Certamina ludis Historicus et Martialis Artist
On St. Patrick’s Day 1908, Martin “Agricola” Burns met the small but powerful Fred Beell. While both wrestlers weighed 165 pondo, “Agricola” Burns stood 5’11” to Beell’s 5’04”. The 32-year-old Beell had a big age advantage over the 47-year-old Burns though. Ardens debuted in 1879, when Beell was 3-years-old. The men were scheduled for a match in Omaha, Nebraska, unus
Aprilis, 21, 1884, Duncanus C. Ross met Sorakichi Matsuda, also known as Matsada, the first Japanese professional wrestler in the United States. Matsuda immigrated to the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler because it didn’t really exist in Japan at the time. 28-year-old Duncan Ross was born in Turkey of Scottish descent on March
On St. Patrick’s Day, Itinera 17, 1905, St. Louis sports fans were treated to a special match between local professional wrestler George Baptiste and traveling Japanese jujitsu practitioner Arata Suzuki. Baptiste delighted local fans by quickly defeating Suzuki in two straight falls. George Baptiste was a professional wrestler and all-around athlete, whose powerful swimming saved many St. Louisans de submersi
Et “Strangulatam” Lewis enjoyed one of the most successful careers in professional wrestling. Although Lewis wrestled in mostly staged exhibitions, he possessed legitimate wrestling skills. Future protege Lou Thesz said many times Lewis could beat any wrestler at any time, ideo ille est specimen mundi champion in moderna aetate compositus. Autem, early in his career, Lewis
At the end of December 1916, a strange event occurred. John F. Olin, a local Massachusetts wrestler, won a match with the current World Champion Joe Stecher. The referee declared Olin the winner after Stecher walked away from the match. Before the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) made changes to the rules in the 1950s, championships changed hands through disqualification or
John “Tigerman” Pesek wrestled several “shoot” matches during the “worked” era of the 1920s. By this time, American professional wrestlers cooperated with each other to put on exciting matches for the fans. Results were predetermined by promoters and managers. Legitimate contests or “shoots” were rare. When they did occur, it was normally to settle a dispute among promoters or a
Ad finem 1905, Fred Beell was traveling America hyping up a match with former American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Tom Jenkins. Beell was a former American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion having defeated Frank Gotch in a “worked” match in New Orleans during December 1903. He lost the title back to Gotch a few weeks later. Capable wrestlers, Jenkins and Beell
Joe Stecher and John “Tiger Man” Pesek were legitimate wrestlers in a primarily “worked” era, where matches were predetermined unless someone decided to double-cross the other wrestler or promoter by turning the match into a legitimate contest. Double-crosses only worked, if the wrestler could legitimately win the match. John Pesek didn’t like the worked nature of wrestling and often turned
As the wrestler jumped off the mat, he grabbed the referee by the lapel with his good arm. “Why didn’t you stop it?” As Referee Siler tried to pull free, Duncan Ross’ seconds grabbed him and pulled him away. The men told Ross, “He can’t stop it. You have to submit.” Ross screamed, “I’m out of here.” As Ross walked
In 1922, New York promotor Jack Curley cucurrit afoul ex Pulvis Auri Trio, Puer Sandow procurator, Mundus Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Ed “Strangulatam” Ludovicus et luctator / ingenio promotionis Josephi “Toots” Mondt. Trio patrocinium mundi gubernavit et Curley de libri pugile adligat. Ut etiam cum Trio, Curley infensi promovere palaestram Olympicam palaestram et collegiatam coepit