Michael Francis Foley was born on June 7th, 1965, in Long Island, New York. Nicknamed Mick by his father, a lifelong Yankees and Mickey Mantle fan, he attended college in upstate New York, he hitchiked to New York City to see a wrestling match between Jimmy Snuka (Jim Reiher) and Don Muraco that convinced him he wanted to be a professional wrestler. He trained under the tutelage of Dominic DeNucci, alongside such wrestlers as Shane Douglas, and made his debut in the late 1980's. He wrestled all around the U.S., Europe, Japan and Africa before landing a job in World Championship Wrestling as under the name Cactus Jack. He wrestled in excellent feuds with Sting (Steve Borden), Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, and most notably Vader (Leon White), against whom he lost an ear mid-match in Germany in 1992. Around this time, he met his future wife, Collette Foley. His tenure with WCW at an end, he wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling under Paul Heyman, and in Japan, where he took place in (and won) the now legendary _IWA King of the Death Match (1995) (V)_. This attracted the attention of 'Vince McMahon', who brought Foley in to the World Wrestling Federation, under the name Mankind. Foley's first feud was with The Undertaker, against whom he wrestled several classic matches, most notably _King of the Ring (1998) (V)_, where, in possibly the most famous professional wrestling moment of all time, The Undertaker threw Foley off the top of a 20-foot cage, through a table. Foley's lifelong dream came true on December 28th, 1998, when he defeated The Rock (The Rock) to win the WWF World Title. He would hold the belt three times before his career ended at WWF Wrestlemania XVI. Now retired, Foley is a bestselling and critically acclaimed author, having wrote two autobiographies (both of which topped the New York Times bestseller charts), a series of children's books, and a novel.
On August 20, 1995, he won the IWA King of the Death Match tournament in Japan by defeating Terry Funk in an exploding ring match. He later ended up winning the WWF tag team titles with him. Former WWF World, Tag Team & Hardcore champion, WCW Tag Team champion & ECW Tag Team champion Has won tag team titles with Kane (WWF) The Rock (WWF), Mikey Whipreck (ECW), Al Snow (WWF), Kevin Sullivan (WCW) & Steve Austin (WWF) Retired from pro wrestling on February 27, 2000, after losing to "Hunter Hearst Helmsley" in a Hell in a Cell cage match, but returned for one night only two months later to participate in the main event of WrestleMania 2000. Some of his other injuries include: A broken jaw, fractured left shoulder, broken right wrist, a broken toe, two broken noses, second degree burns and a total of over 300 stitches all over his body. 1998: In an intensly brutal Hell in a Cell match vs The Undertaker, Foley had his ankle broken, his shoulder and jaw dislocated and a tooth knocked into his nose. March 16, 1994: Foley lost 2/3 of his right ear in a match against Vader (Leon White) in Munich, Germany. Children: Dewey, Noelle, Hewey and Michael Jr. (b. January 2001) Apparently, Mankind's sock puppet friend Mr. Socko was WWF superstar Al Snow's idea. Along with partner Al Snow, won the tag team titles from the New Age Outlaws on November 5, 1999, and held the title for 3 days. Is one of the shortest title reigns ever recorded. The first ever WWF Hardcore Champion. Became to commissioner of the WWF on June 26, 2000 after Shawn Michaels gave up the job. Attended college at, and played lacrosse for SUNY Cortland. First wrestler to appear on Howard Stern's radio show. Was inspired to become a wrestler after hitchhiking to Madison Square Garden to see a cage match between Jimmy Snuka and Don Muraco. His appointment to the position of WWF Commisioner occurred in Worcester MA, at the same arena where he won his first-ever WWF Heavyweight Championship several years before. Though officially retired from professional wrestling, Foley is still involved in "wrestling" (in a way), as host of the mechanical "wrestling" show Robot Wars, on TNN. The last time his children Dewey and Noelle saw their father perform live was during an exceptionally brutal PPV match between Foley and The Rock (the match was featured in Beyond the Mat, during which Foley was handcuffed and he was subjected some fourteen consecutive chair shots to the head. The kids were in the front row with their mother and were shown to be shaken. They haven't attended a live show since. Two of his 4 books have been #1 on the New York Times Best-Sellers List - "Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks" and "Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker Than Wrestling". His other 2 books are children's holiday books - "Mick Foley's Christmas Chaos" and "Mick Foley's Halloween Hijinx". Wrestled Vader (Leon White) the night he had his ear ripped off in Germany. The WWF originally wanted the mouthpiece of his Mankind mask to resemble the mask Hannibal Lecter wore in The Silence of the Lambs, complete with bars across the mouth. On an episode of rival program World Championship Wrestling Monday Nitro, WCW commentator Noah Schiavone sarcastically remarked on Foley's WWE Title win, "That'll put asses in the seats." Thousands of Foley fans replied by carrying signs to WWF events reading, "Mick Foley put my ass in this seat" for the year to follow. The episode of _"Raw Is War" (1997)_ on which he won his first WWF Championship was taped 6 days before it aired. Foley did not tell his 2 kids that he had won, so he could watch it with them on TV and see their surprise. Took his trademark catchphrase "Bang, Bang!" from the B-52's song "Love Shack." For some mysterious reason, the song had been running through his head, and he held his fingers up like pistols, and recited the "bang bang banging on the door..." verse. Contrary to popular belief, never actually "won" the WWF Hardcore Championship. It was given to him as a gift by Vince McMahon. After losing the Hardcore title to the Big Bossman, never attempted to re-capture it. When making his World Wrestling Federation debut as Mankind, he was often seen in vignettes holding a live sewer rat. In real life, the rat was actually owned as a pet by legendary wrestling manager, James E. Cornette. While in WCW, he once traveled with Steve Austin and Dallas Page. Because Page was so easy to rile up on a trip, he and Austin pulled a number of stunts, trying to see how long it would take Page to crack. Despite coming up with the character, Mick is not fond of his Dude Love persona. Notable Title Wins Include: WCW World Tag Team titles (2); ECW Tag Team titles (2); IWA Tag Team titles; IWA King of the Death Match; WWF Heavyweight title (3); WWF Tag Team titles (8); WWF Hardcore title (first) While his wrestling gimmick is that of a consistently dissheveled, borderline psychotic bruiser, in real life he is an exceptionally well-read, fiercely intelligent individual. On ABC World News Now, he debated with WWE champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield the day before the first Presidential debate. He supported John F. Kerry, John Bradshaw Layfield supported George W. Bush. Former Co-General Manager of Raw. Competed in The 1998 Royal Rumble as all three of his personalities. Debuted in The WWE in 1996. In WCW, Cactus Jack debuted as a gift to Sting at Clash of the Champions XVI, On September 5, 1991 Foley started team with Terry Funk, when he entered the WWE as Chainsaw Charlie. The duo won the tag team straps at Wrestlemania XIV, defeating the New Age Outlaws in a dumpster match.