Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
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.
On November 18, 1941, Columbia Pictures released Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941). In this film, Ralph Bellamy portrays Ellery Queen for the fourth and final time. The film opens with a wealthy widow, Mrs. Augusta Stack, seeking the help of the police department. Mrs. Stack suspects Dr. Jannery, who operates her hospital, of negligence in the death of
Wladek Zbyszko’s legacy is often overshadowed by his brother Stanislaus Zbyszko. Stanislaus, who was 12 years older, posed the last real threat to Frank Gotch’s World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Wladek Zbyszko was a skilled wrestler in his own right. Unfortunately, he didn’t arrive in the United States until 1914, when most wrestling matches were prearranged. Wladek had proved his bona
I’ve frequently found the biggest challenge in researching early professional wrestling is separating fact from fiction. Even when the wrestlers competed in legitimate matches, they often inflated outcomes, built up apocryphal folklore around their victories and made up fanciful tales to explain away their losses. Professional wrestling sprang from the carnivals and retained the promotional instincts of this art. St.
On January 10, 1910, recently arrived Polish wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko took on Charlie “The Kid” Cutler in a best two-out-of-three falls match. Cutler had been a boxer in a troupe run by John L. Sullivan before transitioning to wrestling. While Cutler was extremely tough, Stanislaus Zbyszko had been wrestling since his youth. Zbyszko would use these skills to overcome Cutler
Tom Allen was born in Birmingham, England but fought some of his most famous fights in America. In 1867, Allen moved to St. Louis, the largest city west of the Mississippi. Allen never left and would use St. Louis as his home base to train for prizefights. Allen fought mostly in bare knuckle prizefights as American boxing would not be
On December 16, 1917, Frank Alvin Gotch lost a three week battle with uremic poisoning. Doctors attempted to keep his kidneys going through an operation in Chicago but it provided only temporary relief. Gotch intended to travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas to try and restore his health. The operation ended this hope. Gotch spent the last couple weeks only able
On Tuesday, November 18, 1884, World Heavyweight Bare-Knuckle Prizefighting Champion John L. Sullivan fought Al Greenfield at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Sullivan needed to overcome more than just his opponent in this bout. The men originally agreed to fight on Monday, November 17, 1884, but New York City authorities threatened the men with arrest. The wrangling with
On Monday, February 7, 1887, Evan “Strangler” Lewis and “Little Demon” Joe Acton met at Battery D in Chicago, Illinois. It would be the first of several exhibition bouts between the men. They performed these exhibitions in the larger Midwestern cities in early 1887. Like the St. Paul match I covered in an earlier post, Lewis and Acton agreed to