Abe Coleman, a 5-foot-3, 220-pound wrestler known as the “Jewish Tarzan” and “Hebrew Hercules” during his heyday in the ring, died Wednesday, March 29 at age 101.
Coleman wrestled in more than 2,000 bouts, starting in the late 1920s and continuing through the ’50s. A bulldog of a man, he had 18-inch biceps and an 18.5-inch neck.
Born Abba Kelmer in Poland, Coleman bruised opponents with moves such as the flying head butt, airplane spin and, most notably, the drop kick. The wrestler modeled the running, two-footed drop kick after moves he saw kangaroos pull on a trip to Australia in the 1930s.
Coleman, who reputedly fought off two would-be muggers when he was in his 80s, met his wife, June, in 1936 when he was tossed from the ring and landed in her lap. She died in 1984; the couple had no children.