Al Oeming

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Al Oeming
Oeming with his cheetah, Tawana
Birth nameAlbert Fredrick Hans Oeming
Born(1925-04-09)April 9, 1925
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
DiedMarch 17, 2014(2014-03-17) (aged 88)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Billed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Billed weight230 lb (100 kg)
Trained byStu Hart

Albert Frederick Hans Oeming (April 9, 1925 – March 17, 2014) was a Canadian wildlife conservationist, zoologist, professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. Oeming co-founded the professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling and owned the largest game farm in North America.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Early life[edit]

Oeming was born on April 9, 1925, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Albert and Elspeth Oeming, who had immigrated to Canada from Germany.[8]

Professional wrestling career[edit]

Oeming wrestled for the Capitol Wrestling Corporation in the 1940s on the urging of his boyhood neighbor Stu Hart whom he also served in the Royal Canadian Navy together with during World War II. He later co-founded the Stampede Wrestling promotion with Hart in 1948.[9]

Nature activism[edit]

Oeming was the Edmonton Zoological Society's inaugural president.[10] He sought and rescued rare and endangered wild animals, particularly in northern and western Canada. Oeming toured the country attending schools with his tame cheetah Tawana to educate children about wildlife.[11][12][13] In the 1980s Oeming starred in the television mini-series Al Oeming – Man of the North.

Oeming sometimes also loaned out some of his animals to the Disney company to use in their nature films.[14]

Personal life[edit]

Oeming was married twice, first to May Dorothy Dennistoun in 1950 and then to Gina Mrklas in 1978.[15]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Works published[edit]

Novels[edit]

  • A Visit to Al Oeming's Alberta Game Farm (Commercial Printers Limited, Edmonton, 1963).

Articles[edit]

  • Notes on the barred owl and snowy owl in Alberta (Nature Saskatchewan BlueJay Journal, Vol. 15 No. 4 - December 1, 1957).[17]
  • Goshawk Trapping in Alberta (Nature Saskatchewan BlueJay Journal, Vol. 16 No. 1 - March 1958)[18]
  • A Herd Of Musk-Oxen, Ovibos moschatus, in captivity (International Zoo Yearbook, Vol. 5 Issue 1 - January 1965).[19]
  • A Further Note On The Herd Of Musk-Oxen Ovibos moschatus at Alberta Game Farm (International Zoo Yearbook, Vol. 6 Issue 1 - January 1966)[20]
  • Notes On The Care and Nutrition of North American Sheep in Captivity (International Zoo Yearbook, Vol. 6 Issue 1 - January 1966).[21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Oliver, Greg (April 3, 2016). "Remembering Al Oeming's days as a wrestler and promoter". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  2. ^ Mouallen, Omar (April 9, 2014). "Al Oeming: Nature lover and wrestler was larger than life". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  3. ^ Maimann, Kevin (March 30, 2014). "Legendary Al Oeming dies". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  4. ^ Di Massa, Michael (March 24, 2014). "Polar Park founder Al Oeming has died". SherwoodParknews.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  5. ^ CBC.ca staff (March 21, 2014). "Al Oeming, Edmonton conservationist, dies at age 88". CBCnews. CBC. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  6. ^ "Fond memories of naturalist Al Oeming". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  7. ^ Lentz III, Harris M. (2015). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014. McFarland. p. 262. ISBN 978-0786476664.
  8. ^ Oliver, Greg (April 3, 2016). "Remembering Al Oeming's days as a wrestler and promoter". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  9. ^ Oliver, Greg (April 3, 2016). "Remembering Al Oeming's days as a wrestler and promoter". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  10. ^ Clifton, Merritt (May 14, 2014). "Al Oeming, 88, ran Alberta Game Farm for 40 years". Animals24-7. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  11. ^ MacDonald, Hugh Robert (2014). Funny Things Happened on My Way to the Cemetery. FriesenPress. p. 185. ISBN 978-1460246412.
  12. ^ staff (March 21, 2014). "Edmonton conservationist Al Oeming dies at age 88". The Canadian Press. GlobalNews.ca. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  13. ^ Proulx, Ben (April 3, 2014). "Regional community icon dies at 88". FortSaskatchewanRecord.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  14. ^ Rennick, Penny (1993). Alaska's Bears. Alaska Geographic Society. p. 109. ISBN 978-1566610148.
  15. ^ Oliver, Greg (April 3, 2016). "Remembering Al Oeming's days as a wrestler and promoter". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  16. ^ "Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. April 3, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018.
  17. ^ Saskatchewan Natural History Society (1957-12-01). "Notes on the Barred Owl and the Snowy Owl in Alberta". Blue Jay. 15 (4). doi:10.29173/bluejay1721. ISSN 2562-5667.
  18. ^ Oeming, A. F. (1958-03-01). "Goshawk Trapping in Alberta". Blue Jay. 16 (1). doi:10.29173/bluejay2706. ISSN 2562-5667.
  19. ^ Oeming, Al (1965). "A HERD OF MUSK-OXEN, Ovibos moschatus, IN CAPTIVITY". International Zoo Yearbook. 5 (1): 58–65. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1090.1965.tb01575.x. ISSN 1748-1090.
  20. ^ Oeming, Al (1966). "A FURTHER NOTE ON THE HERD OF MUSK-OXEN Ovibos moschatus AT ALBERTA GAME FARM". International Zoo Yearbook. 6 (1): 205–206. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1090.1966.tb01758.x. ISSN 1748-1090.
  21. ^ Oeming, Al (1966). "Notes on the Care and Nutrition of North American Sheep in Captivity". International Zoo Yearbook. 6 (1): 93–95. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1090.1966.tb01704.x. ISSN 1748-1090.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]