Episode 104 – Studyin’ and Learnin’

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In this episode, I discuss misconceptions that I had going into writing projects. I also discuss discoveries and things that shocked me.

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When you offer an opinion on professional wrestling today, you may be told you need to study and learn as a way of invalidating your opinion(s). It is not a valid criticism or point but I decided today’s podcast will be all about studying and learning.

Here is what I knew, what I didn’t know, and what I didn’t know I didn’t know prior to embarking on these research projects.

William Muldoon: The Solid Man Conquers Wrestling and Physical Culture. I knew about Muldoon from a book on John L. Sullivan that I read in high school. Muldoon was a powerful professional wrestler and the first celebrity trainer. However, Muldoon refused to wrestle the top catch wrestlers in catch-as-catch-can wrestling due to fear of injury.

Morrissey vs. Poole: Politics, Prizefighting, and the Murder of Bill the Butcher. Morrissey won the World Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Championship. It was the second part of his life as a New York state senator, which convinced me to write this book. Great redemption story and still one of my favorite book projects.

Evan “Strangler” Lewis: The Most Feared Wrestler of the 19th Century. Lewis developed into the first heel wrestler in professional wrestling. Fans loathed him which led 3,000 to 6,000 fans to attend his Chicago matches. Other wrestlers drew fans in the hundreds.

Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt: The Matches that Made and Destroyed Legitimate Wrestling. I started the project with respect for Hackenschmidt and ended the project respecting both wrestlers. I also debunk myths around the second match on Labor Day 1911.

Masked Marvel to the Rescue: The Gimmick that Saved the 1915 International Tournament. I learned more researching this book than any other. The tournament was two tournaments in the Spring and Fall. Promoter Sam Rachmann held the tournament to establish Alex Aberg as the successor to World Champion Frank Gotch. Fans stopped showing up for the Fall tournament, which forced Rachmann to introduce the Masked Marvel in December 1915.

Double-Crossing the Gold Dust Trio: Stanislaus Zbyszko’s Last Hurrah. In this book, I debunk commonly believed narratives around Zbyszko’s title reign, and the double-cross. Greed leads to most bad decisions in wrestling and that was the case here.

Gotch vs. Zbyszko: The Quest for Redemption. The story of Stanislaus Zbyszko’s first tour of the United States from 1909 to 1914. After their controversial 1910 title match, Zbyszko tried to get Gotch back in the ring. Zbyszko is the one opponent Gotch would not wrestle again.

Shooting or Working? The History of the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. The biggest surprise in this project was the number of worked title matches. I also discovered the true lineage of the title is shorter than most online versions.

Wayfarer in a Foreign Land: Sorakichi Matsuda Wrestles in America. Prior to researching this book, I did not know that wrestlers wrestled professional matches according to Sumo rules in the 1880s, that Matsuda could have been a professional strongman, and Matsuda was the first Japanese wrestler with the idea of importing professional wrestling back to Japan.

Origin of a Legend: The Making of Ed “Strangler” Lewis. This book covers Lewis’ career from his first matches in his hometown, Nekoosa, Wisconsin, until he enters the New York International Wrestling Tournament during November 1915. Lewis’ two years in Kentucky set Lewis up for future success in the 1910s and 1920s.

Shooter in a Worked World: John Pesek and the 1920s Promotional War. John Pesek hated the worked nature of professional wrestling. Promoters used Pesek’s legitimate hooking skills to settle promotional disputes in high profile contests. Promoters also used Pesek in an attempted 1926 double-cross.

Divided Championship: Stecher and Lewis after the Double-Cross. I wrote this book to correct the record about the myths around the Divided Championship Era particularly related to Joe Stecher. The vast majority of information about this time period is wrong.

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