Category: Early Professional Wrestling History

In a recent post, I wrote about Charles Green’s unsuccessful attempt to defeat Evan “Strangler” Lewis in 1889.  A year later, Green had greater success with another American wrestling legend, Martin “Farmer” Burns. The soon-to-be 29-year-old Burns was an excellent wrestler but wasn’t yet on the level of Evan Lewis.  However, he would have to be in the top 10

The Gold Dust Trio’s dominance of professional wrestling in the early to mid-1920s bred lots of resentment with other wrestlers and promoters.  This professional jealousy led to a famous double-cross in 1925.  From this time on, the world title was disputed as Joe Stecher held one version, while Ed “Strangler” Lewis held the other version. Due to the real resentment

The following excerpt is from my new book Double Crossing the Gold Dust Trio, which will be out this summer. During the summer (of 1921), the Zbyszko brothers received word that their mother was gravely ill.  Making quick preparation, they let Curley and the other promoters know they would be leaving as soon as they could arrange passage on a

Charles Green, a skilled English catch-as-catch-can wrestler, traveled to the United States in the late 1880s to wrestle the best American wrestlers.  Green got his opportunity on July 21, 1889, when he wrestled American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch-Can Champion Evan Lewis.  To prepare for this match, Green took a handicap bout with journeyman wrestler Bert Scheller in late June. Scheller was born

Henry Moses Dufur held the World Heavyweight Collar-and-Elbow Wrestling Champion during the 1870s. By 1855, Dufur retired from professional wrestling to pursue his full-time profession of clothing tailor. Even during his wrestling career, Dufur worked as a tailor. Dufur told the correspondent from The Boston Globe that he was born in Richford, Vermont on June 5, 1943. This date of

Whether it was a double-cross or an attempt to setup a legitimate contest, Paul Bowser’s attempt to secure a match between Joe Stecher and Joe Malcewicz nearly resulted in a riot on March 11, 1926.  Events of the previous year actually set this debacle into motion. From the end of 1922, the Gold Dust Trio of Ed “Strangler” Lewis, his

Tom Jenkins had the distinction of being the only wrestler to defeat Frank Gotch multiple times.  Jenkins and Gotch traded the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship between 1902 and 1906. At the time of this match, Jenkins was the champion again. Fred Beell had been campaigning for a match with Jenkins for the past several months.  Beell finally convinced Jenkins to

On Joe Acton’s 33rd birthday, March 8, 1885, he wrestled fellow countryman Tom Cannon in a 2-out-of-3-falls match at Sportsman Park in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Acton and Cannon had a long history together. Both men were born in England in early 1952.  Cannon was born a month later than Acton on April 19, 1852.  Both men started wrestling in the

When William Muldoon retired as the World Heavyweight Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion in 1889, there was no ready successor to the championship.  Evan “Strangler” Lewis was the best wrestler in the United States not named William Muldoon but his specialty was catch-as-catch-can wrestling.  The best American Greco-Roman wrestler, Clarence Whistler, had died in Australia during 1885. Muldoon’s handpicked successor was German-born

Joseph “Toots” Mondt wrestled professionally from the early 1910s through the 1930s but he made his real mark as a booker, booking agent and promoter.  While Ed “Strangler” Lewis considered Mondt his equal in a legitimate wrestling match, Mondt has a genius for creating angles and finishes in worked wrestling exhibitions. Mondt would join Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow