Category: 20th Century Professional Wrestling

George Tragos fikk berømmelse som treneren til Lou Thesz, den dominerende National Wrestling Alliance verdensmester i tungvekt på 1950- og begynnelsen av 1960-tallet. Drikker, en 1920 Olympian for hjemlandet Hellas, hadde en upåklagelig CV i legitim bryting. Født mars 14, 1901, i Messinia, Hellas, Tragos vant nasjonale brytingtitler før han representerte Hellas på 1920 OL kun kl

At the end of 1932, 22-år gamle Vila Milli saksøkte mannen sin, profesjonell bryter Wladek Zbyszko, for skilsmisse med påstand om fysisk grusomhet og utroskap. Milli anklaget den 41 år gamle Zbyszko for fysisk grusomhet for å ha «klemt henne for hardt». Dommer Dunne ved høyesterett i Brooklyn behandlet skilsmissesaken. Han uttrykte tvil om at Zbyszko mishandlet sin kone. However, han avskjediget ikke

Frank Gotch dominerte amerikansk bryting fra 1905 til hans pensjonisttilværelse i 1913. Gotch, den nåværende amerikanske Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, vant den største kampen i karrieren i april 3, 1908. Gotch beseiret nåværende verdensmester i tungvektbryting Georg Hackenschmidt i Chicago, Illinois. Gotch viste seg å være en like dominerende verdensmester som han hadde vært som den amerikanske mesteren. Gotch gikk med på det

On Thursday, April 29, 1909, Frank Gotch reiste til Memphis, Tennessee skal bryte den anerkjente lett tungvektsbryteren Charles Hackenschmidt. Hackenschmidt vant World Light Heavyweight Wrestling Championship under hans virkelige navn, John Berg. Selv om fansen tenkte godt om Berg, de så ikke på ham som en trussel om å beseire Frank Gotch i en rett kamp. For å øke faninteressen

Joe Stecher wrestled during a transitional time in American professional wrestling. Prior to 1900, wrestlers engaged primarily in legitimate contests although wrestlers did work matches occasionally. Etter 1915, all wrestlers worked their matches. Wrestlers wrestled legitimate contests only to settle promotional dispute or to pull off a double-cross. Fra 1900 til 1915, wrestlers engaged in a mixture of worked matches

(This post is an excerpt from my new book, Gotch vs. Zbyszko: The Quest for Redemption, published on February 2, 2022.) The most important event affecting the future of Frank Gotch’s career occurred on January 11, 1911. Gotch married the former Gladys Oestrich at her parent’s home in Humboldt, Iowa. Mrs. Gotch preferred that Frank retire from the ring which

Januar 2, 1911, Swiss wrestler John Lemm found himself the laughingstock of professional wrestling fans and reporters. The incident occurred when Lemm wrestled Stanislaus Zbyszko in Buffalo, New York. Fans considered Zbyszko the top contender for Frank Gotch’s world title. Zbyszko was a world class wrestler although more skilled in Greco-Roman wrestling than catch wrestling. Lemm was a skilled

During the early 1920s, Tex Rickard declared war on his former boxing promotional partner, Jack Curley. Curley promoted professional wrestling in New York City. He also organized promoters in large cities such as Boston and St. Louis into a wrestling trust. The trust controlled the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. The trust froze out any wrestler, who refused to go along

This week’s post is a confession of sorts. For år, I have written that Frank Gotch was the only wrestler to defeat Stanislaus Zbyszko during his initial tour of America between 1909 and 1914. I recently read Wrestling in the Garden, Volum 1: 1875 til 1939; The Battle for New York – Works, Shootes and Double Crosses (affiliate link) av