Nicknames often say a lot about a person. Usually if you have a nickname like “Puggy” chances are the only thing you are expected to successfully compete against is a bag of marshmallows. While Walter "Puggy" Pearson was destined to never be the MVP of the Superbowl or raise the Stanley Cup, the World Series of Poker would probably not be the same without him.
Puggy Pearson was a vital ingredient during the early days of the World Series of Poker. While Johnny Moss was elected the Main Event Champion at the very first WSOP, every year after that the Main Event was a prize that a player had to fight for. At the second WSOP Johnny Moss was once again right there, playing for the Main Event title. He struggled against Walter "Puggy" Pearson, and eventually overcame him for the championship. In the third year of the WSOP Johnny Moss was not playing for the top prize, but Puggy was still the obstacle that needed to be overcome before "Amarillo Slim" Preston could claim the mantle of a WSOP champion.
We celebrate those early winners but it is often missed that Pearson was always there, fighting for the title. He was quickly becoming the poker version of the Buffalo Bills before he finally claimed a Main Event victory of his very own. In 1973 he avenged his loss two years earlier to Johnny Moss, and beat the poker legend to claim the Main Event prize.
Puggy Pearson was very important in those early years of the WSOP and the growth of the sport. He was eventually inducted into the poker hall of fame. Not a bad career for a guy who became a school dropout in the fifth grade.
