Buford Pusser - Life and Career

Life and Career

Buford Pusser was born to Carl and Helen Pusser in Finger, McNairy County, Tennessee. His father was the police chief of Adamsville, Tennessee. Buford Pusser was a high school football and basketball player and was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall.

Pusser joined the United States Marine Corps when he graduated from high school. His service ended during his United States Marine Corps Recruit Training, when he was given a medical discharge for asthma. In 1957, he moved to Chicago, where he married his wife, Pauline, on December 5, 1959. Pusser returned home in 1962.

Pusser was Adamsville's police chief and constable from 1962 to 1964. He then was elected sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, becoming the youngest sheriff in Tennessee's history. Pusser promptly began trying to eliminate the Dixie Mafia and the State Line Mob.

The Shamrock restaurant and motel near Corinth, Mississippi was owned by Jack Hathcock. The Shamrock had a reputation for violence towards anyone who dared to complain about its rigged gambling tables. The restaurant was also a focal point for bootlegging. Hathcock was allegedly shot dead in self-defence, though it was rumored Carl Douglas "Towhead" White, leader of the State Line Mob, was the actual gunman. Louise Hathcock became White's mistress.

Pusser survived several assassination attempts. On February 1, 1966, Louise Hathcock attempted to kill Pusser during an on-site investigation of a robbery complaint at The Shamrock. Hathcock fired on Pusser with a concealed .38 pistol. Pusser returned fire and killed Hathcock. On January 2, 1967, Pusser was shot three times by an unidentified gunman.

Already a local hero, Pusser's "war" on the State Line Mob was brought to national prominence when his wife, Pauline, was killed on August 12, 1967, during an assassination ambush intended for him. Pusser named Kirksey McCord Nix Jr. as the contractor of his wife's killers, but Nix was never charged with the crime.

Pusser shot and killed Charles Russell Hamilton on December 25, 1968, after responding to a complaint that Hamilton had threatened his landlord with a gun.

Pusser was ineligible for re-election in 1970 due to the term limit then in effect. He was defeated in his bid as sheriff in 1972. Pusser blamed the loss to incumbent Sheriff Clifford Coleman in part on the controversy surrounding the making of the semi-autobiographical movie, Walking Tall. He was again elected as constable of Adamsville by a majority of voters who wrote in his name on their ballots. He served as constable for two more years (1970–1972).