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    Mark Palmer •

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    Former Ohio State wrestler Abell dead at 88

    Carl Abell, an Ohio State wrestler and football player in the 1940s who wrestled internationally in the 1950s then went on to establish the Stop'n Go convenience store chain in suburban Cleveland, died this week in Cleveland. He was 88.

    Carl Abell
    Abell wrestled for the Buckeyes in the late 1940s, according to the Ohio State Makio yearbooks. He was a two-time Big Ten conference championships finalist, placing second at 175 pounds at the 1945 Big Tens (losing to Purdue's Mike Rajcevich in the finals), then three years later, was runner-up at heavyweight at the 1948 Big Tens (falling to Charles Gottfried of Illinois in the title match).

    Abell's obituary in the Cleveland Plain Dealer states that he was an alternate on the 1952 and 1956 U.S. Olympic teams, and represented the U.S. in wrestling matches in Italy and Turkey in the 1950s. Another source, "The Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling Vol. 2" by Harris Lentz III, identifies Abell as a pro wrestler in the 1950s.

    The Medina Gazette reported that Abell "was instrumental in starting the Medina High School wrestling program and was later inducted in Medina's Sports Hall of Fame."

    Carl Abell
    Carl Thomas Abell was born Jan. 14, 1927 in Cleveland. In the 1930s, his family moved to Medina, about 25 miles south of Cleveland, where they lived on a dairy farm. Abell owned and operated Elm Farm Dairy, which brought pasteurized milk to Medina County and supplied dairy products to five surrounding counties. He later launched the convenience store chain Stop'n Go in Medina in 1963.

    Abell served in the U.S. Army during World War II. During his service he was in the Military Police, posted in Washington D.C. as a White House guard, as a relief at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Ceremonial Unit at the National Cemetery, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer obituary.

    A Celebration of Life service was held Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Medina Country Club. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to The Henry and Blanche Abell Scholarship Endowment Fund (#600007) of The Ohio State Endowment Foundation, 1480 West Lane Avenue, Columbus, OH 43221.
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