Inducted by Ernie Ladd, the same man who inducted the late Bobo Brazil a decade earlier at the 1994 induction ceremony, Junkyard Dog was recognized both for his in-ring work and the legacy he left behind after opening doors for African-American wrestlers in the years to come.
And even though The Dog wasn’t there to see it, JYD was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the spring of 2004, the first year it was brought back following an eight-year absence.
After leaving Mid-South Wrestling in the mid-80s, Junkyard Dog bounced around from the WWF to World Championship Wrestling as well as some smaller independent promotions before he passed away from a car wreck in the summer of 1998.