Don Eagle
 |
|
| Birth name | Carl Donald Bell |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 25, 1925 Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | March 17, 1966 (aged 40) Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Chief Don Eagle Don Eagle |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 222 lb (101 kg) |
| Trained by | Chief Joseph War Eagle |
| Debut | 1945 |
| Retired | 1963 |
Carl Donald Bell (August 25, 1925 - March 17, 1966), better known by his ring name Chief Don Eagle, was a Mohawk Native American professional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Kahnawake, Quebec, Eagle became an AWA Boston World Champion.
Don Eagle began his boxing career in 1945, after a brief time working in the steel and construction industry. He had been trained solely by his father, Chief Joseph War Eagle (John Bell, who died from natural causes on August 27, 1979 aged 80), a former ring veteran and former Junior Heavyweight Champion himself, although Joe War Eagle never gained the attention his son later achieved.
In his first year, Eagle competed in 22 contests and won 17. He beat the established Red Dawson by pinfall in just under 16 minutes.
Being something of a rarity in Canada, Eagle quickly gained attention as a superb technical and innovative wrestler, renowned for escaping from and reversing many holds placed on him. Traveling from area to area, Eagle was known for his flamboyant long Cadillac which housed a 20-foot canoe on top. His passion for outdoor sports, fishing and hunting was well-known among his fellow wrestlers.
Eagle competed with and knew some of the greatest and most proficient wrestlers of his day, regularly tangling with the likes of Buddy Rogers and Lou Thesz. During the peak of his career (early 1950s), Eagle became the first person to throw World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Primo Carnera off his feet. He fought Antonino Rocca to a titanic 60-minute draw on May 19, 1951 at the Chicago Stadium.
Eagle's biggest match was arguably on May 23, 1950 when he wrestled and defeated Frank Sexton at the age of 23 in a best-of-three falls. Sexton was just over a year into a near-four-year reign of the Boston version of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
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