[1] Nicknamed 'The Nebraska Tiger Man' for his ferocity, aggression and catlike dexterity, Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medallists Robin Reed and Russell Vis both regarded Pesek as the greatest wrestler they ever met.

Pesek was born to Bohemian parents near Ravenna, Nebraska, the fifth of seven children, and grew up in a small town in the Midwestern prairie.

[1] Pesek originally planned a career in boxing but took to professional wrestling instead, with which he became familiar by attending the traveling carnivals of the era.

Pesek is recorded as losing only about 20 matches in his entire career,[4] which he began undefeated until January 16, 1920, when he lost to fellow Nebraskan Joe Stecher.

New York's athletic commission refused to award Pesek his prize money and banned him from wrestling in the state, but the Tiger Man had done his job.

Then, on October 6 at Los Angeles' Olympic Auditorium, subbing for Ed Lewis, Pesek diverted from the planned result and trapped Stecher in a wrist lock.

[7] Despite making a good living in America, Pesek eventually grew tired of backroom politics and opted to go overseas for a while in 1929.

He was belatedly given the vacant NWA championship on September 13, 1937, as he had been the only man to post a $1000 bond for a proposed tournament one year earlier.

By the end of the 1920s, Pesek had begun turning his focus towards racing greyhounds, and on 800 acres (3.2 km2) of his Nebraska farm he built up one of the nation's leading stables.

He won several national titles, and the pedigree of one of his greatest dogs, Australian-born "Just Andrew", could be found in 95 percent of American greyhound stock by 1975.