Kampsportshistoriker og kampsportsutøver
(This post is an excerpt from my new book, Gotch vs. Zbyszko: The Quest for Redemption, published on February 2, 2022.) The most important event affecting the future of Frank Gotch’s career occurred on January 11, 1911. Gotch married the former Gladys Oestrich at her parent’s home in Humboldt, Iowa. Mrs. Gotch preferred that Frank retire from the ring which
Januar 2, 1911, Swiss wrestler John Lemm found himself the laughingstock of professional wrestling fans and reporters. The incident occurred when Lemm wrestled Stanislaus Zbyszko in Buffalo, New York. Fans considered Zbyszko the top contender for Frank Gotch’s world title. Zbyszko was a world class wrestler although more skilled in Greco-Roman wrestling than catch wrestling. Lemm was a skilled
Oktober 20, 1916, Ad Santel, a noted “hooker” or skilled submission wrestler, met Taro Miyake, a Jujitsu black belt, in a mixed wrestling vs. jujitsu contest. After about 20 sekunder, Santel secured a half-Nelson on Miyake, lifted him off the mat and slammed Miyake to the floor. The impact knocked Miyake senseless. Miyake’s seconds assisted him back to the
During the early 1920s, Tex Rickard declared war on his former boxing promotional partner, Jack Curley. Curley promoted professional wrestling in New York City. He also organized promoters in large cities such as Boston and St. Louis into a wrestling trust. The trust controlled the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. The trust froze out any wrestler, who refused to go along
I 1897, Dan McLeod slo Martin «Farmer» Burns for American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Etter nederlaget, Burns kjempet på deltid da han gikk over til sin primære rolle som brytetrener. Over the next 30 år, Burns trente de fleste av de legitime fangstbryterne i USA. Burns begynte å turnere inn 1899, where he would both wrestle an opponent in
This week’s post is a confession of sorts. For år, I have written that Frank Gotch was the only wrestler to defeat Stanislaus Zbyszko during his initial tour of America between 1909 and 1914. I recently read Wrestling in the Garden, Volum 1: 1875 til 1939; The Battle for New York – Works, Shootes and Double Crosses (affiliate link) av
Joe Stecher capturing the world wrestling championship from Earl Caddock is the oldest professional wrestling film in existence. Tragisk, promoters filmed the biggest matches of the 1910s and 1920s including the second Frank Gotch-Georg Hackenshmidt match, but they rotted in storage areas. Camera operators filmed Ed “Strangler” Lewis vs. Wayne “Big” Munn, Stecher vs. Stanislaus Zbyszko, and the reunification match
One of the legendary tales about Joe Stecher concerns a legitimate contest he had with one of Martin “Farmer” Burns wrestlers, when Stecher was barely out of high school. Burns heard about Stecher’s growing reputation and decided to test him with one of his wrestlers. For år, I thought Stecher defeated Yusif Mahmout but he actually wrestled Yussif Hussane. Den
Edwin Bibby and Duncan C. Ross established the first recognized professional wrestling championship in the United States on January 19, 1881. The men wrestled catch-as-catch-can style for the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. William Muldoon was the World Heavyweight Champion based on his defeat of Thiebaud Bauer in 1880. Andre Christol brought the World Title to the United States in the
På Mars 17, 1897, current World Heavyweight Boxing Champion James J. Corbett entered the boxing ring at Carson City, Nevada. Corbett faced the challenge of former middleweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons. Corbett entered as the favorite enjoying both an almost twenty pound weight advantage and slick boxing skills. “Ruddy Robert” as Fitzsimmons was sometimes known won the World Middleweight Boxing Championship in