Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/b7uzv9/Episode_30abul2.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, we discuss the Dick Shikat double-cross
Who is the greatest legitimate professional wrestler to wrestle in the United States? How do
Rarely does one fundamentally alter their profession but Stanislaus Zbyszko did just that on April
Tom Hyer won the American Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Championship in 1841. Like most prizefighting champions
Tom Allen was born in Birmingham, England on April 23, 1840 but he became famous as a heavyweight bare knuckle prizefighter in America. Settling in St. Louis around 1867, Allen won the American Heavyweight Championship in 1873 and held the title until 1876. He returned to England for a year before returning to St. Louis for good in 1878. Back
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/axyw2v/Episode_258ridr.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, we discuss an 1884 mixed styles match between J.H. McLaughlin and Duncan C. Ross. Update Shut Up and Wrestle Interview with Mike Chapman – Why I normally don’t read other historians of the time frame that I study. Based on the interview, I am going to research two matches I viewed
On Saturday, November 25, 1899, St. Louis wrestling fans experienced a shock, when a visiting wrestler easily threw local champion Oscar Wasem in a little over 20 minutes. After the easy victory, fans smelled a rat, when the “Indianapolis Cyclone” spoke with a Lancashire accent. Oscar Wasem surpassed George Baptiste as St. Louis’ wrestling champion in the mid-1890s. Wasem possessed
Ad Santel entered professional wrestling a generation too late. By the time he started wrestling in the 1910s, professional wrestling transitioned from contests to prearranged exhibitions. Santel possessed strong submission skills, which would have allowed him to beat most of the wrestlers in legitimate wrestling contests. Santel did take part in several legitimate contests with Japanese jujitsu practitioners. He used
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/fa8auy/Episode_247r7qx.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, I discuss the career of unknown World Champion Jim Browning. Update I recently made thirteen of my non-fiction books available to bookstores and libraries in paperback. I hope you will see them in your local bookstore or library soon. Main Content While reading about the double-crosses of the early 1930s, I
On Monday, December 6, 1932, 41-year-old Ed “Strangler” Lewis wrestled one of his last legitimate contests to settle a promotional dispute in New York. After initially being allies in promotion, Jim Londos broke away from Jack Curley’s group in New York. To restore peace, the parties decided on a legitimate contest or “shoot” to settle the dispute. Joseph “Toots” Mondt
In this episode, I discuss professional wrestling matches conducted under Sumo Rules in the 1880s. Update While I hate UFC merging with WWE, you do have to salute Vince McMahon selling his company for more than it’s worth. Vince also managed to stay in charge of the company. Vince McMahon won the promotional wars of the 1980s and 1990s because
On Tuesday, December 12, 1916, local favorite, John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek wrestled fellow shooter, Al “Dutch” Mantell, in a worked match. Pesek recently trained with fellow Nebraska wrestler and recognized World Champion Joe Stecher prior to this match. Pesek developed a notorious reputation for shooting with other wrestlers. However, Pesek was a 22-year-old up-and-comer still learning to wrestle, when
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/spskyr/Episode_22b5y7p.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode, my cousin Dan and I discuss the evolution of pro wrestling since the late 1970s and its influence on our fandom. We agreed wrestling had to change because of the emergence of cable television. One of the wrestling companies was going to go national. Although they did not necessarily have to
In the early 1880s, Sorakichi Matsuda, or Matsada in most American newspapers, traveled to the United States to wrestle professionally. Japan did not have a developed professional wrestling circuit, so Matsuda thought he would bring the sport back to Japan after an apprenticeship in the United States. After training for a while, Matsuda signed an agreement to wrestle the first