John Berg yeej ntau hauv lub teeb Championship
John Berg yog ib tug zoo txaus wrestler ntsia Martin “Ua teb” Burns ob zaug tab sis yog feem coob xav li cas txog li ib tug sib zog zoo wrestler. Berg nyob rau lub ntiaj teb sib Heavyweight Wrestling Championship nyob hauv lub caij 1910s thiab competed tus Middleweight Title, uas yog contested rau 158 phaus. Berg tu luj ntawm plaub phaus tiam sis yeej ntais ntawv.
Berg wrestled nyob rau hauv teb chaws mis kas ua “Charles me Hackenschmidt” Txawm hais tias nws nyob hauv nws lub npe tseeb rau hauv Canada wrestled. Promoters tshawb Berg li kwv cov qub qab ntuj Heavyweight Wrestling tau zus ib Georg Hackenschmidt rau nce paj laum kiv cua. Tom qab ib vam meej 1917 nyob hauv lub ntiaj teb sib Heavyweight Wrestling kev sib tw, Berg sib tw Joe Turner rau ntiaj teb Championship Wrestling sib Heavyweight txog hnub plaub, Lub ob hlis ntuj 21, 1918.
John Berg, who won the World Light Heavyweight Wrestling Championship as Young Charles Hackenschmidt – Courtesy of Hans Berg
Joe Turner was recognized as the World Middleweight Wrestling Champion. Berg intended to cement his claim to the Light Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, which he did by throwing Turner in two straight falls. Newspapers at the time did not carry a description of the bout. They simply reported Berg’s victory.
Nyob rau hauv 1919, Berg began wrestling under his real name and dropped the “Charles Hackenschmidt” name. Pundits noted that Berg used his speed to defeat his opponents, always wrestled for the win, even if it cost him the match, and was never accused of being in a fixed match.
One of Berg’s last matches was in St. Louis during April 1922, when Berg took on Missouri Middleweight Champion Gus Eisel. The outcome of this bout is not known.
John Berg shares a fate with many of the lighter weight legitimate professional wrestlers. With the exception of Gotch, George Hackenschmidt and a few others, most of the men who made a living on the mat are little known today. Hopefully, this post will acquaint mat fans with the accomplishments of John Berg and his fellow light heavyweights like Fred Beell.
Special thanks to John Berg’s grandson Hans Berg for the photo of his grandfather.
Koj yuav tawm ib saib los nug cov lus nug txog qhov no los yog tej tsev xa rau kuv Facebook phab, Twitter profile thiab Google phab.
Qhov chaw: The Washington Herald, Lub ob hlis ntuj 19, 1918, p. 10, The Washington Herald, Lub ob hlis ntuj 27, 1918, p 10, Lub New York Tribune, Kaum ib hlis 25, 1919, p. 15 thiab The Washington Times, Lub rau hli ntuj 23, 1920, p. 2.
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