2023 Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame - Round 1

Bootney Farnsworth

TV Show/Movie Appeared: Let’s Do it Again (1975)
Actor/Actress: Jimmie Walker
Why you should vote:: Because he’s Dy-no-mite!
Why you should not vote:: We loved Jimmie Walker in the 70’s, but did you believe that he was capable of beating anybody up?
We could vote for him just on the name alone. Played by Jimmie Walker, Bootney Farnsworth is a boxer who through the scamming of two fraternal lodge brothers (played by Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby) they use hypnosis to convince him that he is a much better fighter than he is, and you know the power of persuasion don’t you? Farnsworth becomes a local champion, and Poitier and Cosby make substantial loot in the process.

Taking away the absurdity of the plot (and even bigger absurdity that Jimmie Walker could knock over a broom, let alone another man), this all black cast gave us a mobster named “Biggie Smalls”, the influence for the name of legendary rapper, “The Notorious B.I.G.”. That alone can make you forget that Walker allegedly had a great right hook!