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| Bobby Shane | |
|---|---|
 Shane circa early 1970s | |
| Birth name | Robert Lee Schoenberger |
| Born | (1945-08-25)August 25, 1945[1] St. Louis, Missouri[1] |
| Died | February 20, 1975(1975-02-20) (aged 29)[1] Tampa, Florida[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bobby Shane Bobby Schoen The Challenger |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 224 lb (102 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Wild Bill Longson |
| Debut | 1963 |
Robert Lee Schoenberger (August 25, 1945 – February 20, 1975),[1] better known asBobby Shane, who also wrestled asBobby Schoen and asThe Challenger, was an American professionalwrestler known for his time in NWA Florida in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a well-known "heel" in theNational Wrestling Alliance and considered a future wrestling star at the time of his death.[2]
The son of St. Louis referee Gus Schoenberger, he started his career in theAmerican Wrestling Association in Minnesota. Eventually winning titles in the Mid-west and Hawaii. By 1968 he went to Georgia where he became popular. In 1970, he was the masked Challenger teaming up withThe Professional winning theNWA Georgia Tag Teams titles in a tournament. Later that year he defeatedNick Bockwinkel for theNWA Georgia Television Championship.
In 1971 he moved to the NWA'sFlorida territory where he became a big name. He won theFlorida Southern Heavyweight Championship from George Gaiser, as well as theNWA Florida Television Championship winning it two times fromBob Roop andTim Woods in 1972. Shane won theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship with Chris Markoff,Bearcat Wright and Gorgeous George, Jr. from 1972–1974.Jack Brisco would have a feud with Shane during his time in Florida. He became known as the "King of Wrestling". In 1974 he went toWorld Championship Wrestling in Australia and feuded withMario Milano. Before the plane crash he handed over his crown and cloak to Jerry Lawler to use whilst he was away. Jerry was meant to give these back to Bobby, this of course never happened therefore creating Jerry "The King" Lawler.
On February 20, 1975, Shane was accompanied byGary Hart,Austin Idol andBuddy Colt, who was piloting theCessna 182, when they took off fromOpa Locka Airport, located in Miami toPeter O. Knight Airport, located in Tampa. The aircraft crashed into theTampa Bay following a stall after Colt attempted ago-around.[3] Amidst the crash, theTampa Police Department retrieved the aircraft from the water where they found Shane's body and announced that Shane had died from drowning. It is believed his foot was caught in the wreckage of the aircraft. Shane died at 29 years old, and the other wrestlers survived with minor and critical injuries.[2][4][5] It was believe to due Shane's short height 5"9 that he had trouble escaping from the plane. Hart was thrown from the plane and had suffered serious injuries (broken arm, wrist, knee, back, sternum, collarbone and vertebrae; right eye knocked loose; a partially severed nose; head trauma). Despite this, he managed to locate Idol and swim him to shore, then swim back and rescue Colt. However, swimming out a third time, Hart was unable to find Shane; reportedly he was plagued by the memory and for decades wondered whether he had done everything he could.
