Gevechtssporthistoricus en krijgskunstenaar
Posts about early Twentieth Century professional wrestling.
During June 1927, the Illinois state legislature rocked the professional boxing and professional wrestling worlds when a subcommittee started investigating the state athletic commission. The legislature believed that promoters were putting on “fake” contests in both sports. Before the committee concluded its work, it suspended the boxing and wrestling licenses of 130 athletes. These revelations further disillusioned wrestling fans aggravated
Jim Londos developed a national reputation as one of the top professional wrestlers during the 1910s. Echter, Londos’ career took a major step forward when Londos started wrestling for the fledgling St. Louis promotion in the early 1920s. Londos headlined the first card in late 1921. Londos wrestled on the second card on Thursday, Januari 26, 1922, as well. Current
When the great Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns for the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, the boxing establishment started searching for a “white hope” to defeat Johnson. In desperation to find someone to defeat Johnson, promoters and sports writers started lobbying former World Heavyweight Champion James J. Jeffries to end his retirement to fight Johnson. Jeffries retired undefeated in 1905. After
On Memorial Day, Mei 30, 1925, Joe Stecher defeated Stanislaus Zbyszko in a worked match to reclaim the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship that Stecher had lost in December 1920. Stecher was part of a conspiracy that paid Stanislaus Zbyszko to double-cross Wayne “Big” Munn in April 1925. Zbyszko defeated Munn legitimately in one of professional wrestling’s most famous double-crosses. Als
Op donderdag, Juli 9, 1925, Ed “Strangler” Lewis made one of the early defenses of his version of the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Lewis wrestled Howard Cantonwine in front of 5,000 fans at McNulty Park. After Stanislaus Zbyszko double-crossed Sandow’s and Lewis’ promotional group by defeating Wayne “Big” Munn legitimately, both Joe Stecher and Ed “Strangler” Lewis
Jim Londos developed into professional wrestling’s biggest box office star during the 1930s. Londos wrestled main events against Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Jim Browning at baseball stadiums. These matches drew crowds of more than 30,000 fans for the first time since the second Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt in 1911. When Londos wrestled in Greece, Londos drew crowds estimated to be at
Professional wrestlers dying in the ring is rare but occasionally happens. In 1936, 5,000 wrestling fans in Washington, D.c. inadvertently booed a dead man at the end of the Mike Romano vs. “Irish” Jack Donovan match at Griffith Stadium on Thursday, Juni 25, 1936. The 40-year-old Romano was putting Donovan over in a worked match. Newspapers inaccurately reported Romano as
John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek started wrestling professionally in 1915, but Pesek was more suited to the 1885 professional wrestling ring. Door 1915, wrestlers worked their matches. Skilled lightweight wrestler Clarence Ecklund trained Pesek in catch-as-catch-can wrestling. Pesek developed into a skilled hooker or submission wrestler. Pesek never liked working and wrestled contests in his early career. Tenslotte, Pesek did
Als hij groter was geweest, Fred Beell zou in het eerste decennium van de twintigste eeuw een dominante zwaargewicht zijn geweest. Instead, grotere tegenstanders versloegen Beell vaak alleen omdat de tegenstander dertig tot vijftig pond zwaarder woog dan Beell. In de zeldzame gevallen dat Beell met een middengewicht worstelde, Beell verpletterde zijn tegenstander. On January 13, 1905, Beell worstelde met H.P. Hansen in
During March 1910, de procureur-generaal van de Verenigde Staten in Council Bluffs, Iowa beschuldigde John C. Mabray (een versie van zijn echte naam, Mabry) en een tiental beklaagden die de post gebruikten om gokfraude te plegen in het professionele boksen, professioneel worstelen, en professionele paardenraces. Mabry, een veehandelaar die in Kansas City woont, Missouri, had insiders in dienst in het boksen, worstelen, en paard