Man Mountain Dean
| Man Mountain Dean | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wrestler Frank Leavitt, Chicago, Illinois, 1924 | |||||||||||
| Birth name | Frank Simmons Leavitt[1] | ||||||||||
| Born | June 30, 1891 New York City, New York | ||||||||||
| Died | May 29, 1953 (aged 61) Norcross, Georgia | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Doris Dean | ||||||||||
| Professional wrestling career | |||||||||||
| Ring names |
| ||||||||||
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||||||||||
| Billed weight | 310 lb (140 kg)[1] | ||||||||||
| Debut | 1914 | ||||||||||
| Retired | 1946 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Frank Simmons Leavitt (June 30, 1891 – May 29, 1953) was an American professional wrestler of the early 1900s, known by the ring name Man Mountain Dean.
Early life
Leavitt was born in New York City, the son of John McKenney Leavitt and Henrietta N. (née Decker) Leavitt. From childhood, Leavitt was above average in size and strength.[1] This led to a lifelong interest in competitive sport, and also enabled him to lie about his age in order to join the Army at the age of fourteen.
While enlisted he saw duty on the Mexico–United States border with John J. Pershing, and was later sent to France where he participated in combat during World War I. Also during this period (1914) he began his wrestling career using the ring name of "Soldier Leavitt".[1]
Professional wrestling career
After the war, Leavitt embarked on a career in athletics. Although he played guard and center for the New York Brickley Giants of the National Football League (NFL) in 1921,[2] he concentrated most of his efforts on professional wrestling. He competed in the ring for a time under the name "Hell's Kitchen Bill-Bill" (a "hillbilly" reference which was suggested to him by the writer Damon Runyon) but eventually settled on the moniker of "Stone Mountain".[1]
Leavitt wrestled with limited success at first, and after an injury took a job in 1925 as a Miami Beach police officer. He worked for the City of Miami Beach Police Department for one year. In 1926 he transferred to the City of Miami Police Department where he became a traffic officer. He was a fixture at his traffic post at East Flagler Street and 2nd Avenue. Starting in 1926, the City of Miami would send Leavitt on summer publicity tours across the United States and Canada to promote Miami. While on his traffic post in Miami he met his wife, Doris Dean Cooper, who also became his manager. In 1930 Leavitt was fired from the police force for visiting Al Capone's residence on Palm Island in Miami Beach. In 1932, at his wife's suggestion, he adopted the nickname "Man Mountain" and substituted the more Anglo-Saxon-sounding last name of Dean.
Meanwhile, he continued a successful wrestling career, participating altogether in 504 professional bouts;[4] he commanded fees of upwards of $1,500 for each match. In 1940 he retired from the ring to a farm outside of Norcross, Georgia.[1]
Dean ran for a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1938 but withdrew his candidacy, citing discomfort with the political process. During
Death
Dean died of a heart attack in his home in Norcross, Georgia, aged 61, in 1953,[1] and is buried in Marietta National Cemetery under a military marker bearing his birth name and an erroneous year of birth (1889) that likely represents the year Dean put when he joined the Army.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Reckless | Himself | |
| 1935 | We're in the Money | Himself | |
| 1935 | Cappy Ricks Returns | One of Bill's Men | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Three Legionnaires | Ivan | |
| 1937 | Big City | Himself | |
| 1938 | The Gladiator | Himself | |
| 1949 | Mighty Joe Young | Strongman | Uncredited, (final film role) |
Championships and accomplishments
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Class of 2021
- Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Inducted 2017[7]
Dean and his life story was featured in the June 2022 edition of Sports Illustrated under the title "The Classified Case of the Pro Wrestler Who Helped Beat the Nazis" and primarily examined his time as a trainer at
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-61321-808-2.
- ^ "Frank Leavitt". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ISBN 9781613210758.
- ^ https://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=bios&wrestler=1887
- ^ "Man Mountain Dean". The Waterbury Democrat. Waterbury, Connecticut: Library of Congress. January 9, 1942. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ Wertheim, Jon (May 30, 2022). "The Classified Case of the Pro Wrestler Who Helped Beat the Nazis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ "Daily Update: No Mercy odds, Mayu Iwatani injury, Jeff Hardy". September 24, 2017.
- ^ "The Classified Case of the Pro Wrestler Who Helped Beat the Nazis". May 30, 2022.
External links
- Photo of Man Mountain Dean.
- Man Mountain Dean at IMDb
- Man Mountain Dean at the TCM Movie Database
- Man Mountain Dean at Find a Grave
- Helping patients at Wakeman General Hospital, Camp Atterbury IN during WW2.
- Image of Man Mountain Dean after his battle with Vincent Lopez, Los Angeles, 1936. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
