Robert Lee Schoenberger (August 25, 1945 – February 20, 1975), better known as Bobby Shane, who also wrestled as Bobby Schoen and as The Challenger, was an American professional

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

known for his time in NWA Florida in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a well-known " heel" in the National Wrestling Alliance and considered a future wrestling star at the time of his death.

Professional wrestling career

The son of St. Louis referee Gus Schoenberger, he started his career in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

in Minnesota. Eventually winning titles in the Mid-west and Hawaii. By 1968 he went to Georgia where he became popular. In 1970, he was the masked Challenger teaming up with The Professional (Doug Gilbert) winning the NWA Georgia Tag Teams titles in a tournament. Later that year he defeated

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel ...

for the NWA Georgia Television Championship. In 1971 he moved to the NWA's

Florida territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish ...

where he became a big name. He won the Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship from George Gaiser, as well as the

NWA Florida Television Championship The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when ...

winning it two times from

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Gr ...

and

Tim Woods George Burrell Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Mr. Wrestling and Tim Woods. Collegiate wrestling career Woodin received a degree in agricultural engineering f ...

in 1972. Shane won the

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

with Chris Markoff,

Bearcat Wright Edward M. Wright (January 13, 1932 – August 28, 1982) was an American professional wrestler who became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. Despite racial tension in the United States, he became wildly popular as a babyface. Wrestling in either ...

and Gorgeous George, Jr. from 1972–1974.

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He tu ...

would have a feud with Shane during his time in Florida. He became known as the "King of Wrestling". In 1974 he went to

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

in Australia and feuded with

Mario Milano Mario Bulfone (15 May 1935 – 9 December 2016), better known by his ring name Mario Milano, was a professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Mex ...

. Before the plane crash he handed over his crown and cloak to Jerry Lawler to use whilst he was away. Jerry was meant to give these back to Bobby, this of course never happened therefore creating Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Death

On February 20, 1975, Shane was accompanied by Gary Hart, Austin Idol and

Buddy Colt Ron Read (January 13, 1936 – March 5, 2021), known professionally as Buddy Colt, Ty Colt and "Cowboy" Ron Reed, was an American professional wrestler who worked in NWA promotions including the St. Louis Wrestling Club, Championship Wrestling f ...

, who was piloting the

Cessna 182 The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

, when they took off from Opa Locka Airport, located in Miami to Peter O. Knight Airport, located in Tampa. The aircraft crashed into the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

following a stall after Colt attempted a

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unst ...

. Amidst the crash, the

Tampa Police Department The Tampa Police Department (TPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Police Department has over 1,000 authorized sworn law enforcement personnel positions and more than 350 civilian and support staff ...

retrieved the aircraft from the water where they found Shane's body and announced that Shane had died from drowning. It is believed his foot was caught in the wreckage of the aircraft. Shane died at 29 years old, and the other wrestlers survived with minor and critical injuries. Hart was thrown from the plane and had suffered serious injuries (broken arm, wrist, knee, back, sternum, collarbone and vertebrae; right eye knocked loose; a partially severed nose; head trauma). Despite this, he managed to locate Idol and swim him to shore, then swim back and rescue Colt. However, swimming out a third time, Hart was unable to find Shane; reportedly he was plagued by the memory and for decades wondered whether he had done everything he could.

Championships and accomplishments

AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship The AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship was a title in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the American Wrestling Association. It was primarily defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and ...

( 1 time) ** Nebraska Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

**Posthumous Award (2006) *

Heart of America Sports Attractions Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Central States version) The NWA Central States United States Championship was the version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in the Central States Wrestling territory around Missouri. It existed from 1961 until 1968. Records indicate tha ...

(1 time) **NWA Iowa Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ron Etchison *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) **

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) **

( 3 times) - with

Chris Markoff Chris Markoff is a Yugoslav-American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with professional wrestling promotions in the Midwestern United States in the 1960s. Early life Markoff was born in Yugoslavia and raised in ...

and Gorgeous George, Jr. *

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship The NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The title was pick ...

( 1 time) **NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time) **City of Mobile Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...

(

) – with Gorgeous George, Jr. **

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship The NWA Macon Tag Team Championship was a tag team professional wrestling championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling, defended exclusively on events held at the Macon City Auditorium and Macon Coliseum The Macon Coliseum is a multi-purpose ...

( 1 time) – with Gorgeous George, Jr. *

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship The NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship was created in October, 1962. Since its creation, the championship has been defended in a number of NWA territories throughout the decades. Initially, the title was a part of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestl ...

(1 time) *

NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout H ...

NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship The NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title of 50th State Big Time Wrestling and was defended between 1952 and 1979 when it was phased out. The title was later revived by the current incarnation of NWA Hawaii in 2000. It i ...

( 1 time) - with

*Superstar Championship Wrestling **SCW Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Gibson *

NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship The NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1972 through the promotion's 1978 closure. WCW joined the National Wrestling Alliance in ...

– with The Original Mr. Wrestling

References

External links

Bobby Shane – In Memory of a Legend
*
Bobby Shane at Cagematch.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shane, Bobby 1945 births 1975 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers Accidental deaths in Florida American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Missouri Sportspeople from St. Louis Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1975 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Deaths by drowning in the United States NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Champions NWA Macon Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA National Television Champions

Professional wrestling career

Death

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

External links