Freddie Prosser
Encyclopedia
Freddie Prosser was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Freddie Sweetan. He competed in certain North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance
as well as Grand Prix Wrestling
, Maple Leaf Wrestling
and Stampede Wrestling
during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably teaming with Paul Peller as the masked tag team The Butchers.
, Prosser met 7-year veteran Paul Peller who persuaded him to enter professional wrestling. Training under Emile Dupree
in Shediac, he eventually made his debut in 1968 teaming with Peller in Stu Hart
's Stampede Wrestling as The Butchers. During their time in the promotion, they proved a popular tag team headlining sold out events in Calgary and Edmonton four weeks straight, which included matches against football player Bob Luce and Emile Dupre.
The following year, he and Peller joined Dupre, Leo Burke
and others to tour the Maritimes with Grand Prix Wrestling
during the summer before returning to Calgary by the end of the year. Wrestling under the name Freddie Sweetan, Prosser teamed with Stampede Wrestling veteran "Bruiser" Bob Sweetan
and eventually won the Stampede Wrestling Tag Team Championship before losing the titles to Bud
& Ray Osborne in Calgary, Alberta on April 18, 1969. He and Peller would later win the titles the following year.
-area as Killer Kox & K.O. Kox with Bob Geigel
's NWA Central States. Feuding with Bob Geigel & The Stomper over the NWA Central States North American Tag Team titles, he later faced Geigel in a singles match the following year on November 5, 1970.
While in the United States, he would also team with fellow Canadians The Beast in the Amarillo area and Michel "Le Justice" Dubois in the Mid-Atlantic region who together faced Terry
& Bobby Kay
, George
& Sandy Scott
, Big Boy Brown & Klondike Bill
, Les Thatcher
& Nelson Royal and, most notably The Royal Kangaroos
whom they had a five week feud with in 1973. During their time in the Carolinas, they would also face J.J. Dillon in Greensboro, North Carolina
in 1972.
on October 12, 1971. He would later team with a number of tag team partners including Kurt Von Steiger, Mr. X and J.J. Dillon defeating The Beast & Bobby Kay in September 1973.
Losing single matches to Jacques Rougeau
and Johnny Valentine
at the Maple Leaf Gardens
in February 1974, the titles were later vacated when Dillon did not return to the promotion the following summer. However, he and Michel Dubois would reunite to regain the titles defeating The Beast & Bobby Kay in July 1974.
That same year, while visiting with Prosser and Pomeroy in their motor home, Prosser's father told Pomeroy that he was going to return to his house and commit suicide. After he had left, Pomeroy and Prosser returned to his house to find several Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) officers were already at the scene where they informed the two Prosser's father had killed himself with a shotgun from the house.
After wrestling his last match in Saint John, New Brunswick
, he held a party to celebrate his 36th birthday at his summer cabin at MacFarlane Bridge, 15 miles southeast of Moncton. Although it is unknown what happened during the hours after his friends had left the party, sometime during the night a fire broke out in the cabin resulting in Prosser's death. An investigation by the RCMP concluded that that Prosser, whose body had been found near the front door, had been trapped in the cabin during the fire and died of smoke inhalation
. The official cause of the fire was stated to been accidental, and was most likely caused by Prosser having fallen asleep with a lit cigar
in his hand.
However, wrestlers such as Emile Dupree have stated they believe the fire may have been started by a charcoal barbecue. Having been known to remain hot after being shut off, the grill may have either caused the fire or might have exploded. This theory was supported by news reportsand, according to one news account, officials had "declined to reveal circumstances surrounding the blaze" although an autopsy was performed at a local Moncton hospital.
Pomeroy, who had been unable to attend the party due to a prior commitment in Moncton, was asked by Prosser's mother to take over the funeral service. Prosser would later be cremated and buried alongside his father.
Finishing Move: Airplane Spin
Shoulder Breaker
Favorite Moves: The Piledriver
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
as well as Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...
, Maple Leaf Wrestling
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.-Queensbury Athletic Club:...
and Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably teaming with Paul Peller as the masked tag team The Butchers.
