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Black Bart Passes Away At The Age of 76 Following A Battle With Cancer

Former NWA National Heavyweight Champion Black Bart died Thursday after battle with stage 4 cancer.
Rick Ucchino|
WWE.com

Professional wrestling veteran "Black Bart" Richard Harris sadly passed away Thursday morning at the age of 76.

Harris' wife Linda made the announcement via social media, saying her husband had lost a lengthy battle with cancer.

“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“
Linda Harris

Richard Harris announced his stage 4 cancer diagnosis in 2023 and late last year, it was reported by Dutch Mantell on his Story Time Podcast, that he had stopped with chemotherapy treatment after his medical insurance had run out.

One of his former students, WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield took to social media Thursday night to pay a touching tribute to his mentor.

"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."
JBL

Black Bart's career spanned over 30 years, including brief stints with both WWE and WCW in the early 1990's. He was an NWA National Heavyweight Champion with Jim Crockett Promotions and just won the Cauliflower Alley Club's Courage Award last year.

We here at The Takedown on SI send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Richard Harris, aka Black Bart.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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