Ken Fenelon (born Patrick Fenelon, 26 February 1909 - 8 August 1972) 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 ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, promoter and

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

. He was the first NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion and the first two-time holder of the title which he held for a total of 301 days.

Early life and boxing

Fenelon was recognised in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

as an all-round athlete and accomplished boxer. He enjoyed music and also performed in the

Dubuque Senior High School Dubuque Senior High School (commonly Senior or DSHS) is a four-year public high school located in Dubuque, Iowa. It is one of two high schools in the Dubuque Community School District, and enrolls 1,447 students in grades 9–12. The school's ...

Band. It was during his time in high school that Fenelon developed an interest in professional wrestling. In 1933, he was a boxing instructor at his local

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and also assisted with the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) boxing program. As well as competing and training, Fenelon also promoted local boxing events and refereed bouts.

Professional wrestling career

Fenelon's in-ring career in professional wrestling spanned from 1935-1950. He became the inaugural NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion in 1944 and held the title until May 1945 when he lost the championship to Marshall Esteppe in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He recaptured the title on March 11, 1946, when he defeated

Larry Tillman Lawrence Robert Tillman (1909–1997) was an American professional wrestler and promoter. He competed throughout the United States and Canada, primarily within the National Wrestling Alliance territories, winning the NWA World Junior Heavyweight ...

in Des Moines, Iowa, becoming the first two-time holder of the championship. A popular figure throughout the Iowa territory, Fenelon headlined many events. On August 13, 1944, he wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion (Iowa version) Orville Brown to a one-hour time limit draw. On October 28, 1942, Fenelon defeated Gene Bowman to capture the NWA Iowa State Heavyweight championship, a title he would hold on two occasions. Having been the regional Junior-Heavyweight champion in the territory prior to being recognised as the undisputed champion by the NWA, Fenelon defeated Eddie Campbell in 1944 in Des Moines to unify Campbell's MWA World Junior Heavyweight title with Fenelon's regional World Junior Heavyweight title Fenelon also promoted professional wrestling events, which he continued to do after retiring from in-ring competition. In 1939, he promoted an event headlined by Lord Patrick Lansdowne vs. Mike London. In 1950, he began promoting female wrestling matches.

Personal life

Fenelon was a multifaceted sportsman. Along with wrestling and boxing, he also played hockey and was third baseman for a local semi-professional baseball called Kool Motors.

Championships and accomplishments

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 Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Created in 1943, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World J ...

(2 times, inaugural) **NWA Iowa Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **World Light Heavyweight Championship (Iowa/Nebraska-Version)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenelon, Ken 1909 births 1972 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male boxers American male professional wrestlers Boxers from Iowa Professional wrestlers from Iowa Professional wrestling promoters American professional wrestling referees Sportspeople from Dubuque, Iowa NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions