Sheriff Buford Pusser was a crusading American law enforcement official of Walking Tall fame.

Full or original name at birth: Buford Hayse Pusser

Date and place of birth: December 12, 1937, near Finger, Tennessee, U.S.A.

Date, time, place and cause of death: August 21, 1974, at 11:55 p.m., U.S. Highway 64, between Selmer and Adamsville, McNairy County, Tennessee, U.S.A. (Auto accident)

Marriage
Spouse: Pauline (Mullins)* (m. December 5, 1959 - August 12, 1967) (her death)

Children
Stepson: Michael
Daughter: Dwana
Stepdaughter: Diane

Parents
Father: Carl Pusser (Logger/Farmer/Chief of Police in Adamsville, Tennessee)
Mother: Helen Pusser

Burial site: Adamsville Cemetery, Adamsville, Tennessee, U.S.A.

* Some sources erroneously report his wife Pauline was born "Pauline Vance." In point of fact, Vance was her married name from her previous marriage to Roman Vance.

McNairy County, Tennessee was considered the most corrupt, crime-ridden county in the state, with organized crime rings running numerous illegal enterprises encompassing gambling, prostitution, drug dealing, auto theft, and bootlegging.

Sheriff Pusser served three consecutive terms as Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee (1964-70) and led a one-man campaign to clean up those illegal activities, making him the target of many assassination attempts by powerful organized crime gangs. When his efforts to rid the area of crime began proving successful, and criminals in the county realized they couldn't bribe him, as they had so many other law enforcement and government officials, they set out to have him assassinated. One such attempt took the life of his wife in a hail of bullets on August 12th, 1967. The ambush was just one of many attempts on his life. He was hospitalized on several occasions as a result of the many ambushes by organized crime. In the line of duty he endured frequent threats to his life, was shot on a number of occasions, and stabbed several times. One element that helped cement his folk hero status was the fact that Buford often preferred using a large wooden club to more traditional law enforcement firearms.

The story of his crusade to bring law and order to Southwest Tennessee is familiar to many moviegoers thanks to the motion pictures, Walking Tall (1973), starring Joe Don Baker, Part 2, Walking Tall (1975), starring Bo Svenson, Final Chapter - Walking Tall (1977) and 2004's Walking Tall starring The Rock. The films highlighted his efforts to eliminate crime and corruption in the county, despite seeming indifference from local, county, and even some state government and law enforcement officials. There was also a short-lived Walking Tall TV series (1981) which also starred Bo Svenson.

Many McNairy County residents readily acknowledge Buford Pusser was a powerful deterrent to crime and succeeded in breaking the stranglehold of the powerful State Line Mob.

Sheriff Pusser died in a mysterious auto accident many consider to be an assassination by organized crime.