Yvon Robert

Yvon Robert
Born October 8, 1914
Verdun, Quebec
Died July 12, 1971(1971-07-12) (aged 56)
Laval, Quebec
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Yvon Robert
The French Canadian Lion
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight 250 lb (110 kg)
Trained by Emil Maupas
Debut April 9, 1932
Retired 1959

Yvon Robert (October 8, 1914 - July 12, 1971) was a French Canadian professional wrestler who was best known to fans as Yvon "The Lion" Robert.

Career

Yvon Robert

American Wrestling Association (1932-1935)

Yvon Robert started wrestling in 1932 at age 17. He got his first stint in American Wrestling Association (Boston). He was trained by Emil Maupas. He was billed as The French Canadian Lion. He made his professional wrestling debut on April 4, 1932. During his early career, Robert feuded with wrestlers such as Rasputin, Joe Cox and Ernie Dusek.

National Wrestling Association (1935-1936)

In 1935, he made his National Wrestling Association debut as Yvon "The Lion" Robert. It was a territory of National Boxing Association to sanction professional wrestling. He got his first big exposure after attacking world champion Danno O'Mahony during a match. He left the promotion in 1936.

Montreal (1936-1944)

At his tavern in Montreal in 1940 with pictures of wrestlers, presumably himself on the wall.

In April 1936, he started wrestling in Montreal, Quebec. During his time with Montreal, he won the Montreal International Heavyweight Championship 16 times between 1936 to 1956. During 1943, he won the Montreal British Empire Heavyweight Championship.

American Wrestling Association (1936-1940)

Yvon returned to American Wrestling Association in July 1936. Just two weeks after his return, Yvon defeated Danno O'Mahony to win the AWA Boston Championship in Montreal. He claimed his first World Title after winning this match. He was recognized as the World Champion in New England. In 1940, he left AWA for a second time.

National Wrestling Association (1940-1943)

In 1940, he started his second stint with National Wrestling Association. In his second run with NWA, he got his biggest victory of his career on October 7, 1942. On this day, he beat "Wild" Bill Longson to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Montreal, Quebec. On November 27, he lost the title to Bobby Managoff in Houston, Texas. In 1943, he left NWA.

American Wrestling Association (1944)

On November 23, 1944, he returned to American Wrestling Association. He defeated Gino Garibaldi to recapture the AWA Championship.

Returning to Montreal (1944-1959)

He returned to Montreal, Quebec in 1944, and became a successful wrestler during this time. In 1948, he wrestled Gorgeous George to a draw at Montreal-record gate of $21,000 and broke that record within a year. In 1953, he formed a successful tag team with Whipper Billy Watson and won the Canadian Tag Team Championship. On November 12, Watson and Robert defeated Al Mills and Tiny Mills at a wrestling event held in Toronto with boxing champion Joe Louis as the special guest referee. On January 5, 1958, he teamed with Billy Wicks to defeat Corsica Joe and Corsica Jean in Memphis for the Mid-America Tag Team Championship, in what would be Robert's final title. In 1959, he came out of retirement.

Family

Robert was married to Leona. They had two daughters, Leona and Suzanne, and one son, Yvon Jr., who became a professional wrestler and promoter.[1]

Death

On July 12, 1971, Yvon Robert died at his home in Laval, Quebec.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Boston version) (2 times)
  • International Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (16 times)
  • British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (1 time)

Gallery

Photographs of Yvon Robert
Yvon Robert against the "Green Mask", 21 May 1941 
Two brothers of the Dusek Family against Yvon Robert and Laurent "Larry" Moquin, during a tag team wrestling match, Montreal, June 1945 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yvon Robert (wrestler).

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.