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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-born 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 ...

and

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

Early life

Fred Beell was born in

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...

Province of Prussia The Province of Prussia (; ; ; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1824 to 1878. The province was established in 1824 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia, and was dissolved in 1878 when the merger was reversed. König ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, settling in

Marshfield, Wisconsin Marshfield is a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, Wood and Marathon County, Wisconsin, Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,929 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census; of this, 18,119 were in Wood County a ...

. He attended Immanual

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

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

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, serving in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. 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, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

es each month, keeping them on the road constantly. The “Beell Throw” was named after him, based on his perfection of the wrestling move. 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 Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1878 – December 17, 1917) was an American professional wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the World Heavyweight Championship in catch wrestling, and he is credited for popularizin ...

, 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 This is a list of print newspapers in Wisconsin. There were 362 newspapers in Wisconsin at the beginning of 2020. :''This is a list of daily newspapers currently published in Wisconsin. For weekly newspapers, see List of newspapers in Wisconsin. ...

'', and a more in-depth report in a 1933 edition of ''

True Detective Mysteries ''True Detective'' (originally ''True Detective Mysteries'') was an American true crime magazine published from 1924 to 1995. It initiated the true crime magazine genre, and during its peak from the 1940s to the early 1960s it sold millions of co ...

'', 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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team, is named after him.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

**Posthumous award (2005) * International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2022 *Other titles **

World Light Heavyweight Championship The World Light Heavyweight Championship was the first recognized professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to ...

(3 times) **

American Heavyweight Championship The American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was the first heavyweight professional wrestling championship in the United States. The title existed from 1881 through approximately 1922. Title history See also *Professional wrestling in the ...

( 1 time) **Northwest Championship (1 time) **

Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame honors distinguished members of Wisconsin's sports history. The Hall of Fame hosts several annual events, including an induction ceremony to honor new members, nomination luncheons, speaker series breakfasts an ...

(1972) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

**Class of 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beell, Fred A. 1876 births 1933 deaths 19th-century professional wrestlers 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American municipal police officers American male professional wrestlers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States American police officers killed in the line of duty Law enforcement officials from Wisconsin 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