Episode 149 – Lewis Maims Ross
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In this episode, I discuss Evan “The Strangler” Lewis injuring Duncan C. Ross on purpose in an 1893 match. I also review a card from Chicago in April 1906.
News and Update
Correction from last episode: Ad Santel wrestled Kyoshi Noguchi on Tuesday, November 30, 1915.
Why on earth is Will Osprey having a street fight garabage match with Mark Davis a couple of weeks before Wembley? Tony Khan, the wrestling fan, is often the enemy of Tony Khan, the businessman.
If you have a chance, watch the Carol Foro versus Gigi Canuto bout from UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Salkilld. They fought a great back and forth bout.
R.I.P. Allan Nascimento – 35-year-old athlete has a heart attack and passes away. A wake up call for all of us.
Evan “Strangler” Lewis posing in the early 1890s (Public Domain)
Dory Funk, Jr. also passed away this month at 85 years of age. Dory was the NWA World Champion from the time I was born in 1969 to 1973. I never saw Dory as World Champion but I saw him live in St. Louis many times. I always looked at Dory as the normal Funk brother.
Tony Richards Tribute Show to Dory Funk, Jr.
Main Content
Evan “The Strangler” Lewis wrestled Duncan C. Ross in 1893. Ross proved a Cumberland wrestling specialist, a style close to collar-and-elbow wrestling. Lewis specialized in catch-as-catch-can wrestling proving himself to be a dangerous submission wrestler.
The men agreed to wrestle a two-out-of-three-falls match. The men would wrestle each fall under a different set of rules, Greco-Roman wrestling, catch-as-catch-can, and Cumberland wrestling.
Lewis used his considerable “hooking” or submission skills to make sure he got the biggest portion of the reported $2,000 purse. Lewis did not need a lot of motivation to hurt someone and a big purse would motivate Lewis.
Reviews and Recommendations
The Princess Spy: The True Story of World War II Spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones by Larry Loftis (affiliate link)
Verne Gagne and Wilbur Snyder vs. Dick the Bruiser and Karl Karlsson from Chicago (07/17/1958)
Tom Sharkey, professional boxer, and John Piening, professional wrestler (Public Domain)
On Thursday, April 26, 1906, 5,000 fans came out to see a four-match card at the Chicago Coliseum in Chicago, Illinois. Professional heavyweight boxer Tom Sharkey wrestled John Rooney, professional wrestler and Chicago policeman. Rooney agreed to win two falls from Sharkey or be considered the loser.
Rooney pinned Sharkey for one fall after thirty minutes but Sharkey held Rooney off even though Rooney had an arm and scissors hold at the expiration of time. Sharkey claimed with another month of training he could hold Rooney off for an hour. Sharkey “defeated” Sailor Piening under similar circumstances in Boston during 1904.
“The Swedish Giant” Anders Anderson wrestled Bob Faulkner in a two-out-of-three-falls match according to Greco-Roman wrestling rules. Anderson won what may have been the only contest in two straight falls. Sporting a 30-pound weight advantage, Anderson won due strictly to size and strength. Anderson won the first fall with a half-Nelson in sixteen minutes, twelve seconds. Anderson won the second fall with a half-Nelson and body hold in twelve minutes, forty-two seconds.
Leo Pardello defeated English wrestler Jim Parr in the most interesting match on the card. Parr won the first fall with the body scissors in sixteen minutes, forty-eight seconds. Pardello won the second fall with an arm and body scissors in six minutes, forty-four seconds. The referee awarded Pardello the match, when Parr applied the strangle hold. The Chicago mayor banned the hold in Chicago since the first Evan “The Strangler” Lewis versus Sorakichi Matsuda match in January 1886. The referee told Parr to release the hold. When Parr refused to release the hold, the referee disqualified Parr at five minutes, fifteen seconds.
The opening match occurred between lady wrestlers Nellie Ward and Lena Schultz. Schultz won the first fall in five minutes, twenty-three seconds. Nellie won the next two falls as well as the match in three minutes, nine seconds and three minutes, thirty-three seconds, respectively.
Chicago would be the capital of wrestling for most of professional wresting history.
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Sources: Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), April 27, 1906, p. 10