Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about 19th Century professional wrestlers and matches.
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
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
Thiebaud or Theobald Bauer was a French wrestler, who specialized in Greco-Roman wrestling. Bauer arrived in America during 1875 with a dubious claim to the World Greco-Roman Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. He would defend his title for 5 years until defeated by William Muldoon in 1880. If wrestling fans are familiar with Bauer at all, it is normally as the opponent
Yusuf Ismail only wrestled in the United States for six months in the first half of 1898. In his first significant match, he was disqualified for a vicious foul. In his only other significant match, he gave Evan “Strangler” Lewis the beating of his life. Yet his short tour of the United States made him a legend. Ismail entered the
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 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
This post was formally a podcast broadcast in 2015. In this episode, I discuss what Evan “The Strangler” Lewis’ hold would be called today. Main Content – When I first heard of the stranglehold or “hang hold” of Evan “The Strangler” Lewis, it sounded like a guillotine choke. However, several sources I checked described it as a rear naked choke. Lewis
Evan “Strangler” Lewis was a scary competitor. Although he was not a large man at 5’09” and weighed 170 pounds, Lewis’ mastery of submissions made him an equal or better of most wrestlers of his era. Jack Carkeek was a terrific wrestler but one match with Lewis almost caused him to retire. Lewis’ reputation was strongly related to his feared
The April 12, 1887 edition of the St. Paul Daily Globe carried a story about the bout between feared professional wrestlers, Evan “Strangler” Lewis and “Little Demon” Joe Acton. Other wrestlers feared Lewis’ ability as a submission expert particularly his abilities with the stranglehold. Joe Acton, while undersized at 150 pounds, was a ferocious wrestler. The bout should have been