Beell Dominates Opponent
If he had been bigger, Fred Beell would have been a dominant heavyweight in the first decade of the Twentieth Century. Instead, larger opponents often defeated Beell only because the opponent outweighed Beell by thirty to fifty pounds.
On the rare occasions that Beell wrestled a middleweight, Beell crushed his opponent. On January 13, 1905, Beell wrestled H.P. Hansen in Lowell, Massachusetts. Beell agreed to throw Hansen five times in an hour or surrender the match to Hansen.
Fred Beell posing for the camera in the early Twentieth Century from the Public Domain
Beell and Hansen wrestled at Lowell’s Academy of Music. Harvey Parker, a former professional wrestler, stood in for Beell’s normal manager, Ed Adamson.
Referee Dick Casey called the men to the center of the mat. Casey reminded the crowd that Beell agreed to throw Hansen five times within sixty minutes. If Hansen won a fall, the referee would declare Hansen the winner of the match.
Both Beell and Hansen stood five feet, six inches and weighed one hundred seventy pounds. For once, Beell did not give up a massive size disadvantage to his opponent. Beell used a single leg takedown into a half-Nelson to take the first fall in two minutes, thirty seconds. Hansen wrestled defensively after the quick fall.
After twenty-one minutes of the second fall, Beell threw Hansen with a head chancery. Hansen tried to turn face first to prevent the throw. Hansen landed face first off the mat and laid stunned for a minute or two. Casey declared Beell the winner of the second fall when Hansen could not return to the mat in the required time limit.
Beell needed another thirty-two minutes to pin Hansen for the third fall. Casey asked the timekeepers how much time was left. Parker claimed nine minutes but Beel’s second and the impartial timekeeper both had four minutes, thirty seconds. Beell agreed to the four minutes, thirty seconds left.
Photo of Boston wrestler Harvey Parker from the Public Domain
Beell picked Hansen up, dumped Hansen over Beell’s shoulder and pinned Hansen in only thirty seconds. Hansen’s manager yelled at Hansen to wrestle defensively. If Hansen listened to his manager, Hansen may have left with the gate receipts.
Instead, Hansen grabbed Beell’s neck and slammed Beell on his head. Only a quick bridge saved Beell from Hansen’s pin attempt. When Hansen moved his arm to adjust the hold, Beell spun to his stomach, while holding onto Hansen’s other arm. Beell rolled Hansen over Beell’s back, planted Hansen on his back, and pinned Hansen’s shoulders to the mat.
The timekeepers announced that Beell threw Hansen five times in fifty-eight minutes. Casey raised Beell’s hand as Casey declared Beell the winner.
Had Hansen not tried to pin Beell in the first and fifth falls, Hansen would have outlasted Beell. Hansen had plenty of courage but not a great game plan.
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Sources: The Marshfield News and Wisconsin Hub (Marshfield, Wisconsin), January 26, 1905, p. 7
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