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"Hacksaw" & "The Chief"...Family's Roots Run Deep

Posted: Aug 13th 2012 By: CMBurnham

"Hacksaw? Jim Duggan was just as daunting back in the days when he was known around Glens Falls as ?Moose? as he still is in the wrestling ring.

?I have to tell you, I have gone up against him before. It was not a pleasant experience,? said Todd Feigenbaum, the owner of a local dry cleaning chain.

And the impact Feigenbaum, a Glens Falls High School football teammate of Duggan in 1973, recalled was only in a practice drill.

Nostalgic tales of youthful sports valor were told and retold around Glens Falls last week, in the days leading up to Duggan?s homecoming wrestling match.

Curiously enough, the names of some of the local residents who claimed to be teammates of Duggan didn?t show up on the football team roster published in the 1973 Glens Falls High School yearbook on file at The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library.

But as the Irish ? who settled in the city?s East End neighborhood where Duggan grew up ? like to say, ?Never let the facts get in the way of a good story,? particularly when you?re laying claim to a local sports legend.

?He?s (Hacksaw Duggan) been a great ambassador for Glens Falls ? between him and (NBA player Jimmer) Fredette,? said 1st Ward Supervisor Dan Girard. ?That?s our greatest resource ? our people.?

Duggan, the professional wrestling legend, wrestled at Glens Falls High School, where he lettered in the 1970s in football, basketball, wrestling and track.

He still holds the school?s boy?s shot put record of 56 feet, 5.5 inches.

The Glens Falls wrestling team had three home matches with an astounding 1,000-plus attendance in the 1973 season that led up to Duggan becoming the first state high school wrestling champion from Glens Falls, according to the yearbook.

At his homecoming Friday, in front of a crowd about as big as he drew while wrestling in 1973, the 58-year-old Duggan didn?t mind whether people called him ?Hacksaw? or ?Moose,? so long as they didn?t mention the word ?retirement.?

When Vince ?The Log Bay Legend? Beach brought a retirement cake into the ring, Duggan smashed the cake in his opponent?s face.

In an interview before the event, Duggan said he has no plans to retire.

?There?s a lot more going on with ?Hacksaw? Jim Duggan than tonight,? he said. ?Weeks, months, years later, I?ll be doing what ?Hacksaw? Jim Duggan does best ? beating people up, tough guy.?

World of Hurt Wrestling, promoters of the event, presented him with a lifetime achievement award, and Glens Falls Mayor John Diamond ? nicknamed ?Jack the Knife? ? proclaimed Friday ?Chief and Hacksaw Jim Duggan Day,? in honor of the wrestler and his father, longtime Glens Falls Police Chief James Duggan Sr.

?One carried a nightstick, the other carries a two-by-four. ... Both men have brought honor and distinction to their hometown with their many colorful and noteworthy escapades,? Diamond read from the proclamation, which he presented to Duggan in the ring.

Duggan, the father, served in the Glens Falls Police Department from 1943 to 1987.

He was acting chief twice in 1965 and 1966, and was chief from 1968 on.

Duggan, the wrestler, said he was honored to share recognition with his father.

?I don?t mind taking second place to Chief Duggan, that?s for sure, because that was a true American hero. But it?s great to be recognized in your hometown,? he said in an interview before the event.

Girard, the 1st Ward supervisor, said Duggan, as a teenager, always showed respect to his father.

?His father wasn?t ?Dad.? His father was, ?the Chief.? And it was, ?Yes, sir? and ?No, sir,? ? recalled Girard, who grew up in the same neighborhood as the Duggan family. ?For the mother, it was, ?Big Jim? and ?Little Jim.? And it was funny because he (the son) wasn?t so little.?

Duggan, the wrestler, is known for his brute strength.

Duggan, the father, was known for his strength of character.

The Warren County Bar Association presented Chief Duggan with its Liberty Bell Award in May 1985, the year after Duggan was treated for stomach cancer and underwent three major operations and chemotherapy.

?Cancer foolishly thought it could lick him. Cancer should have talked to the South Street tough guys who thought the same thing,? Post-Star columnist Don Metivier wrote at the time. ?He called on his Irish resources and beat it back, just like he would do to some guy swinging a beer bottle.?

Duggan, the wrestler, is famous for his patriotism.

Duggan, the father, an occasional Post-Star columnist, also had deep feelings of patriotism.

Duggan wrote in August 1981 about ?a new patriotism emerging? after the Vietnam War and ?the collapse? of the Nixon administration.

?There?s a new patriotism taking shape in America today brought on mainly by the younger generation?s desire to face up to facts, to tell things as they really are. It will not be the old ?blind patriotism? but a love of country based on fact,? he wrote.

?The young should not put down the elders who still believe in the old patriotism. With all its faults, it got us through the first 200-plus years, served our best interests at the time and saved our country from many disasters,? he continued. ?Young people should help the oldsters see why we need new attitudes today, new understanding, new approaches, the same in
patriotism as in technology ? progress!?

The father?s spirit still resonates with the son.

?My dad was my biggest influence in my life,? said Duggan, the wrestler. ?He was my best man in my wedding. He was my best friend. He was my role model. He was my hero, the man I really looked up to.?