Carl Zoll

Carl Zoll

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
Green Bay (1918) Green Bay Packers (1919–1922) De Pere (1924)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Carl Francis Zoll (January 29, 1899 – October 19, 1973) was an American wrestler and professional football guard. One of three brothers who were active in Green Bay, Wisconsin, sports, he attended Green 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 the Wisconsin heavyweight title from 1917 until 1921. He fought many prominent wrestlers in his career, including several world champions, and unsuccessfully contended for the World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1920.

Zoll also played football; he was a member of the Green Bay Packers in their inaugural 1919 season. He stayed with the team until 1922 as they entered the National Football League (NFL). Similar to his two brothers Martin and Dick, Zoll only played in one NFL game for the Packers. After his career, he coached at a local YMCA and ran his family's stone cutting business. Zoll died in 1973 at the age of 74.

Early life

Carl Francis Zoll was born on January 29, 1899, in Howard, Wisconsin. He was one of seven children and had two brothers who were active in local sports – Dick and Martin. His father was a stonecutter and Zoll lifted tombstones as a youth, which helped him garner a reputation for his strength. Zoll attended Green Bay West High School and later served in World War I.

Professional career

Wrestling

Zoll often competed in wrestling when carnivals were in the Green Bay-area. Sportswriter Red Smith noted:

Whenever a carnival hit town and the spieler 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."

Undefeated streak

Zoll began wrestling competitively in Green Bay in 1917 and at the time weighed 180 pounds (82 kg). The Green Bay Press-Gazette described him as showing excellent speed despite his large size. Trained by Tom Condon, he was classified as a heavyweight and was quickly considered among the top wrestlers at his weight in the area. In April 1917, he challenged Barney McMillan, the Wisconsin state champion, and defeated him in 5+1⁄2 minutes, thus claiming the state heavyweight title. He was undefeated early in his career and was considered the "pride of Green Bay" by the Press Gazette. His brother, Martin, sometimes competed in events featuring Zoll as well. Carl tied in a match in April 1918, and then towards the end of the month, he defeated Roy Anderson after coming from behind in what George Whitney Calhoun described as having "more thrillers than any other sport seen in this neck of the woods for a long time".

Zoll weighed 197 pounds (89 kg) by October 1918. He started training every day in November for his match against Strangler Hill, the "carnival champion" of Davenport, Iowa. To prepare for the fight, he worked in shipyards driving rivets. He defeated Hill, remaining undefeated, in what the Press-Gazette described as one of the best matches ever to have taken place in Green Bay. In December, he again fought Roy Anderson, who had previously been the only person ever to knock Zoll down, and defeated him; Anderson later declared Zoll to be the best wrestler he ever competed against.

Later career

A newspaper headline from the Green Bay Press-Gazette article discussing Zoll's first loss in wrestling in 1919.

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 against Doc Roller. Later that month, he battled to a draw against Elmer Saunders, as the match was ended after the mat they fought on tore, making it impossible to continue. He fought against Saunders in February and was defeated for the first time in his career. In April, he lost a second time, being defeated by future world champion Ed Lewis in a bout that lasted half an hour. Later, he was trained by former world middleweight champion Jim Barnes and defeated the champion of Appleton, George Gloudemans, in July, which was the third time he had defeated Gloudemans in his career.

Zoll opened the fall 1919 season with a victory over Strangler Hill in September 1919. 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. The Toronto Star Weekly highlighted Zoll's willingness to compete against any challenger and in any location. In December, he fought a rematch against Elmer Saunders, which was declared a draw after neither competitor had fallen after nearly 3+1⁄2 hours of competing.

Zoll was noted in the Beaver Dam Argus to be "unquestionably one of the best light heavyweights in the country" in February 1920. He competed against Toney Barnardi, considered the "Italian champion of the world", and battled to a draw in March 1920. In April, he was defeated in a major upset by Young Romanoff. Afterwards, Zoll moved his headquarters to Chicago, Illinois, and changed his manager to Ed White. According to the Des 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". He challenged Helmer Myre for the World Light Heavyweight Championship in August 1920 but was defeated.

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. However, later that month he lost in 47 minutes to Strangler Hill. Against Hill, Zoll fell once and then had to forfeit due to an injury he suffered. With his loss to Hill, Zoll also lost his title as Wisconsin champion. Three months later, he competed at an annual event held by the United Spanish War Veterans and defeated Beno, a Hindu wrestler. However, after his loss to Hill, Zoll lost more matches and The Post-Crescent said his name became closely linked with losing. He began competing under the ring name Carl Anderson and faced off against Wladek Zbyszko, whose brother was a world champion, but was defeated in December 1921.

Zoll continued wrestling in 1922 and 1923, including facing off against heavyweight champion Jim Londos in March 1923, a match that he lost. After being out of training for an extended period, he returned in February 1925 and fought Nazzareno Pogi, the Italian heavyweight champion, but was defeated. Later that year, he began serving as a wrestling coach at the Green Bay YMCA. He continued to compete occasionally up to 1926.

The Press-Gazette reported that when Zoll had fought world champion Lewis, the latter extolled Zoll's future in wrestling. However, the Press-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.

Football

The 1919 Green Bay Packers, featuring Carl Zoll (fifth from the right) and his brother Martin (fourth from the left), went 10–1 during their inaugural season.

After high school, Zoll started playing with a semi-professional team in Green Bay in 1918, which had gone undefeated by the start of November. Zoll and teammate Nate Abrams left the team in November to join the United States Army. Upon his return from the Army, Zoll joined the newly-formed Green Bay Packers in 1919, training with the team in the evenings after his morning wrestling practices. 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). The 1919 Packers won their first 10 games before a loss to the Beloit Fairies in the season-finale by a score of 6–0. He remained with the Packers in 1920, although he was injured for a time and noted to the Press-Gazette that football had more ferocity compared to wrestling. The 1920 Packers compiled a record of 10–1–1. He returned to the team in 1921, as they became members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), although he did not appear in any APFA games that season. 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.

Zoll played football with his brother, Martin, twice: with the Packers and later in 1924 with a team in De Pere, Wisconsin. Each of the three Zoll brothers played only one game for the Packers in the NFL.

Later life and death

The Press-Gazette noted in 1969 that when in tight parking spaces, Zoll would lift out his Ford 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." After his career, Zoll continued coaching wrestling at the local YMCA and also served as a referee. He also maintained the operation of his family's stone cutting business. In 1949, he was elected the first vice president of the Packers Alumni Association, which was created by former players to advocate for past and current players. He was a member of the Elks Lodge, serving on the board of trustees, and a member of the Southside Civic Association. He was married to Pearl Zoll, who predeceased him by two years. Zoll died on October 19, 1973, in Green Bay, at the age of 74.