from WrestlingInc.com and CLICK HERE for the photo and full details…Do remember him well from back in his territory days, working in World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas, then on into the Mid-Atlantic area with WCW and others, and he also had shot up in the WWF…Old School style wrestler, and he had some great podcasts and have seen/heard a number of them, over the past couple of years…He did the shoot-style podcast interviews, and he worked with a ton of big names over the years…For sure, gone but not forgotten, Black Bart….Yes, a True Slobberknocker, Black Bart…..
(One sort of wild thing about his ending is that his death was announced on some outlets, about two weeks ago, and those outlets had to go back and recant their announcements.) The Hannibal radio show and podcast had Bart gone, before he was gone…….
Black Bart Dead, Territory Journeyman & WWE Talent Dies Of Cancer At Age 76
Former WWE, WCW, and WCCW star Black Bart, real name Richard Harris, has passed away at 76 after a battle with cancer.
Bart’s wife Linda disclosed the details of his passing on social media. “You might know him as Black Bart but to me he was my husband Ricky. He left us this morning. He was pronounced at 5:26 this morning. He is Resting In Peace,” she said in the post.
Harris had revealed in early 2023 that he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and that the cancer had spread to his liver. The former NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion had then stated that he would fight the disease with all his strength and that he would begin chemotherapy soon. In an update on his social media this past week, it was revealed that Harris was in hospice care, a few months after details emerged that he was no longer undergoing chemotherapy.
WWE Hall of Famer JBL paid a touching tribute to his mentor, who tutored him when he was wrestling in Texas.
“Black Bart took me under his wing and taught me how to be a professional wrestler. We were tag champs in Texas-but we were also just buddies. We sat together in the dressing room while Bart spit in his trashcan and constantly joked about everything. Bart meant the world to me. I love you big brother. RIP,” he said.
Bart’s in-ring career spanned over three decades, wrestling in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, World Class Championship Wrestling, and brief runs in WWE and WCW.
Wrestling Inc. extends our condolences to Richard Harris’s friends and family.
JBL/John Bradshaw Layfield on Black Bart:
John Layfield
@JCLayfield
Black Bart took me under his wing and taught me how to be a professional wrestler. We were tag champs in Texas-but we were also just buddies. We sat together in the dressing room while Bart spit in his trashcan and constantly joked about everything. Bart meant the world to me. I love you big brother. RIP