Early life and career
Born in Shenstone, a small village in Albert County, New BrunswickAlbert County, New Brunswick
Albert County is located in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada on the Chignecto Bay of the Bay of Fundy. Prior to the abolition of county government in 1967, the county seat was Hopewell Cape...
, Prosser met 7-year veteran Paul Peller who persuaded him to enter professional wrestling. Training under Emile Dupree
Emile Duprée
Emile Duprée is a former professional wrestler and promoter. He is also the father of former WWE professional wrestler, René Duprée and currently lives in Pointe-du-Chene, New Brunswick.-Professional wrestling career:...
in Shediac, he eventually made his debut in 1968 teaming with Peller in Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's Stampede Wrestling as The Butchers. During their time in the promotion, they proved a popular tag team headlining sold out events in Calgary and Edmonton four weeks straight, which included matches against football player Bob Luce and Emile Dupre.
The following year, he and Peller joined Dupre, Leo Burke
Leo Burke
Leonce Cormier is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance in New Zealand...
and others to tour the Maritimes with Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...
during the summer before returning to Calgary by the end of the year. Wrestling under the name Freddie Sweetan, Prosser teamed with Stampede Wrestling veteran "Bruiser" Bob Sweetan
Bob Sweetan
Bob Sweetan better known as "Bruiser" Bob Sweetan or "Mr. Piledriver" Bob Sweetan, after his signature finishing maneuver, was born in 1940. Bob was a professional wrestler who over his long career held numerous titles. Bob enjoyed tremendous success with the National Wrestling Alliance...
and eventually won the Stampede Wrestling Tag Team Championship before losing the titles to Bud
Bud Osborne
Bud Osborne was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films and television programs between 1912 and 1963.Osborne was born in Knox County, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack...
& Ray Osborne in Calgary, Alberta on April 18, 1969. He and Peller would later win the titles the following year.
National Wrestling Alliance
In part to an agreement with Sweetan and Leo Burke, Prosser and Sweetan( being the same person) began wrestling in the Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
-area as Killer Kox & K.O. Kox with Bob Geigel
Bob Geigel
Robert "Bob" Geigel is a former American professional wrestling promoter and also a former professional wrestler. Geigel ran the NWA Central States promotion between 1963 and 1986, until it was bought out by Jim Crockett Promotions...
's NWA Central States. Feuding with Bob Geigel & The Stomper over the NWA Central States North American Tag Team titles, he later faced Geigel in a singles match the following year on November 5, 1970.
While in the United States, he would also team with fellow Canadians The Beast in the Amarillo area and Michel "Le Justice" Dubois in the Mid-Atlantic region who together faced Terry
Terry Kay
Terry Kay, born 10 February 1938, in Royston, Georgia, is a novelist. Perhaps his most well-known book is To Dance with the White Dog, which was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy....
& Bobby Kay
Bobby Kay
Romeo Cormier is a retired Canadian professional wrestler best known by the ring name Bobby Kay. He is a member of the Cormier wrestling family, a group of four brothers who were all successful professional wrestlers. Romeo Cormier competed in Canada and the United States from 1967 to the...
, George
George Scott (wrestler)
George Scott was a Canadian professional wrestler, booker and promoter. From the 1950s until the 1970s, he and his younger brother Sandy competed as The Flying Scotts in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic...
& Sandy Scott
Sandy Scott
Angus Mackay Scott , better known by his ring name Sandy Scott, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked with his older brother George from the 1950s until the 1970s as The Flying Scotts in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Midwest...
, Big Boy Brown & Klondike Bill
Klondike Bill
Bill Soloweyko , better known by his ring name Klondike Bill, was a Canadian professional wrestler trained by Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He wrestled in various NWA territories throughout the 1960's and 70's, before moving onto World Championship Wrestling.-Career:Bill was trained by Stu...
, Les Thatcher
Les Thatcher
Leslie Alan Malady better known by the name Les Thatcher is a former professional wrestler who achievied many accolades over his career...
