Jos LeDuc

Michel Pigeon (August 31, 1944 – May 1, 1999) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc.

Wrestling with a lumberjack gimmick, he debuted in Stampede Wrestling with his kayfabe brother, Paul LeDuc. The pair later won several titles in Montreal, where they feuded with the Rougeau wrestling family, and Florida, where they held the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. After an injury ended Paul's career, Jos competed as a singles wrestler. He was involved in a heated feud with Dusty Rhodes. He then moved to Tennessee, where he had a rivalry with Jerry Lawler over the NWA Mid-America Southern Tag Team Championship, notably legitimately breaking Lawler's leg when he threw him over the top rope onto the announcer's desk.

LeDuc spent many years traveling between Florida and Tennessee, and he won belts in both locations as a singles wrestler and as a tag team competitor. He also spent time on wrestling tours of Japan and New Zealand. One of his biggest feuds was with manager Oliver Humperdink, whom he accused of stealing his money. This led to LeDuc winning the NWA Television Championship from one of Humperdink's wrestlers. He continued to split his time between singles and tag team wrestling, and he resumed his feud with Lawler in Tennessee. In his later career, he worked in Puerto Rico and had a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation. Altogether, he held 32 championships (15 singles and 17 tag team) before dying of a lung infection, aged 54.

Pigeon was born in August 1944 at a small village near Montreal. His parents separated at a young age, causing Pigeon to live in orphanages and with his relatives and mother.

Prior to entering professional wrestling, Pigeon gained combat sport experience by studying judo. He worked for the Quebec Provincial Police until the mid-1960s, when he decided to become a wrestler. His friend Paul LeDuc had competed as a professional wrestler in Mexico and wanted a tag team partner. He convinced Pigeon to train as a wrestler, and Pigeon trained under Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta.

Along with Paul, Pigeon began wrestling in Hart's Stampede Wrestling in 1968 under the ring name Jos LeDuc, Paul's tag team partner and kayfabe brother. The LeDucs' gimmick was inspired by "Yukon" Eric Holmback, a professional wrestler who had died three years earlier. They portrayed stereotypical Canadian lumberjacks and wore flannel shirts to the ring. They received a push from the promoters and won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship in 1969, but they lost the belts later that year. They moved to Toronto's Maple Leaf Wrestling, Ohio and Texas. Jos himself continued as a singles competitor in Toronto, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, World Wide Wrestling Federation and Japan Wrestling Association.

After moving to the Montreal area, the LeDucs debuted in the International Wrestling Association with a scripted attack on local wrestler Johnny Rougeau. This led to a feud between the LeDucs and the Rougeaus (Johnny and his real-life brother Jacques). Jos LeDuc was booked to win the Montreal version of the International Heavyweight Championship by defeating Johnny Rougeau in 1971. The bookers also decided to give him a run with the International Tag Team Championship that year, which LeDuc won while teaming with Tony Baillargeon. While in Montreal, the LeDucs also competed for Grand Prix Wrestling and were booked in a feud with the Vachon brothers (Mad Dog and Butcher) as well as Killer Kowalski. The LeDucs had two reigns with the Grand Prix Wrestling Tag Team Championship in 1972 and 1973.

LeDuc's next stop was in Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), where he resumed teaming with Paul LeDuc, this time as The Canadian Lumberjacks. They won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship on November 23, 1973, by defeating Dusty Rhodes and Dick Slater. They defended the belts for two months before dropping them to Slater and his new partner Stan Vachon, a kayfabe brother of the Vachons from Montreal. This was the final time the LeDuc's held a title together, as Paul LeDuc sustained a legitimate injury that forced Jos to wrestle without him. Jos LeDuc also wrestled as a singles competitor in Florida, defeating Rhodes on February 5, 1974, for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship. He dropped the title to Rhodes on March 12. LeDuc and Rhodes were placed in a heated feud at this time, and they frequently faced each other in Death matches.