 Zoll,c. 1920 | |||||
| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | January 29, 1899 Howard, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||
| Died: | October 19, 1973(1973-10-19) (aged 74) Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Green Bay (WI) West | ||||
| College: | none | ||||
| Position: | Guard | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Carl Francis Zoll (January 29, 1899 – October 19, 1973) was an Americanwrestler and professionalfootballguard. One of three brothers who were active inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, sports, he attendedGreen Bay West High School and then became a prominent wrestler in the region. He was undefeated from the start of his career in 1917 until 1919, while also holding theWisconsinheavyweight title from 1917 until 1921. He fought many prominent wrestlers in his career, including several world champions, and unsuccessfully contended for theWorld Light Heavyweight Championship in 1920.
Zoll also played football; he was a member of theGreen Bay Packers in their inaugural1919 season. He stayed with the team until 1922 as they entered theNational Football League (NFL). Similar to his two brothersMartin andDick, Zoll only played in one NFL game for the Packers. After his career, he coached at a localYMCA and ran his family'sstone cutting business. Zoll died in 1973 at the age of 74.
Carl Francis Zoll was born on January 29, 1899, inHoward, Wisconsin.[1][2] He was one of seven children and had two brothers who were active in local sports –Dick andMartin.[1] His father was astonecutter and Zoll lifted tombstones as a youth, which helped him garner a reputation for his strength.[3] Zoll attendedGreen Bay West High School and later served inWorld War I.[1][2]
Zoll often competed inwrestling when carnivals were in theGreen Bay-area.[3] SportswriterRed Smith noted:
Whenever a carnival hit town and thespieler called for a volunteer to wrestle the champion, one fall to a finish, the bucks who hung out in Bobby Lynch's Billiard Academy would urge, "go on, Carl, go on," and set up a chant until Carl, with a bashful grin, would step forward. It is not recalled that Carl ever won a match, but he was never disgraced. Again and again he would have the champion in extremis, grunting, gasping and writhing on the brink of defeat, and at last when Carl's shoulders touched the mat, the champion was invariably gracious. "And I wanna say," he would tell the crowd, clutching his adversary's paw, "that I never met a better man than your own Carl Zoll right here in Green Bay."[3]
Zoll began wrestling competitively in Green Bay in 1917 and at the time weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).[4] TheGreen Bay Press-Gazette described him as showing excellent speed despite his large size.[4] Trained by Tom Condon,[5] he was classified as aheavyweight and was quickly considered among the top wrestlers at his weight in the area.[6][7] In April 1917, he challenged Barney McMillan, theWisconsin state champion, and defeated him in5+1⁄2 minutes, thus claiming the state heavyweight title.[5][8] He was undefeated early in his career and was considered the "pride of Green Bay" by thePress Gazette.[9][10] His brother, Martin, sometimes competed in events featuring Zoll as well.[11] Carl tied in a match in April 1918,[12] and then towards the end of the month, he defeated Roy Anderson after coming from behind in whatGeorge Whitney Calhoun described as having "more thrillers than any other sport seen in this neck of the woods for a long time".[13]
Zoll weighed 197 pounds (89 kg) by October 1918.[14] He started training every day in November for his match against "Strangler" Hill, the "carnival champion" ofDavenport, Iowa.[15][16] To prepare for the fight, he worked in shipyards drivingrivets.[16] He defeated Hill, remaining undefeated, in what thePress-Gazette described as one of the best matches ever to have taken place in Green Bay.[17] In December, he again fought Roy Anderson, who had previously been the only person ever to knock Zoll down,[18] and defeated him; Anderson later declared Zoll to be the best wrestler he ever competed against.[19]
In January 1919, Zoll defeated "Cyclone" Burns in an hour-long fight that reportedly featured the largest attendance for a bout in Green Bay history, which allowed him to schedule a later fight againstDoc Roller.[20][21] Later that month, he battled to a draw againstElmer Saunders, as the match was ended after the mat they fought on tore, making it impossible to continue.[22] He fought against Saunders in February and was defeated for the first time in his career.[23] In April, he lost a second time, being defeated by future world championEd Lewis in a bout that lasted half an hour.[24] Later, he was trained by former world middleweight championJim Barnes and defeated the champion ofAppleton, George Gloudemans, in July, which was the third time he had defeated Gloudemans in his career.[25][26]
