Karl Pojello (born Karolis Požėla, February 13, 1893 – September 4, 1954) was a Lithuanian and later 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 promoter.

Early life

Pojello was born in Steigviliai,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1893. In 1906, he moved to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, to work in a pharmacy owned by his brothers Antanas and Motiejus. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he fought on the side of the Russian army.
Car Pojello birthplace

Wrestling career

At the age of 18 he was thought to be one of the best amateur wrestlers in

. In 1913 Požėla won an international wrestling tournament in Breslav. As a successful amateur wrestler, he joined a group of professional wrestlers traveling from city to city. With them he traveled to and wrestled in China, Japan, and in 1924 he came to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. His career took a drastic turn, when in 1927, he met a Lithuanian wrestling promoter A. Tamašiūnas. There he beat Canadian wrestling champion Carl van Wurden in under 3 minutes. But it wasn't until he beat Johnny Mayers, another Lithuanian wrestler, considered to be middleweight champion of the world, when he came to fame and recognition. At the time he was one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the United States. Pojello met

Maurice Tillet Maurice Tillet (23 October 1903 – 4 September 1954) was a Russian-born French professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The French Angel. Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice World Heavyweight Cham ...

in Singapore in February 1937, and convinced him to become a professional wrestler. Pojello went back to Europe with Tillet and wrestled there until the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when he and his friend were forced to return to the US.

Death

Karolis Požėla died on September 4, 1954 from lung cancer. Upon hearing of the death of Karl,

had a heart attack. He was taken to

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, along with Provident Hospital of Cook County and ...

where he died on the same day. They are buried together at the Lithuanian National Cemetery. Pojello's friend and promoter Tamašiūnas built them a gravestone. Text on the gravestone reads: "Friends Whom Even Death Couldn't Part".

Championships and accomplishments

European Heavyweight Championship The European Heavyweight Championship is a name used for various top titles competed for throughout the European professional wrestling circuit. The title was recognised as official by UK national TV network ITV for the purposes of their coverage ...

(1 time)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pojello, Karl 1893 births 1954 deaths People from Pakruojis District Municipality People from Ponevezhsky Uyezd Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Lithuanian descent American male professional wrestlers Deaths from cancer in Illinois Deaths from lung cancer