From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aleksander Richard "Leks" Aberg (born August
11, 1881 in Kolga, Kuusalu Parish, Estonia, died February 15, 1920 in Armavir, Krasnodar Krai)
was a famous Estonian professional Greco-Roman and free-style wrestling World Champion of the
early 20th century. He took part in the World
Heavyweight Championship and was one of the three most famous
Estonian professional wrestlers along with Georg Lurich and Georg
Hackenschmidt.
Alex Aberg wrestled in North America (1913-14 and 1915-16) with
mixed success. Together with Lurich he came back via Japan and China to Russia in 1917 and arrived in Estonia in autumn.
They participated in a wrestling tournament in Tallinn that
remained unfinished due to the approach of the German troops. The
athletes went to Saint Petersburg and on to South
Russia. The war meant an end to work in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. It seemed better in the
southern region controlled by white guards. However, the war spread
and the men had to move further inside Russia. They could stop only
in a far corner of South Russia Armavir. Their aim was to leave Russia
across the Black Sea by
boat.
Unfortunately things took a dramatic turn in Armavir at the
beginning of 1920. The front reached them, the town passed from
hand to hand in battles several times, many perished, and there
were masses of funerals. Warm winter brought on typhoid. Due to the war,
medical aid was difficult to get. Lurich fell ill first and could
not be rescued, dying on January 22, 1920. Aberg had also become
infected but he managed to defeat the illness. Unfortunately he
rushed his recovery, caught pneumonia, and died on February 15, 1920. The
wrestlers were buried in one grave in Armavir German cemetery.
References
External
links
Wikis
Map
Search
