Eric Holmback (April 16, 1916 – January 16, 1965) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Yukon Eric. Holmback spent the majority of his career in Southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he won the

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship in the Canada, Canadian professional wrestling promotion, promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1952 through ...

on two occasions with Whipper Billy Watson in 1955 and 1961 and the Montreal Athletic Commission's International Heavyweight Championship. He also won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship in 1948. Holmback is best known for his 1952 match and subsequent

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with

Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...

in which he lost his ear as a result of a botched

knee drop Strikes can be offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a Professional wrestling holds, hold or for a Professional wrestling throws, throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, ...

. A rematch between the two the following year was the first televised wrestling match in Canada. Holmback continued to wrestle in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

until he died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in 1965.

Professional wrestling career

After being trained by Man Mountain Dean, Holmback made his

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

debut on January 22, 1942, using the

Yukon Eric. Yukon Eric utilised a

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

in-ring persona, and as part of the persona, he was announced as being from

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, and always wore plaid wool shirts, worn open to show off his chest. He also was known for

whipping Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

his opponent into the ropes so that they would bounce back into his chest. On January 30, 1948, Yukon Eric defeated Sonny Myers to win his first

professional wrestling championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling match types, professional wrestling matches, in which competitors a ...

, the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. He held the championship for a week, before losing it to Miguel Guzmán on February 6. After this, he moved to

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

, where he spent the majority of his wrestling career. Two years later, on February 15, 1950, he defeated Bobby Managoff to win the Montreal Athletic Commission's International Heavyweight Championship. During a match against Wladek Kowalski in 1952, Kowalski botched a

, and legitimately severed part of Holmback's left ear. Afterward, Kowalski went to visit Holmback in the hospital, but began laughing at the bandages wrapped around Holmback's head. The incident cemented Kowalski as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

(villainous character) and prompted Kowalski to rename himself Killer Kowalski. A rematch between the two on January 14, 1953, at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum () is a historic building located facing Cabot Square, Montreal, Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the home o ...

was the first ever televised wrestling match in

. He won the

twice with Whipper Billy Watson, with their first reign beginning on February 13, 1958, when they defeated

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was ...

and

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he ...

. They lost the championship just over a month later to Stan and Reggie Lisowski on March 20, 1958. Later that year, he won the championship for the second time when he teamed with

Dara Singh Dara Singh Randhawa (born Deedar Singh Randhawa; 19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an Indian professional wrestler, actor, director and politician. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha ...

to defeat Stan and Reggie Lisowski on August 7, 1958. Three years later, on December 28, 1961, he won the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship for the second time with Watson, and the third time overall, when the pair defeated

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Chris Tolos Chris Tolos (December 5, 1929 – August 13, 2005) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Early life Chris was the oldest of the three children born on December 5, 1929, to Greek parents, Nicolaos and Evangelia (Evangeline) Tolos, in Hamilton ...

. Worked in Minnesota for

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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

from 1961 to 1962. He later moved to

, where he wrestled until the time of his death in 1965. In 2007, Holmback was one of the honorees of the

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 Ab ...

's Posthumous Award, along with Betty Jo Hawkins.

Personal life

Holmback grew up in

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is the most populous in Grays Harbor County and the region's economic center, bordering t ...

, with three sisters. He attended

Washington State College Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant universities in the American West. With an un ...

, where he played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

lettering Lettering or Lettering design is an act or result of artfully drawing letters, instead of writing them simply. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attent ...

with the

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

in 1938 as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

Death

After divorcing his wife and suffering financial problems, on January 16, 1965, Holmback drove to the church in

Cartersville, Georgia Cartersville is a city in and the county seat of Bartow County, Georgia, Bartow County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

, where he had gotten married, and took his own life by shooting himself in the mouth with a .22 caliber

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

. He was reported missing when he failed to show for matches in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, and

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. His body was found the next day in his car in the church parking lot. He was survived by his three children; two daughters and a son.

Championships and accomplishments

**Posthumous Award (2007) *

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and originally promoted in Chicago as the NWA World Three-Man Tag Team Championship. The NWA Mid-America terr ...

( 1 time) – with Pat O'Connor and Roy McClarity **

( 3 times) – with Whipper Billy Watson (2) and

(1) ** NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)* *Montreal Athletic Commission ** MAC International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links