Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about 20th Century wrestlers, wrestling matches, and wrestling films.
If wrestling fans know of Anton “Tony” Stecher, it is as the long-time promoter of professional wrestling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stecher started promoting professional wrestling in the Twin Cities during 1933. Stecher built the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club into a powerful local wrestling promotion. Stecher was also one of the early members of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Stecher
Joe Stecher made his professional wrestling debut in late 1912 or early 1913. Stecher proved to be a dangerous professional from the beginning of his career. Martin “Farmer” Burns, the storied wrestler and trainer, brought one of his proteges, Yussiff Hussane, to test Stecher in a legitimate contest during June 1913. Burns and most followers of the sport expected Hussane
On Tuesday, October 21, 1913, Ed “Strangler” Lewis defended his newly won American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship against William Demetral. Lewis wrestled Demetral at Lexington’s Auditorium on a mat instead of a ring. The mat setup played a role in the finish of the match. Promoter Jerry Walls placed a mat on the elevated stage, a common setup before the widespread
Professional wrestling evolved into an athletic exhibition from legitimate contests for two reasons. I have written extensively about the first reason. Legitimate contests between equally skilled wrestlers were often long, boring affairs with little action. These contests turned off fans and prevented professional wrestling exploding as a spectator sport. I have not written as much about the second reason. The
Prior to wrestling in Kentucky in the early 1910s, wrestling fans knew Ed “Strangler” Lewis as Bob Fredrichs. Born Robert Friedrich in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, Lewis made his professional wrestling debut in 1905, while still only 14 years old. Kentucky promoters thought Bob Fredrichs too plain, so Lewis chose his new name as an homage to fellow Wisconsin native and original
At nearly 70 years of age, Stanislaus Zbyszko made his film debut in Night and the City (1950). Billed as Gregorious, a retired wrestler and the father of London’s wrestling promoter, Zbyszko displayed his wrestling skills, even at his advanced age, in the film’s signature scene. The movie begins with a man chasing Harry Fabian, a London hustler always looking
On May 7, 1901, Tom Jenkins wrestled the giant Nouralah Hassan in New York City. Born in Bulgaria during 1870, Hassan stood six feet, eight inches tall and weighed 331 pounds. While Jenkins possessed superior wrestling skill, fans and reporters expected Hassan’s immense size to present problems for Jenkins. Promoters booked the men to wrestle at Madison Square Garden in
On August 4, 1939, Mort Henderson passed away in Rochester, New York at 60 years of age. Wrestling fans likely did not remember the name Mort Henderson but as his alter ego, the original Masked Marvel, he saved the fall version of the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament in New York City. Sam Rachmann promoted the tournament with the goal of
George Tragos gained fame as the trainer of Lou Thesz, the dominant National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion of the 1950s and early 1960s. Tragos, a 1920 Olympian for his native Greece, possessed an impeccable resume in legitimate wrestling. Born March 14, 1901, in Messinia, Greece, Tragos won national wrestling titles before representing Greece at the 1920 Olympics at only
At the end of 1932, 22-year-old Vila Milli sued her husband, professional wrestler Wladek Zbyszko, for divorce alleging physical cruelty and adultery. Milli charged the 41-year-old Zbyszko with physical cruelty for “hugging her too hard.” Justice Dunne of the Brooklyn Supreme Court heard the divorce case. He expressed doubt that Zbyszko abused his wife. However, he did not dismiss the