Edward S. Cholak (March 17, 1930 – October 31, 2002) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

better known by his ring name Moose Cholak. Cholak competed in North American regional promotions from 1952 until 1987, primarily in the Midwest and northeast. The nearly 400-lb Cholak was known for wearing a moose head to the ring and giving a "moose call" prior to his matches.

Career

A native of Chicago's Southeast Side, Cholak was an all-city wrestling champion and an AAU amateur champion at

Chicago Vocational High School Chicago Vocational High School (commonly known as CVCA, Chicago Vocational Career Academy or CVS) is a public 4–year vocational high school located in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened i ...

. Cholak played tackle for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

football team, but left after one year to join the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. In addition to boxing and wrestling in the service, he was also trained as

SeaBee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. After leaving the Navy in 1952, Cholak was recruited into professional wrestling by former

AWA World Heavyweight champion The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight ...

Chief Don Eagle Carl Donald Bell (August 25, 1925 – March 17, 1966), better known by his ring name Chief Don Eagle, was a Mohawk boxer and professional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Kahnawake, Quebec, he became Boston's AWA World He ...

. Cholak was trained by

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

promoter and former

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

vice president, Al Haft.Alt URL
/ref> Between 1953 and 1987, Cholak wrestled in 8,000 matches. Cholak's moose gimmick and finishing move "El Squasho" as well as the big splash finishing move made him a star in the early years of televised wrestling, including ''

Wrestling from Marigold ''Wrestling from Marigold'' is an American sports program broadcast from the Marigold Arena in Chicago which aired on the DuMont Television Network from Saturday, September 17, 1949, until March 1955. The show lasted for either 90 or 120 minutes, ...

'' and '' Wrestling from the International Amphitheater'' that both originated from Chicago. Among his many singles and tag-team championships, Cholak won the International Wrestling Association championship in Japan in 1963, defeating Rikidozan.

Later life

From 1976 to 1996, Cholak supplemented his wrestling income by working as an engineer for Chicago's Streets and Sanitation Department. On nights and weekends when he wasn't booked to wrestle, Cholak also worked in his family's tavern, Calumet Beach Inn. Cholak met Arlene, his wife of 45 years, at the tavern. Eventually weighing over 400 pounds, Cholak died of complications from a stroke on October 31, 2002 in a

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern L ...

hospital at the age of 72.

Championships and accomplishments

* Big Time Wrestling **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) The Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the top ranked professional wrestling championship for tag teams in the Detroit, Michigan-based promotion Big Time Wrestling, sometimes referred to as NWA Detroit, between 1965 and 19 ...

(1 time) – with Ed George *Buffalo Athletic Club ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Buffalo/Cleveland version) (1 time) **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Buffalo Athletic Club version) The Buffalo Athletic Club version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was a regional professional wrestling championship for tag teams that existed from 1956 until 1970. The championship was promoted by National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member ...

(1 time) – with Johnny Powers * International Wrestling Association **IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * World Wrestling Association ''(Indianapolis)'' **

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based ...

(3 times) – with

Wilbur Snyder Wilbur Snyder (September 15, 1929 – December 25, 1991) was an American football player and professional wrestler. Wrestling career Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during football's 1953 off-season. He was trained by Sandor Szabo and Warren ...

(2) and

Paul Christy Paul Christy (born Paul Christerson, March 20, 1939 – May 24, 2021) was an American professional wrestler known mainly for his work in the National Wrestling Alliance and International Championship Wrestling as well as a stint in the World Wres ...

(1) *World Wrestling Association ''(New Mexico)'' **WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Moose Cholak at Cagematch.net
*
Moose Cholak at Wrestlingdata.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cholak, Moose 1930 births 2002 deaths American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Illinois Sportspeople from Chicago 20th-century professional wrestlers NWF North American Heavyweight Champions