& Nelson Royal and, most notably The Royal Kangaroos
The Royal Kangaroos
The Royal Kangaroos was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins “Lord” Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III. The duo played off their Australian heritage which included using a boomerang as their weapon of choice...
whom they had a five week feud with in 1973. During their time in the Carolinas, they would also face J.J. Dillon in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
in 1972.
Return to Canada and later career
Returning to the Maritimes during the summer months, he also had a successful run with Eric Pomeroy feuding with The Beast, who enlisted Rudy Kay and Leo Burke, fighting over the ESA International Tag Team Championship throughout the early 1970s. He and The Beast would also engage in several single matches as well. He and Pomeroy would win the ESA International Tag Team titles three times before losing the titles to The Beast & Rudy Kay in Halifax, Nova ScotiaCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
on October 12, 1971. He would later team with a number of tag team partners including Kurt Von Steiger, Mr. X and J.J. Dillon defeating The Beast & Bobby Kay in September 1973.
Losing single matches to Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career...
and Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine was a professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling...
at the Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
in February 1974, the titles were later vacated when Dillon did not return to the promotion the following summer. However, he and Michel Dubois would reunite to regain the titles defeating The Beast & Bobby Kay in July 1974.
That same year, while visiting with Prosser and Pomeroy in their motor home, Prosser's father told Pomeroy that he was going to return to his house and commit suicide. After he had left, Pomeroy and Prosser returned to his house to find several Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) officers were already at the scene where they informed the two Prosser's father had killed himself with a shotgun from the house.
After wrestling his last match in Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, he held a party to celebrate his 36th birthday at his summer cabin at MacFarlane Bridge, 15 miles southeast of Moncton. Although it is unknown what happened during the hours after his friends had left the party, sometime during the night a fire broke out in the cabin resulting in Prosser's death. An investigation by the RCMP concluded that that Prosser, whose body had been found near the front door, had been trapped in the cabin during the fire and died of smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires.Smoke inhalation injury refers to injury due to inhalation or exposure to hot gaseous products of combustion. This can cause serious respiratory complications....
. The official cause of the fire was stated to been accidental, and was most likely caused by Prosser having fallen asleep with a lit cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
in his hand.
However, wrestlers such as Emile Dupree have stated they believe the fire may have been started by a charcoal barbecue. Having been known to remain hot after being shut off, the grill may have either caused the fire or might have exploded. This theory was supported by news reportsand, according to one news account, officials had "declined to reveal circumstances surrounding the blaze" although an autopsy was performed at a local Moncton hospital.
Pomeroy, who had been unable to attend the party due to a prior commitment in Moncton, was asked by Prosser's mother to take over the funeral service. Prosser would later be cremated and buried alongside his father.
Championships and accomplishments
- Central States WrestlingHeart of America Sports AttractionsHeart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version)NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version)The NWA North American Tag Team Championship was a major tag team championship used and defended in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliated Central States Wrestling based out of Kansas City, Missouri. Although the name of the championship aludes to it being nationally recognized and defended,...
(2 times) - with Bob Sweetan
- Eastern Sports AssociationEastern Sports AssociationThe Eastern Sports Association, often referred to in the business simply as "the Maritimes," was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Halifax, Nova Scotia...
- ESA International Tag Team ChampionshipESA International Tag Team ChampionshipEastern Sports Association's International Tag Team Title was represented by a Trophy, and was defended in the Maritimes from 1969-75.- International Tag Team Champions :...
(7 times) - with Eric Pomeroy (2), Michel Dubois (2), Kurt von Steiger (1), Mr. X (1) and James J. DillonJames J. DillonJames J. "J.J." Dillon is a retired American professional wrestler and manager.He is best known for being the strategic leader of the original Four Horsemen that consisted of Nature Boy Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson. He is most remembered as a manager in pro wrestling...
(1)
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (1 time) - with Bob Sweetan
Finishing Move: Airplane Spin
Shoulder Breaker
Favorite Moves: The Piledriver