Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
Jack Allen
He was born Melvin Dove in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became a professional wrestler starting in 1950. He began his career wrestling under his real name, but eventually changed it to ‘Jack Allen.’ He wrestled mainly in the NWA territories like Portland, St. Louis, Arizona, Detroit, Mid Atlantic and Central States. Allen also briefly competed for Verne Gagne and the AWA.
In February of 1966, Allen defeated Don Kent to become the NWA Arizona Heavyweight champion. On September 28 of that year…Allen suffered a severe asthma attack at his home and died. He was still the reigning Arizona champion at the time of his death. Allen suffered from asthma and allergies his entire life, but never suffered an attack while wrestling. Friends and colleagues believed the adrenaline rush of wrestling prevented such an attack from happening. Jack Allen was just 38 years old.