Wrestler: Mr. Mississippi (3/9/78 - 6/26/86)

Wrestler Name: Mr. Mississippi (3/9/78 – 6/26/86)
Real Name: Buford T. Jamison
Birthday: June 28, 1957
Hometown: Jackson, WY
Billed From: Jackson, MS
Marital Status: Married
Alignment: Face
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 258
Theme Music: "Mississippi Kid" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Wrestling Debut: 6/6/73 (San Francisco)
MVW Debut: March 09, 1978
Debut Opp: Grappler
Last Match: June 26, 1986
Last Opp: Grappler
PriDistrict: MidAmerica
Style: Standard Worker
Finishing Move: Mississippi Mud Pie (double underhook piledriver)
Favorite Moves: hammerlock, armbar, arm drag
Weapon: none
Notable Feuds: Mr. Tennessee
Image: Buford Pusser

His Story:

Buford was born on June 28, 1957 to Robert and Amanda (Collins) Jamison Jr. in Jackson, WY. He grew up around Grand Teton National Park until his family moved to San Francisco in 1970. His father worked for the National Park Services at Grand Teton and was offered a pay raise to take over at the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. The family moved to Mill Valley where Buford went to school and played shortstop for Tamalpais High School.

During his sophomore year, he tried out for the wrestling team but was disqualified during the tryout match. This earned him a bad reputation as a bully around school. One of his few friends in California was the only son of Moondog Mayne. Mayne worked to get Buford a chance at Big Time Wrestling. Promoter Roy Shire saw Buford’s potential, but he couldn’t come up with a proper gimmick for him. Mayne explained to Shire the problems Buford was having in school. Buford didn’t like the reputation at school, but he had been warned repeatedly about the consequences at home for fighting at school.

With his parents’ permission, Buford signed a two-year contract with Big Time Wrestling (BTW) at the end of his sophomore year of high school. He debuted in the ring against Great Mephisto. The bully got schooled. However, Mephisto took him under his wing and helped train him to be a better heel. Buford went on to win the Northern California Heavyweight Title on August 6, 1976 and hold it for almost a year before it was dropped by the NWA in June 1977. Buford’s contract ran out in July 1977 and Shire refused to re-sign the former champion. Buford went to NWA Amarillo and won the Western States Heavyweight Title from Doug Somers in October 1977 and lost it to Bull Ramos three nights later.

During his time in BTW, Buford stayed in school. We graduated from Tamalpais High School in 1975 and went on to study History at the University of California at Berkeley. When his BTW contract was over, he transferred to Texas Tech to finish out his education and graduated in 1978 with his bachelor’s. He went on to pursue a Master’s degree, focusing primarily on the Revolutionary War period, at Ole Miss after graduation. In 1982, he was awarded a Ph.D. in History from Ole Miss.

While at Ole Miss, Buford met Janette Parker, the aunt of Diana (Moonchild) and Sam Parker. They married on April 17, 1983 in Oxford, MS. Buford took two weeks off from wrestling after the wedding and returned to defeat Aaron Adams for the MVW Heavyweight Title on May 1. His son Marcus (who would be the fourth and final man to wrestle under Mr. Mississippi’s mask) was born on June 2, 1985.

Overall, Buford enjoyed his time as the masked Mr. Mississippi even better than his “Big Bully” days. The idea of being the hometown hero of the entire organization thrilled him. However, he felt it best to retire from the ring on June 26, 1986 after one final match with the Grappler. He had been looking for, and had received, a teaching and research position on the university level. In July 1986, Buford, Janette and Marcus left Mississippi and moved to Richmond, VA, where he continues to serve on the history faculty today at the University of Richmond. He also teaches an occasional history of law class for the T.C. Williams School of Law there.

On occasion, Buford misses not being in the ring, but he knew that his legacy lived on while his son donned the mask and continued the persona that had made him so popular as a wrestler. Under the MVW’s Mentorship program, Buford excelled above everyone else, mentoring eight wrestlers (including those who followed after him as Mr. Mississippi). Even after he retired from wrestling, he still enjoyed training and honing wrestlers. Buford also works as a trainer for NWA Fusion in Virginia.