Fred A. Beell (January 17, 1876 – August 5, 1933) was a

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-born

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and

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Early life

Fred Beell was born in

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kin ...

Province of Prussia The Province of Prussia (; ; pl, Prowincja Prusy; csb, Prowincjô Prësë) was a province of Prussia from 1829 to 1878. Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1829 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia ...

on January 17, 1876. When he was three years old, his family migrated to the

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, settling in

Marshfield, Wisconsin Marshfield is a city in northwest Wood and southwest Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 10, Highway 13 and Highway 97. The largest city in Wood County, its population was 18,929 at t ...

. He attended Immanual

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School as a child, and at the age of fourteen he began working at the Upham mill in Marshfield. Beell joined the

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, serving in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. He married Anna Scheren on August 6, 1902.

Professional wrestling career

Beell first became a professional wrestler in the late 1890s, during a time when professional wrestlers would fight numerous

exhibition match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

es each month, keeping them on the road constantly. On February 3, 1900, Beell defeated Ed Adamson, winning $238.50 for the match. On April 9, 1900, Beell defeated William West to become the Northwest Wrestling Champion. It was not until 1906 that he gained national attention, when he defeated Frank Gotch, the reigning American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Gotch defeated him 16 days later in Kansas City.Wisconsin Historical Society. Wisconsin Local History & Biography Articles; "Milwaukee Journal"; "Marshfield", "WI"; "August 8, 1933"; viewed online at https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Newspaper/BA335 He eventually quit wrestling in 1919. After retiring, he became a police officer in Marshfield.

Death

Beell died on August 5, 1933, in the line of duty at around 3 AM. Beell and his partner George Fyksen investigated a break-in at the Marshfield Brewing Company. Suspects were still on the scene. Beell, according to the later report published in the '' Marshfield News-Herald'', and a more in-depth report in a 1933 edition of ''

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'', waited near the patrol vehicle to watch the exits, while Fyksen entered the building. As he entered, the suspects began firing on Fyksen, who dropped to the ground and avoided injury, while returning fire. Beell, hearing the shots, left the vehicle to go to Fyksen's aid. As he rounded the front of the car, the suspects exited the building, firing as they ran. Four buckshot from a shotgun blast hit Beell in the head, without his being able to return fire, killing him instantly. The suspects then stole the police vehicle, but abandoned it less than a mile away. They had stolen $1,550.00 in the burglary of a safe. Marshfield police chief William Paape organized a posse with Wood County, Wisconsin sheriff Martin Bey. One of the suspects, Edward “Speed” Gabriel, was hit by shots fired from Fyksen in the initial gun battle, his body being located in a shallow grave alongside a roadway in Minnesota the next day. Two other suspects, Joe “Sleepy Joe” Hogan and Elmer Digman were captured. Hogan received 25 years in prison for his part in the murder, while Digman received a life sentence. Beell was buried at Hillside Cemetery in Marshfield. Beell Stadium, home of the Marshfield Tigers

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team, is named after him.

Championships and accomplishments

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**Posthumous award (2005) *

International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (IPWHF) is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum that is located in Albany, New York. The museum was founded by Seth Turner, Tony Vellano, the founder of Professional Wrestl ...

**Class of 2022 *Other titles **

World Light Heavyweight Championship The World Light Heavyweight Championship was the first recognized professional wrestling world light heavyweight championship created in 1905 Title history See also *World Light Heavyweight Championship (Australian version) *World Light Heavy ...

(3 times) ** American Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **Northwest Championship (1 time) ** Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame (1972) *

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**Class of 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beell, Fred A. 1876 births 1933 deaths 19th-century professional wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers American municipal police officers American male professional wrestlers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Prussian emigrants to the United States Male murder victims American police officers killed in the line of duty People associated with physical culture People from the Province of Prussia People from Marshfield, Wisconsin People murdered in Wisconsin Deaths by firearm in Wisconsin Professional wrestlers from Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Army soldiers Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum