No birthdays today but we do a remember a couple of wrestlers who died on this date.

DEATHS

Ali Baba was born Arteen Ezikian in Armenia in 1901. During the Armenian Genocide, his father and younger brother were murdered and Ekizian was sold as a slave to Arabs. After four years of hard labor, he escaped and moved to the United States in 1920 with help from his uncle Garabed in Massachusetts.

Ekizian began professional wrestling while serving in the U.S. Navy. He became the Fleet Championship in the middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions. After an international match in Copenhagen, Ekizian was awarded the title of World Champion Navy Wrestler and, in 1927, was honored at a White House Reception by President Calvin Coolidge. Ekizian started a professional wrestling career in 1932 after leaving the navy and moved to Los Angeles. On April 24, 1936, Ali Baba defeated World Heavyweight Champion Dick Shikat in front of over 8,000 spectators in Detroit, Michigan. A rematch for the title took place on May 5th in Madison Square Garden. Ali Baba won again and was formally declared the World Heavyweight Champion.

He died on November 16, 1981 at age 80.

Charles Fischer was nicknamed “Midget” because he was just 5’3, 158 pounds. He made the most of his size and won numerous championships over his career in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He died on November 16, 1982 at age 84.