Category: 20th Century Pro Wrestling History

Omaha polischef H.W. Dunn skapade rubriker i mars 28, 1915, när han utfärdade en order som förbjöd den annonserade professionella brottningsmatchen mellan Joe Stecher och Jess Westergaard. April 6, 1915 matchen var planerad till Omaha Auditorium. Chefen utfärdade faktiskt ordern på uppdrag av Superintendent of Police A.C. Kugel. Kugel avgav ett uttalande till

På December 13, 1920, Och “Strangler” Lewis besegrade Joe Stecher för hans World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Professional wrestling was a staged exhibition by 1920. Emellertid, such was the strong feelings between the men that the match may have been a “shoot” or legitimate match in which Lewis took the belt. Whether the outcome of the match was real, the feud

På Januari 11, 1911, world heavyweight wrestling championship contender Stanislaus Zbysko faced the challenge of the powerful but less talented Peter “Giant” Nogert. Nogert was a South African wrestler, who came to the United States for a few years in the early 1910s. Due to a strong international reputation, några amerikanska brottare hade till och med hävdat att de var Nogert tidigare

In November 1923, St. Louis Star-Times reporter Billy Murphy intervjuade St. Louis brottningspromotor John Contos. Murphy föreslog Contos att eran av dominerande brottare som William Muldoon var över. Murphy talade om den senaste matchen mellan “Världsmästare” Hardneck Phillips och spelutmanaren Webster O'Malley. Phillips försvarade framgångsrikt sitt mästerskap genom att kasta O'Malley efter 1 hour, 50

Och “Strangler” Lewis and Joe Stecher conducted one of the greatest rivalries of the early arranged professional wrestling exhibition era. Lewis and Stecher wrestled many times including a five and a half hour draw in 1916. Several of their early matches appeared to be legitimate. Legend also has it that Lewis actually had to beat Stecher in a “shoot match”

Stanislaus Zbyszko toured the United States in 1910 in preparation for a title match with World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch later in the year. His tour brought him to St. Louis i maj 29, 1910. Zbyszko was scheduled to meet highly regarded light heavyweight grappler Charley Olson. Olson was a skilled wrestler, who trained with St. Louis wrestler George

På April 3, 1908, American Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch träffade World Wrestling Champion Georg Hackenschmidt för världstiteln på Dexter Park Pavilion i Chicago, Illinois. Hackenschmidt var obesegrad som professionell men hade varit världsmästare för cirka 7 år. Gotch var ett år äldre men ansågs vara en up-and-comer. Fans and reporters covering the sport considered Gotch

På tisdag, Mars 22, 1910, Dr. Benjamin Roller mötte Stanislaus Zbyszko i en legitim brottningsmatch. Professionell brottning skulle övergå från legitima tävling för att iscensatt utställningen mellan 1910 och 1920. Dr. Benjamin Roller utexaminerades från University of Pennsylvania genom att spela professionell fotboll. Roller accepted an academic appointment in physiology where he assisted in the writing of a textbook. Dr.

Wladek Zbyszko’s legacy is often overshadowed by his brother Stanislaus Zbyszko. Stanislaus, som var 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. Tyvärr, 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.