Gotch Bests Bulgarian

frank-gotch-suit

On April 14, 1909, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch met Yussif Mahmout, a skilled Bulgarian wrestler, in Chicago, Illinois for his title. Fans considered Mahmout a tough challenger primarily because they had not seen him wrestle. Emil Klank, Gotch’s manager, convinced foreign wrestlers with good reputations like Mahmout and Stanislaus Zbyszko to travel to America to challenge Gotch. Fans

Share
» Read more

Aberg Exposes Curley

aleksander-aberg-title

Aleksander “Alex” Aberg made headlines in 1917 during a lawsuit over his refusal to fulfill a wrestling committment in Boston during March 1917.  Aberg agreed to wrestle Wladek Zbyszko, his main opponent during the 1915 New York International Wrestling Tournaments, for Boston promoter George Touhey.  However, Aberg pulled out of the bout shortly after signing an agreement to wrestle his

Share
» Read more

Clarence Whistler Dies in Australia

clarence-whistler

Clarence Whistler was born in Indiana during 1856.  While standing only 5’09” or so and weighing 165 pounds, Whistler was considered one of the most powerful wrestlers of his era.  Whistler was the only wrestler able to give William Muldoon a hard time during Muldoon’s 9-year run as World Champion. Whistler primarily competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, the dominant style in

Share
» Read more

Zbyszko Injures Dr. Roller

stanislaus-zbyszko

On May 17, 1910, Stanislaus Zbyszko’s year-long tour of America continued as he met Dr. Benjamin F. Roller in Buffalo, New York.  Zbyszko, a Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion from Poland, wanted to generate interest in a potential match with World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch. While Dr. Roller was never able to beat Gotch, he was considered one of the top American

Share
» Read more

Ed “Strangler” Lewis’ Deadly Headlock

strangler-lewis-training-dummy

Leading into his January 24, 1921 title match with former world champion Earl Caddock, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis was reputed to have injured his previous two opponents, Wladek Zbyszko and Joe Stecher, with his headlock.  Lewis would use the headlock to hip toss his opponent to the floor.  Zbyszko was knocked senseless, when his head hit the

Share
» Read more

How to Setup a Big Rematch

fred-beell-posing

On St. Patrick’s Day 1908, Martin “Farmer” Burns met the small but powerful Fred Beell.  While both wrestlers weighed 165 pounds, “Farmer” 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.  Burns debuted in 1879, when Beell was 3-years-old. The men were scheduled for a match in Omaha, Nebraska, one

Share
» Read more

Duncan Ross Wrestles Sorakichi Matsuda

duncan-c-ross

On April 21, 1884, Duncan 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

Share
» Read more
1 22 23 24 25 26 72