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The world lost one its truly great people this morning as James Francis “Quigs” Quigley IV passed away after a long, heroic battle with cancer. He was just 48 years old and the world will never be able to fill the void that his loss has created.
I first met Jim in the mid-nineties at a building called Viking Hall. It was the base of a Mummers troop, it featured midnight bingo on Saturday nights….and it was the home of a fledgling wrestling company called ECW. I was part of a group of fans known as The Bleacher Bums. In a lot of ways, we were like the pro wrestling version of an English soccer crowd, singing, chanting and having a party at the shows. Anyone who watched ECW’s weekly TV program could see our antics since we were in the camera shot 90% of the time. Jim started showing up at events and I remember asking the other guys in the group, “Who’s your friend?” The answer was always, “I thought you knew him!” So finally after a few shows, I asked Jim who he knew in the group. He said no one, “You guys are always having a great time and I wanted to be part of that.” And a vital part of the group, and my life, he became.
Thus began a friendship that was a part of my life I can’t properly express in words.
As I got to know Jim, I quickly realized that he was the kind of man you hoped your son would turn out to be. He was the kind of man you hoped your child would meet and marry. He was the kind of man you hoped would be your friend, and in my case become my brother.
Jim had a moral compass that always went in the right direction. Always. He was a man of his word and someone you could always count on, even when you didn’t realize that you needed to. In Jim’s world, everyone else came first. He never, ever said that to anyone either. He just showed us how much we meant to him with his actions.
While he passed way, way too young, Jim lived every moment of his life, and fought cancer with a ferocity and dignity that I only wish I could show if I were in the same position. Dignity and perseverance were two of his defining characteristics. Another was tackling any issue that arose head on and do so with immediacy.
Many of you reading this know Jim from his time as the photographer for ECWWrestling.com. In typical Jim fashion, when we bought a camera to take pictures for the company website, Jim was there. He grabbed it and headed to ringside, giving himself the job of ringside photographer. That was his process, see an issue and then find a solution to it.
For the next few years we went across the country to the Pay-Per-View events and had amazing adventures along the way. We used to say that the PPVs were the least fun that we had on the trips, and those shows were a blast. We were really lucky to be in the right place at the right time to do things most fans of a genre could only dream about doing, and we appreciated and loved every minute of it.
After his run as photographer ended when ECW was purchased by WWE, Jim got to the really important part of his life when he met his wonderful wife Rory and started his amazing family. They were the light of his life. Again, he never talked about being a great husband and father, he just was one. Again, another defining trait of Jim.
Another interest (OK, some may call it an obsession) that Jim and I shared was our love of Bruce Springsteen and attending concerts. I lost count of how many shows we went to together. Suffice it to say, it was a lot. In 2007, Bruce lost Terry Magovern, someone that was as close to him as Jim was to me. On his album "Magic", he put on a bonus track called, "Terry's Song,” which paid tribute to his friend in passing.
Ever since Jim got cancer and began a fight that showed me he was tougher than I will ever be, the song has popped into my head a lot when I thought about my brother. What Bruce wrote about Terry is exactly how I felt about Jim. I think Jim would appreciate the use those lyrics in my remembrance of him.
Well they built the Titanic to be one of a kind but many ships have ruled the seas
They built the Eiffel Tower to stand alone but they could build another if they please
The Taj Mahal, the pyramids of Egypt, are unique I suppose
But when they built you, brother, they broke the mold
Now the world is filled with many wonders under the passing sun
But sometimes something comes along and you know it's for sure the only one
The Mona Lisa, the David, the Sistine Chapel, Jesus, Mary, and Joe
And when they built you, brother, they broke the mold
When they built you, brother, they turned dust into gold
When they built you, brother, they broke the mold
Rest peacefully my brother. I am happy to know that you are out of pain, even if my heart hurts so badly right now. If there is a heaven, you are already there. Our loss is God's gain.
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