Zoll opened the fall 1919 season with a victory over "Strangler" Hill in September 1919.[27] By November, he claimed to have a record of 46–1 and was dubbed the "Wisconsin Wonder" by his manager, Tom Condon, who declared Zoll to be a future world champion.[28] TheToronto Star Weekly highlighted Zoll's willingness to compete against any challenger and in any location.[28] In December, he fought a rematch against Elmer Saunders, which was declared a draw after neither competitor had fallen after nearly3+1⁄2 hours of competing.[29]
Zoll was noted in theBeaver Dam Argus to be "unquestionably one of the best light heavyweights in the country" in February 1920.[30] He competed againstToney Barnardi, considered the "Italian champion of the world", and battled to a draw in March 1920.[31][32] In April, he was defeated in a majorupset by Young Romanoff.[33][34] Afterwards, Zoll moved his headquarters toChicago, Illinois, and changed his manager to Ed White.[35] According to theDes Moines Tribune, he was known by the nickname "Flying Dutchman" for "his speed and the way he sails in after his opponents when in action".[35] He challengedHelmer Myre for theWorld Light Heavyweight Championship in August 1920 but was defeated.[36]
The Post-Crescent noted that by January 1921, Zoll had fought many of the best wrestlers in the U.S. and won most of his fights.[37] However, later that month he lost in 47 minutes to "Strangler" Hill.[38] Against Hill, Zoll fell once and then had to forfeit due to an injury he suffered.[38] With his loss to Hill, Zoll also lost his title as Wisconsin champion.[38] Three months later, he competed at an annual event held by theUnited Spanish War Veterans and defeated Beno, aHindu wrestler.[39] However, after his loss to Hill, Zoll lost more matches andThe Post-Crescent said his name became closely linked with losing.[40] He began competing under thering name Carl Anderson and faced off againstWladek Zbyszko, whose brother was a world champion, but was defeated in December 1921.[41]
Zoll continued wrestling in 1922 and 1923, including facing off against heavyweight championJim Londos in March 1923, a match that he lost.[42][43] After being out of training for an extended period, he returned in February 1925 and foughtNazzareno Pogi, the Italian heavyweight champion, but was defeated.[44][45] Later that year, he began serving as a wrestling coach at the Green BayYMCA.[46] He continued to compete occasionally up to 1926.[47]
ThePress-Gazette reported that when Zoll had fought world champion Lewis, the latter extolled Zoll's future in wrestling.[48] However, thePress-Gazette noted that even though Zoll still had a passion for and desire to wrestle, he was expecting to marry shortly and had other responsibilities related to his stone cutting business.[48]
After high school, Zoll started playing with asemi-professional team in Green Bay in 1918, which had gone undefeated by the start of November.[49] Zoll and teammateNate Abrams left the team in November to join theUnited States Army.[50] Upon his return from the Army, Zoll joined the newly-formedGreen Bay Packers in 1919, training with the team in the evenings after his morning wrestling practices.[51] He was the heaviest player for the Packers in their inaugural season, weighing 215 pounds (98 kg) despite standing at only 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m).[52] The1919 Packers won their first 10 games before a loss to theBeloit Fairies in the season-finale by a score of 6–0.[53] He remained with the Packers in 1920, although he was injured for a time and noted to thePress-Gazette that football had more ferocity compared to wrestling.[54] The 1920 Packers compiled a record of10–1–1.[55] He returned to the team in 1921, as they became members of theAmerican Professional Football Association (APFA), although he did not appear in any APFA games that season.[2][56] Zoll remained with the Packers in 1922, as the APFA was renamed to the National Football League (NFL). That season, he played in one game as a backup, in what ended up being his sole appearance in the NFL.[57]
Zoll played football with his brother, Martin, twice: with the Packers and later in 1924 with a team inDe Pere, Wisconsin.[56][58] Each of the three Zoll brothers played only one game for the Packers in the NFL.[57][59][60]
ThePress-Gazette noted in 1969 that when in tight parking spaces, Zoll would lift out hisFord Model T with relative ease: "Old timers still chuckle over his trick ... in fact, they used to hem him in deliberately to watch him do it."[61] After his career, Zoll continued coaching wrestling at the local YMCA and also served as a referee.[48][62] He also maintained the operation of his family's stone cutting business.[63] In 1949, he was elected the first vice president of thePackers Alumni Association, which was created by former players to advocate for past and current players.[64] He was a member of theElks Lodge, serving on the board of trustees, and a member of the Southside Civic Association.[1] He was married to Pearl Zoll, who predeceased him by two years.[63] Zoll died on October 19, 1973, in Green Bay, at the age of 74.[63]
