Inside the Story of Bufford Pusser

Bufford Hayse Pusser was born on December 12, 1937, in Finger, McNairy County, Tennessee. His father, Carl Pusser was the police chief of Adamsville, Tennessee in 1937 when Pusser was born.

In high school, Pusser played football, and basketball, with his 6 feet 6 inches stature giving him an advantage.

Following his graduation from high school, Pusser joined the United States Marine Corps. However, due to a medical diagnosis of asthma, Pusser was pushed to quit his service.

When he was 20, in 1957, Pusser relocated to Chicago where he started wrestling. His stage name was "Buford the Bull."

Pusser's wrestling career lasted only a few years. He married his wife, Pauline Mullins on December 5, 1959, and by 1962 he was back in his hometown in Tennessee. Once he was back home, he followed in the footsteps of his father to become Adamsville police chief and constable between 1962 and 1964. After these positions, Pusser was elected as the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee. To date, he remains the youngest Sheriff in Tennessee history.

The Attack that Changed Him

As a Sheriff, Pusser made deliberate efforts to eradicate two notorious groups that tormented his locality, the Dixie Mafia and the State Line Mob. These attempts at pulling down the radical groups would later put his life in severe danger.

He survived several assassination attempts and in 1972 lost his position as the sheriff.

In the early morning of August 12, 1967, Pusser's phone rang. He answered the call and learned that his attention was needed at New Hope Road in McNairy County.

Pauline decided to follow him to find out what the trouble was. Not long after they left their home, they were attacked. Occupants of a fast-moving car shot at them; Pauline was hit and did not survive. Pusser was also severely injured, the left side of his face was so severely disfigured that he needed several surgeries to be fixed. He vowed to bring his wife's killers to justice.

Although he promised to ensure that his wife's killers were held accountable, Pusser's efforts to bring Kirksey Nix and the other suspects to court were unsuccessful.

Nix, who was found guilty of murdering New Orleans grocer Frank J. Corso on Easter Saturday in 1971, received a sentence that led him to serve time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

During his time behind bars, Nix orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot targeting Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1987. Assisting Nix in this scheme was Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, who, serving as Nix's attorney, embezzled a substantial sum of money that Nix had fraudulently obtained through an elaborate scam targeting vulnerable individuals seeking companionship.

Halat falsely implicated his law partner, Judge Sherry, in the theft. Because of his involvement in these crimes, Nix received a lifelong sentence of solitary confinement.

Pusser's Tragic Death

On August 21, 1974, Pusser passed away due to injuries sustained in a car accident that occurred four miles west of Adamsville. Before the accident, he had agreed with Bing Crosby Productions in Memphis to play his character in the follow-up film to Walking Tall.

After attending the McNairy County Fair alone that evening, Pusser was driving his specially modified Corvette back home when he collided with an embankment at a high velocity, causing him to be forcefully thrown out of the vehicle. Subsequently, the car ignited and was consumed by flames.

There were local rumors and speculation about the possible causes of the accident, including suggestions of sabotage to the steering mechanism and tie rods.

The state trooper, Paul Ervin, who investigated the incident, later assumed the role of McNairy County sheriff. Ervin asserted that Pusser's death resulted from drunk driving while not wearing a seat belt, which was ironic given Pusser's strong opposition to moonshiners and other vices.

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