Tully Blanchard has been one of the most important ingredients in The Four Horsemen. No one else could ever be quite so sneaky. No one else could escape the most desperate of situations. No one else could be so dangerous when he seemed totally cornered and outmatched. Simply put, no one else was Tully Blanchard.

A second-generation wrestler, Tully is the son of Joe Blanchard, an AWA star who later became the commissioner of that company. Despite his fancy attire, Blanchard grew up in the rugged San Antonio region of Texas and played quarterback for his college football team. His team generalship carried over into his confident manner in the wrestling ring when he made his professional wrestling debut in 1975. Fighting in virtually his own backyard, he competed in the Southwest Championship Wrestling area, based in San Antonio. He quickly developed a very close-contact style of wrestling which blended technical artistry with painful fists and kicks. In his earliest years, he mastered what was to become his trademark finishing maneuver, the Slingshot Suplex. It wasn't the most impressive-looking move in the business, but the long list of opponents defeated by it was impressive in its own right.  Tully also spent some time during 1976/1977 as an undercard worker for Jim Crockett promotions.