 Little Beaver, circa 1973 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lionel Giroux (1934-01-14)January 14, 1934[2] Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada[7] |
| Died | December 4, 1995(1995-12-04) (aged 61)[3][4][5][6] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Little Beaver |
| Billed height | 4 ft 4 in (132 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 60 lb (27 kg)[1] |
| Debut | 1949 |
| Retired | March 29, 1987 |
Lionel Giroux (January 14, 1934 – December 4, 1995) was a Canadianprofessional wrestler, better known by thering nameLittle Beaver. He is best known for his appearance in asix-man tag team match atWrestleMania III in 1987.
Lionel Giroux began his wrestling career in 1949, at the age of fifteen,[1] and then began to wrestle for promoters inQuebec. He, along withSky Low Low, became two of the most famous midget wrestlers in wrestling who had enough drawing power to command a large portion of the live gate for wrestling events.[5][8] Giroux helped to create the comedy matches that have since become a trademark for midget wrestling in Canada and theUnited States.[8] In 1973, Giroux won thePro Wrestling Illustrated Midget Wrestler of the Year award.
His last in-ring appearance was at WrestleMania III in thePontiac Silverdome inPontiac,Michigan, in 1987, at the age of 52.[5] Giroux, wrestling as Little Beaver, teamed withHillbilly Jim and fellow midget wrestler theHaiti Kid, defeatingKing Kong Bundy and his midget tag-team partnersLittle Tokyo andLord Littlebrook, after Bundy was disqualified for attacking Little Beaver.[9][10] During the match, Giroux suffered a back injury at the hands of Bundy after he was bodyslammed and had an elbow dropped on him by the 458 lb (208 kg) Bundy, which forced him to retire from professional wrestling (through the match Beaver had "annoyed" Bundy including elbowing him in the stomach, delivering a drop kick that had literally no effect, and slapping him with hismoccasin which Bundy claimed "stung like a son-of-a-bitch").[5] In a 1998 interview Bundy said he hoped that he wasn't responsible for Giroux's early death, saying he wouldn't want that on his conscience.[11] A few months after WrestleMania III, during a match at theBoston Garden that aired later onWWF Prime Time Wrestling, Giroux (again as Little Beaver) was in Hillbilly Jim's corner for a match against theOne Man Gang. In a comical match eventually won by Hillbilly via a countout, Beaver got involved on several occasions, including antagonizing Gang's manager,Slick, throughout the match and hitting the back of Gang's head with a broom after the match was finished. The 450 lb (200 kg) Gang finally caught Little Beaver in the ring and after delivering a blow that sent him sprawling, he followed Slick's orders to hit Beaver with his747 Splash.[12]
Giroux died on December 4, 1995, ofemphysema.[3][4][5] In 2003, Giroux was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame.[1][8]
| International | |
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| National | |
