The Baillargeon Brothers were Canadian strongmen and professional wrestlers. They were called "the six strongest brothers in the world".

Information

The Baillargeon Brothers were from Saint-Magloire-de-Bellechasse,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. They were known for their strength even in childhood and often worked on farms and later as lumberjacks.''Hommage aux célèbres frères Baillargeon'', publisher: ''Plume d'oie, 1997'', published: 1997, url=https://books.google.tt/books?id=6zgrAAAACAAJ&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s The brothers became involved in entertainment on November 26, 1946. Jean Baillargeon went to a vaudeville show where a wrestler named "Sheik Abid" offered $100 to anyone who lift his weight which was said be 725 pounds. After insisting several times to attempt this feat, he was given a barbell weighing 130-150 pounds to lift in the standing-snatch position. He completed the task, though his hand was off balance. The promoters were going to disqualify him, but the crowd booed and Jean was given $25 to leave. Jean was then introduced Canadian weightlifter Gérard Michaud, which got Jean and his family their first big break. In 1947, the brothers (minus Antonio) put on a strongman show with the Dionne Brothers, who were acrobats. The show attracted 4,000 spectators and lead to four more shows the month after. Antonion then joined his brothers for their performances after returning from school. The two sets of brothers became a traveling act, performing throughout Canada and the United States. The brothers wore a costume that had the

Canadian maple leaf The Canadian Maple Leaf coins are bullion coins of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium, issued by the Royal Canadian Mint: * Canadian Gold Maple Leaf The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf (GML) is a gold bullion coin that is issued annually by the Gove ...

with a beaver inside that said, "6 Baillargeon Brothers". The troupe performed a 10 act show which notably featured Charles pulling a bus with his teeth and a

human pyramid A human pyramid is an acrobatic formation of three or more people in which two or more people support a tier of higher people, who in turn may support other, higher tiers of people. People above the bottom tier may kneel or stand on the shoulders ...

.''Le Soleil Newspaper, Quebec City, Decembember 4, 1949'', publisher: ''Le Soleil Newspaper'', published: 1949 The brothers met Bob Hoffman, who was the owner of Strength & Health magazine in 1948 at a weightlifting exhibition. While the performance was not perfect, it earned them coverage in Strength and Health magazine and helped them further grow their brand. The brothers later were trained in professional wrestling and made their professional wrestling debut in 1949, with the Jean, Adrien and Paul winning their debut matches. They competed in various promotions including

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

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 ...

and Big Time Wrestling.

The Brothers

Jean Baillargeon

Jean Baillargeon (May 2, 1915 - March 2, 1994) - He defeated Hassan Bay in his professional debut in 1949. He won a one-day tournament for Promotions Eddie Quinn in 1950 and later won the

Alberta Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, the Alberta Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship promoted by the Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling in the mid-1950s. History The Alberta Tag Team Champions ...

with Seelie Samara on April 23, 1954. Jean ended up having a 15 year career in wrestling.

Charles Baillargeon

Charles Baillargeon (July 8, 1917 - February 10, 2010) - His specialty was performing lifting and pulling feats of strength with his teeth. Charles defeated Charlie Guilman in his 1949 professional wrestling debut. His professional wrestling career with cut short due to a car accident in 1955. After wrestling and strongman competitions, he worked in the hotel business with his brother, Paul.

Adrien Baillargeon

Adrien Baillargeon (October 26, 1918 - May 9, 1995) - Like his brothers, he debuted as a professional wrestler in 1949. He was the runner up in a tournament for the

NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984, when it was abandoned after the Toronto promotion partnered with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Its national scope was in nam ...

in June 1955. He won the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

in 1955 with his brother, Paul. He won the

NWA Louisiana Tag Team Championship The NWA Louisiana Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in NWA Tri-State. A secondary title after NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship, and complementing the NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Championship, it was one of ...

with Tony Jiminez in March 1960 and won the

Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship The Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended from 1964 though 1983. Initially, the championship originated in the NWA affiliated Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling ...

in February 1960. He later moved to

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

Lionel Baillargeon

Lionel Baillargeon (July 4, 1921 - June 19, 1982) - He made his professional wrestling debut in 1949 against Willie Debeau. He was a Canadian Junior Heavyweight wrestling champion''Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d Ed.'', publisher: ''McFarland Incorporated', published: 2015, url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biographical_Dictionary_of_Professional/QjGSCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Baillargeon+Brothers&pg=PA26&printsec=frontcover and retired in 1958.

Paul Baillargeon

Paul Baillargeon (July 19, 1922 - October 18, 1999) - His specialty was lifting horses. He made his professional wrestling debut in 1949 against Paul Lortie and was nicknamed "The French Canadian Bear". He held the

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 ...

with

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 to February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the ...

and won the

with his brother, Adrien. He said to be the biggest wrestling star of the brothers. After retiring from wrestling in 1960, he was the owner of "Hotel Baillargeon" and was the President of the Quebec Hotel Association.

Antonio Baillargeon

Antonio Baillargeon (November 22, 1928 - March 14, 1997), also known as Tony Baillargeon - He debuted in 1949 against Charlie Guilman at the age of 20. He was said to have wrestled 3,000 matches in 45 different states in the US. He held the

with Pat O'Connor, the NWA World World Tag Team Championship with Maurice Lapoine and the

NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ...

with his brother Adrien. He retired in 1976.

References

External links

{{Authority control Professional wrestling families Canadian professional wrestling families Circus strongmen and strongwomen Canadian strength athletes Canadian professional wrestlers Sports families People from Chaudière-Appalaches Independent promotions teams and stables National Wrestling Alliance teams and stables Canadian sports families