Roy Heffernan

Roy Heffernan
Birth nameLawrence Roy Heffernan
Born12 July 1925
Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia
Died24 September 1992(1992-09-24) (aged 67)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Roy Heffernan
Billed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Billed weight212 lb (96 kg) - 240 lb (110 kg)
Billed fromAustralia
Trained byLaurence Heffernan (father)
Debut1944
Retired1971

Laurence Roy Heffernan (12 July 1925 – 24 September 1992) was an Australian professional wrestler. Roy Heffernan toured all over the world, but is most famous for being one half of the original version of the tag team the Fabulous Kangaroos (with Al Costello). The Kangaroos used an "Ultra Australian" gimmick complete with Boomerangs, bush hats and "Waltzing Matilda" as their entrance music.[1] The first incarnation of the Kangaroos is the most famous of all the Kangaroo versions and is often credited with popularizing tag team wrestling in the late 1950s and 1960s.[2] Costello and Heffernan are also regarded as one of the top tag teams to ever compete in professional wrestling.[1][3]

When the Kangaroos broke up, Heffernan left America to return to his home of Australia. In Australia, Heffernan was involved with Australia's version of World Championship Wrestling under booker Jim Barnett where he worked as a face (good guy), the polar opposite of his time spent as a Fabulous Kangaroo.[1] Both Heffernan and Costello died before the team was honored by being the first tag team inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.[4] The induction of the Fabulous Kangaroos started a tradition of inducting a new team every year.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). "Top 20: #1 The Fabulous Kangaroos". The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press. pp. 17–24. ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6.
  2. ^ Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). "Introduction". The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press. pp. 1–16. ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6.
  3. ^ Conner, Floyd (12 February 2001). "Terrific Tag Teams". Wrestling's Most Wanted : The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Potomac Books. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-57488-308-4.
  4. ^ the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. "2003: The Fabulous Kangaroos". Archived from the original on 27 October 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  5. ^ the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. "About the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Ballot Formation and Voting Process for Induction Purposes". Archived from the original on 12 March 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2007. One winner from each of the following categories shall be inducted each year: LADY WRESTLER, TAG TEAM, and NON-PARTICIPANT. As many as two wrestlers, but at least one wrestler, shall be inducted each year in the category of INTERNATIONAL. Two wrestlers will be inducted annually from each of the following categories:PIONEER ERA and MODERN ERA