Gotch Easily Beats Raicevich
Giovanni Raicevich stood only 5’07” tall but weighed a muscular 220 pounds. Raicevich carried pro bodybuilder type muscle 50 years before the steroid era. However, when it came to wrestling, Raicevich’s skill set was not quite as developed as his physique. Raicevich was one of many foreign wrestlers, who traveled to America to take on Frank Gotch after he defeated George Hackenschmidt in 1908.
The powerful Giovanni Raicevich, Italian Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion
None of these wrestlers, including Raicevich, successfully challenged Gotch. Gotch crushed Raicevich in two straight falls.
The men met in Chicago, Illinois in a two-out-of-three falls. Chicago was not too far from Gotch’s home in Humboldt, Iowa. The close proximity made it one of Gotch’s favorite venues for big matches. Gotch met Hackenschmidt in Chicago for both of their matches.
With such a dominant champion like Frank Gotch, promoters have to find credible challengers to entice wrestling fans to pay for the dominant champion’s matches. This challenge still exists today for promoters of dominant champions like mixed martial artist Jon “Bones” Jones.
Raicevich’s powerful physique coaxed 15,000 fans to attend the match at the Chicago Coliseum on November 13, 1909. However, the fans got another dominating performance from Gotch. Raicevich’s only solace in the match was his ability to break Gotch’s feared toehold twice.
Raicevich grabbed Gotch’s upper body but Gotch shrugged off the hold and dropped him to the mat. Gotch worked for his toehold but Raicevich broke the hold once it was applied. Gotch immediately switched to crotch hold and arm bar. It took a while to get the giant Italian down but Gotch pinned Raicevich in a little under 17 minutes.
Gotch Training for the Second Match with George Hackenschmidt
The second fall began as the first. Raicevich secured one of his only two holds in the match. Gotch shrugged off the hold and again slammed Raicevich to the ground. Raicevich again evaded the toehold, which Gotch used to put Raicevich in a cross-leg, hammer and wrist lock. Gotch secured the second fall in 5 minutes, 3 seconds.
Despite his poor showing, Raicevich returned to the United States in 1911 for another shot at Gotch but it does not appear they met a second time.
Gotch felt most Greco-Roman wrestlers were at a disadvantage with catch-as-catch-can wrestlers. Gotch posited Greco-Roman wrestling only had a few holds with a couple minor variations. The repertoire was poor in comparison to a catch wrestler.
Gotch also felt his training regimen was superior to other wrestlers. Gotch said his training was “systematic not mechanical”. He said mechanical training was throwing stones or lifting weights without thinking about why you are doing the exercise.
Gotch explained that as he performed his road work, he thought about every step he ran, how his foot would come down and how better foot placement would improve his efforts. Gotch felt the mental connection with his physical training improved both his performance and adaptability.
Whatever his secret, no one figure out how to beat Gotch after his first defeat of Hackenschmidt in 1908. Frank Gotch would not be defeated for the remainder of his career.
What do you think the secret of Gotch’s success was? You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.
Source: Bismark Daily Tribune, November 14, 1909 edition, p. 6
Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt is available at Amazon in paperback and on e-book.
