remade 31 years later as a somewhat less realistic and more mainstream film in 2004 by the same name (also dedicated to Pusser), starring The Rock. Like the Rock, both men have backgrounds in professional wrestling.
Bufordwrestler.jpg
Pusser waged a virtual one-man war on moonshining, gambling and other vices on the Mississippi-Tennessee border. After serving as Adamsville's police chief and constable from 1962 to 1964, Pusser won the election for sheriff, and during his tenure as Sheriff he was shot eight times and stabbed seven. His "war" on the "State Line Mob" was brought to national prominence when his wife was killed in an ambush that was meant for him on August 12, 1967. At the time Pusser stepped down as sheriff in 1970, Pusser was re-elected as constable by a majority of voters who wrote his name on their ballots, and he served in that position for 2 years. Pusser was the subject of three biographical books written by W.R. Morris: The Twelfth Of August, Buford: A Biography, and The State Line Mob. The movie, Walking Tall, is a combination of loosely based fact and Hollywood revisionism sold as a biography. During production of the movie, Buford ran for McNairy County Sheriff in a comeback attempt in 1972, but was defeated by the incumbent sheriff. There is a Buford Pusser Museum at the house where Pusser was living at the time of his death in 1974. One newspaper article on the wall at the museum has Buford saying that Walking Tall was "60 percent true."
While driving down a highway on August 21, 1974, his car hit an embankment and he was flown through the window, leaving him dead.
It should be noted that there are those who believe that he was corrupt and was involved in much of the vice that took place at the State Line establishments. Some local residents report that he took bribes from moonshiners and the owners of the State Line bars and brothels. They contend the violence was the result of conflicts between the corrupt Sheriff and the criminal element that thrived in the area. This is vigorously disputed by others and each year in May there is a Buford Pusser Festival in Adamsville, Tennessee, his hometown.
External links
- Official home page (http://www.sheriffbufordpusser.com/)
- The sad story of his wife's death (http://www.sheriffbufordpusser.com/history8.htm)
- A Buford Pusser Page & More Links (http://www.beyondthebadge.com/bufordpusser.htm)