Holmback is best known for his 1952 match and subsequent feud with Killer Kowalski in which he lost his ear as a result of a botched knee drop.

After being trained by Man Mountain Dean, Holmback made his professional wrestling debut on January 22, 1942, using the ring name Yukon Eric.

[3] Two years later, on February 15, 1950, he defeated Bobby Managoff to win the Montreal Athletic Commission's International Heavyweight Championship.

[4] He won the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship twice with Whipper Billy Watson, with their first reign beginning on February 13, 1958, when they defeated Fritz Von Erich and Gene Kiniski.

[7] Later that year, he won the championship for the second time when he teamed with Dara Singh to defeat Stan and Reggie Lisowski on August 7, 1958.

[4] After divorcing his wife and suffering financial problems, on January 16, 1965, Holmback drove to the church in Cartersville, Georgia, where he had gotten married, and took his own life by shooting himself in the mouth with a .22 caliber pistol.