Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about 19th Century professional wrestlers and matches.
On June 4, 1883, the Greco-Roman World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion William Muldoon faced skilled French wrestler Jules Rigal in San Francisco, California. When the wrestlers stripped to their trunks for the match, it was obvious Muldoon’s power would prove a formidable challenge to Rigal. Muldoon stood around 6 feet tall and weighed between 193 and 210 pounds during his career.
Dominant champions like William Muldoon often had to accept handicap conditions to get fans interested in watching them wrestle. Since fans only considered Clarence Whistler skilled enough to really threaten his reign, Muldoon would often generate interest by either performing feats of strength or taking on the challenge of handicap conditions. On May 5, 1885, Muldoon met Matsuda Sorokichi, who
On March 22, 1881, Greco-Roman World Wrestling Champion William Muldoon met Collar-and-Elbow World Champion John McMahon at the Terrace Garden in New York City. Muldoon and McMahon met in a best-two-out-of-three-falls match. The first fall was conducted by Greco-Roman rules. The second fall would be contested using collar-and-elbow rules. The last fall would be decided via what The New York
William Muldoon, the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion and physical culture proponent, came to Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 15, 1884 to face the local wrestler Fred Bauer. The match took place at the local Turnvereine Hall in Los Angeles. Muldoon was so confident of victory that he stipulated that he would throw Bauer ten times within an hour or he
In a testament to his foresight and vision, the World Wrestling Champion William Muldoon was preparing to be a fitness trainer even while at the height of his powers as a wrestler. Muldoon held the championship from 1880 until he retired in 1890. During his reign, he often gave exhibitions to attract attention to his way of training. The Saturday,
I recently finished Evan “The Strangler” Lewis: The Most Feared Wrestler of the 19th Century. Evan Lewis was a skilled submission expert during the legitimate professional wrestling era although he did take part in a couple prearranged matches. In January 1886, Evan Lewis used his dreaded stranglehold on Sorakichi Matsada. According to several newspapers, Lewis attempted to “strangle Sorakichi to
William Muldoon, a former New York City detective, won the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship by defeating Thiebaud Bauer. Muldoon reigned for ten years before retiring as champion. After retiring, he began to make a living as a personal trainer. Muldoon trained many wrestlers but really came to prominence after getting a woefully out of shape John L. Sullivan fit for
I first read about William Muldoon in a biography of John L. Sullivan, the last bare knuckle heavyweight champion. Sullivan ushered in gloved boxing by refusing to take part in any more bare knuckle bouts. The last major bare knuckle bout was fought by Sullivan against Jake Kilrain in 1889. Odds were against Sullivan, a binge drinker indulging heavily between bouts. He was
How often have you heard it best to use short copy or long copy for Internet marketing. Some proponents advocate short copy, some advocate long and some try to strike a middle ground. It seems everyone has an opinion though. One person who believed in the use of long copy for selling his services was William Muldoon. Muldoon was