Dan McLeod Wrestles “Mkulima” Burns

Mnamo Oktoba 26, 1897, Martin “Farmer” Burns defended his American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship against Scottish catch wrestler Dan McLeod. Burns and McLeod were two of the top three or four catch-as-catch-can wrestlers in the United States at the time.

1,200 fans attended the match held at the Grand Opera House in Indianapolis, Indiana. Promoters often put a mat or heavy carpet on a stage, where the wrestlers competed. Wrestlers transitioned to boxing rings in the 20^th Century.

McLeod possessed the size advantage. McLeod stood five feet, six inches tall but weighed 200 paundi. McLeod was more thickly muscled than the five feet, ten-inch, 165-pound Burns. Burns was strong for his size, but McLeod possessed the power advantage.

Both men were 36 umri wa miaka. Hata hivyo, Burns ilianza kuingia 1879 katika 18 umri wa miaka. McLeod did not start wrestling until 1890 giving Burns an eleven-year experience advantage. It also meant Burns had a lot more mileage on his body from wars in the ring with Evan “Strangler” Lewis, J.H. McLaughlin, and Charles Green.

After preparing for the match over a year prior, Burns won the American Heavyweight Title from Evan “Strangler” Lewis on April 20, 1895. Burns defended the championship for two years looking dominant in the process. Bado, fans and pundits saw McLeod as a serious challenger.

The newspaper reporters filed short, straightforward accounts of this title match leading me to believe the match itself was uneventful. Onlookers often found matches between evenly matched wrestlers to be boring for lack of action. Newspaper reporters often did not have much to write about in the legitimate era.

McLeod won the first fall. He used the neck and crotch hold to pin Burns in twenty-three minutes.

Burns evened it up in the second fall using a combination arm and hammerlock. The newspaper coverage did not detail whether McLeod submitted to the hold or whether Burns pinned him.

McLeod used a half-Nelson from the front to turn Burns onto his back for the third fall at seventeen minutes, thirty seconds. As the fans celebrate, the referee raised McLeod’s signifying he was the new American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion.

Immediately after his victory, Tom Jenkins and Evan “Strangler” Lewis challenged McLeod for his new championship. Jenkins proved to be McLeod’s biggest rival for the American Title.

Martin “Farmer” Burns built a legendary career as both a wrestler and trainer. After losing his title, Burns transitioned into a new career as a trainer. Yeye discovered Frank Gotch in 1899.

Dan McLeod held the title for four years, lost it and had one more run with the championship. He retired in 1913 na, like Burns, trained wrestlers. McLeod trained wrestlers at the Los Angeles Athletic Club from 1913 kwa 1920. McLeod died in Los Angeles in 1958 katika 97 umri wa miaka.

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Sources: The Elmwood Daily Record (Elmwood, Indiana), Oktoba 27, 1897, p. 1, The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), Juni 24, 1958, p. 59 na wrestlingdata.com

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