Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Evan “Strangler” Lewis, also called Evan Lewis “the Strangler”, was a professional wrestler from 1882 to 1899. Lewis was the first American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch Can Wrestling Champion. He was also the first wrestler to perfect the “stranglehold” or “hang hold”, which modern MMA fans know as a guillotine choke. Lewis made his professional debut by winning a 64 man tournament
Martin “Farmer” Burns is famous today as the trainer of legendary wrestler Frank Gotch. “Farmer” Burns was a great wrestler in his own right. Burns won the American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in the legitimate pro wrestling era despite being only 165 pounds. In 1891, Burns as the Iowa Heavyweight Champion took on J.C. Comstock, the Michigan Heavyweight Champion. J.C. Comstock was
On January 11, 1911, world heavyweight wrestling championship contender Stanislaus Zbysko faced the challenge of the powerful but less talented Peter “Giant” Nogert. Nogert was a South African wrestler, who came to the United States for a few years in the early 1910s. Due to a strong international reputation, a few American wrestlers had even claimed to be Nogert before
In November 1923, St. Louis Star-Times reporter Billy Murphy interviewed St. Louis wrestling promoter John Contos. Murphy proposed to Contos that the era of dominant wrestlers like William Muldoon was over. Murphy spoke about the recent match between “World Champion” Hardneck Phillips and the game contender Webster O’Malley. Phillips successfully defended his championship by throwing O’Malley after 1 hour, 50
William Muldoon was the reigning World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and a noted physical culturist, when Muldoon was engaged by John L. Sullivan’s backers to get their fighter in shape. Sullivan was the reigning World Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Champion. He signed an agreement to meet his toughest challenger, Jake Kilrain, in July 1889. Sullivan admitted he was in bad shape,
On October 14, 1932, RKO Pictures released The Phantom of Crestwood (1932), the film end to a radio play of the same year. The film concerns the murder of Jenny Wren or more properly “Who Killed Jenny Wren?” Wren, played by Karen Morley, blackmails several prominent men, who carried on affairs with her in the past. One of the men
Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Joe Stecher conducted one of the greatest rivalries of the early arranged professional wrestling exhibition era. Lewis and Stecher wrestled many times including a five and a half hour draw in 1916. Several of their early matches appeared to be legitimate. Legend also has it that Lewis actually had to beat Stecher in a “shoot match”
No one took advantage of the No Decision era of professional boxing like Battling Levinsky. Levinsky was a skilled defensive boxer, who took little damage during his fights. When Ring Magazine asked him why he was so active, sometimes taking 3 fights in a day around New York, Levinsky said, “I like money and I never get hurt.” Levinsky was
On April 3, 1908, American Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch met World Wrestling Champion George Hackenschmidt for the World Title at Dexter Park Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. Hackenschmidt was undefeated as a professional but had been World Champion for approximately 7 years. Gotch was a year older but considered an up and comer. Fans and reporters covering the sport considered Gotch
On Tuesday, March 22, 1910, Dr. Benjamin Roller met Stanislaus Zbyszko in a legitimate wrestling match. Professional wrestling would transition from legitimate contest to staged exhibition between 1910 and 1920. Dr. Benjamin Roller graduated from the University of Pennsylvania by playing professional football. Roller accepted an academic appointment in physiology where he assisted in the writing of a textbook. Dr.