Stridssportshistoriker och kampsportare
In a recent post, I wrote about Charles Green’s unsuccessful attempt to defeat Evan “Strangler” Lewis i 1889. Ett år senare, Green had greater success with another American wrestling legend, Martin “Farmer” Burns. The soon-to-be 29-year-old Burns was an excellent wrestler but wasn’t yet on the level of Evan Lewis. Emellertid, he would have to be in the top 10
Gold Dust Trios dominans av professionell brottning i början till mitten av 1920-talet väckte mycket förbittring hos andra brottare och promotorer. This professional jealousy led to a famous double-cross in 1925. Från och med nu, världstiteln ifrågasattes eftersom Joe Stecher hade en version, medan Ed “Strangler” Lewis höll den andra versionen. Due to the real resentment
The following excerpt is from my new book Double Crossing the Gold Dust Trio, which will be out this summer. During the summer (of 1921), the Zbyszko brothers received word that their mother was gravely ill. Making quick preparation, they let Curley and the other promoters know they would be leaving as soon as they could arrange passage on a
Charles Green, a skilled English catch-as-catch-can wrestler, traveled to the United States in the late 1880s to wrestle the best American wrestlers. Green got his opportunity on July 21, 1889, when he wrestled American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch-Can Champion Evan Lewis. To prepare for this match, Green took a handicap bout with journeyman wrestler Bert Scheller in late June. Scheller was born
Mike “Twin” Sullivan claimed the Welterweight World Boxing Championship, when he decisioned Honey Mellody in April 1907. Possessing both heavy hands and better than normal boxing skills, Sullivan claimed victories over the great Joe Gans and future Welterweight World Boxing Champion Harry Lewis during his career. Lewis won the welterweight title, when Sullivan could no longer make the 147 pound
Whether it was a double-cross or an attempt to setup a legitimate contest, Paul Bowser’s attempt to secure a match between Joe Stecher and Joe Malcewicz nearly resulted in a riot on March 11, 1926. Events of the previous year actually set this debacle into motion. From the end of 1922, the Gold Dust Trio of Ed “Strangler” Lewis, hans
Tom Jenkins had the distinction of being the only wrestler to defeat Frank Gotch multiple times. Jenkins and Gotch traded the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship between 1902 och 1906. Vid tiden för denna match, Jenkins was the champion again. Fred Beell had been campaigning for a match with Jenkins for the past several months. Beell finally convinced Jenkins to
På Joe Actons 33-årsdag, Mars 8, 1885, han brottades landsmannen Tom Cannon i en 2-av-3-fallsmatch på Sportsman Park i New Orleans, Louisiana. Acton och Cannon hade en lång historia tillsammans. Båda männen föddes tidigt i England 1952. Cannon föddes en månad senare än Acton i april 19, 1852. Both men started wrestling in the
1909 såg Stanley Ketchel fortsätta sitt heta tempo genom alla toppkämpar runt mellanviktsgränsen. In March 1909, Ketchel stod inför en sällsynt utmaning, när han slogs mot regerande världsmästaren i lätt tungvikt Philadelphia Jack O’Brien. O'Brien var en smart boxare, som använde sin snabbhet och svårfånghet för att slå Ketchel i de tidiga omgångarna. Trots O’Briens storleksfördel, Ketchel var
Joseph “Toots” Mondt brottades professionellt från tidigt 1910-tal till 1930-talet men han gjorde sitt verkliga avtryck som bokare, bokningsagent och arrangör. Medan Ed “Strangler” Lewis ansåg Mondt sin jämlikhet i en legitim brottningsmatch, Mondt har ett geni för att skapa vinklar och avslut i arbetade brottningsutställningar. Mondt skulle gå med Lewis och hans manager Billy Sandow