Bobby Nelson, born Charles Karass (17 April 1917 - 20 February 2002) was a Canadian-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 o ...

and businessman who appeared frequently in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

midwest territories beginning in 1936 and continuing through the 1950s.

Professional wrestling career

Prior to his wrestling career, Nelson worked as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. He initially wrestled using his birth name, but soon began using ring names, most frequently appearing as Bobby Nelson. He was sometimes credited as being the name inspiration for,Archer, Jeff; Svinth, Joseph (January 2005)
Professional Wrestling: Where Sports and Theater Collide
, ''InYo: Journal of Alternative Perspectives on the Martial Arts and Sciences''. URL last accessed January 7, 2006. or the creator of, the Nelson series of wrestling holds, though these terms were in use since the 19th Century, with some historians speculating they were named for

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

. Nelson appeared as both 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 Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

and

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

. National stars he wrestled include

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers Buddy Rogers (born Herman Gustav Rohde Jr.; February 20, 1921 – June 26, 1992), better known by the ring name "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, was an American professional wrestler who was one of the biggest professional wrestling stars in the begi ...

, The Crusher,

Yukon Eric Eric Holmback (April 16, 1916 – January 16, 1965) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yukon Eric. Holmback spent the majority of his career in Southern Ontario, Canada, where he won the NWA Canadian Open Tag T ...

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 wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion ...

and

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

. He also engaged in a long-running series of regional grudge matches against The Bat. He occasionally appeared in

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

matches, including in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

with Dutch Hefner.

Bobby Nelson Cheese Shop

Towards the end of his wrestling career, in 1949, Nelson opened Bobby Nelson Cheese Shop on what would become

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

near to and competing with the

Mars Cheese Castle Mars Cheese Castle is a specialty food store, delicatessen, and taproom which sells a variety of consumable products in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Located along Interstate 94, the shop is popular among Wisconsin visitors and has been called a "cheese land ...

. The shop sold various Wisconsin cheeses, sausages, Landjäger and other meat products, and condiments including jams and mustard, as well as German

beer stein A beer stein ( ), or simply stein, is either a traditional beer mug made out of stoneware or specifically an ornamental beer mug sold as a souvenir or collectible. An 1894 article on beer mugs in the American ''Vogue'' magazine that describes ...

s. After Nelson retired in 1978, the shop business was taken over by his daughter and her husband. The cheese shop has been often mentioned on air by Chicago disc jockey

Steve Dahl Steven Robert Dahl (born November 20, 1954) is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention after organizing and hostin ...

. The shop closed in July 2019 upon the owner's retirement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Bobby 1917 births 2002 deaths American male professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Wisconsin Sportspeople from Kenosha, Wisconsin American municipal police officers 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in retailing Canadian emigrants to the United States