Stan Holek (April 4, 1933 – November 28, 2015) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

s, Stan Lisowski and Stan Neilson. He became known for being part of two famous "brother" tag teams, the Lisowskis (with Reggie Lisowski) and the Neilsons (with Art Neilson).

Professional wrestling career

Holek originally got into wrestling after his older brother began wrestling in Detroit. At age 18 in 1951, he debuted after training with Bert Rubi, The Sheik and Larry Shane in Detroit. He then began teaming with Reggie Lisowski as the Lisowski Brothers. After the team split up, Holek began teaming with Lisowski's old partner Art Neilson. Neilson and Holek became known as the Neilsons. The Neilsons would become

AWA World Tag Team Champions The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

in 1962 defeating the team of

Bob Geigel Robert Frederick Geigel (October 1, 1924 – October 30, 2014) was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. He operated the Kansas City, Missouri-based Heart of America Sports Attractions promotion from 1963 to 1986 ...

and Stan Kowalski. They lost the title later that year to Mr. High (Doug "Gilbert" Lindzy, no relation to the latter

Doug Gilbert Douglas Gilbert (born February 5, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with regional professional wrestling promotions throughout the Southern United States, as well as for Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

) and Mr. Low (Dick Steinborn). In addition, Holek wrestled as Stan Lutze in New England in the 1950s. He also toured Japan in the 1960s.

Personal life

Holek grew up on a farm in Chatham, Ontario and has an older brother named Laddie. He moved to California in 1960 and later became an American citizen. He then worked in the rodeo for 13 years and he worked in gold mines in Nevada. He was married twice. He was married to his second wife for over 30 years, and they have two daughters. He died on November 28, 2015 after a two year battle with colon cancer.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Alliance :*AWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Indiana version)'' (4 times) - with Art Neilson *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1952 through 1961. The title was then replaced with the Toronto version of the NWA Internati ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) - with Reggie Lisowski * NWA Chicago :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Chicago version)'' ( 3 times) - with Reggie Lisowski * NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club / American Wrestling Association :*

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

( 1 time) - with Art Neilson :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Minneapolis version)'' (

) - with Reggie Lisowski *

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

:* NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' (

) - with Art Neilson *

Worldwide Wrestling Associates NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

WWA International Television Tag Team Championship The WWA International Television Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles-based Worldwide Wrestling Associates from the title's formation in 1954 (as the NWA International Television Tag Team Champi ...

( 4 times) - with The Preacher (3) and Art Neilson (1)

References

External links

Stan Neilson at Online World of Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holek, Stan 1933 births 2015 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Ontario Sportspeople from Chatham-Kent Stampede Wrestling alumni AWA World Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions