‘Handsome’ John Anson obit

‘Handsome’ John Anson, aka Karl von Schotz, passes away at 77

 

He was not on the list.

Former professional wrestler “Handsome” John Anson, who also worked under the name Karl von Schotz, has passed away.

F4W/WON was informed on Saturday that Anson passed away in Sosua, Dominican Republic, where he had lived for the past 25 years.

Anson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 7, 1949. He made his professional wrestling debut in Stampede Wrestling at the age of 17 in a match against Ivan Koloff. He won the North American Championship (the promotion’s top belt) twice in 1976, finally dropping it to Archie “Mongolian Stomper” Gouldie on July 2 that year.

During an interview with Slam Wrestling’s Greg Oliver in 1998, Anson spoke about how Bret Hart used to carry his lunch bag while he wrestled in the promotion.

“Stampede was unique,” Anson explained, also referring to Stu Hart as “an excellent promoter”.

“And Bret Hart used to carry my lunch bag,” he continued.

Anson would win tag team titles in various promotions along with Karl von Hess, including Big Time Wrestling’s version of the NWA World Tag Team titles in Detroit and the NWA North American Tag Team titles for NWA Hollywood. In Vancouver, he held the NWA Tag Team titles with Don Leo Jonathan.

He retired from wrestling at the age of 35. He briefly promoted events in the 1980s alongside The Sheik and Jack Kane, and owned a marina and resort near Vancouver.