弗兰克Gotch支付他会费

弗兰克Gotch, the farm boy from Humboldt, 爱荷华州, would defeat George Hackenschmidt for the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in 1908. This victory and his subsequent defeat of “劈” 在 1911 rematch cemented Gotch’s place as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Gotch was a very talented wrestler but he was not the undefeated wunderkind of legend. Gotch paid his dues and experienced losses on his way to the top.

Frank Alvin Gotch was born on April 27, 1878. 在他的全盛时期, Gotch stood 5’11” and weighed between 193 和 210 英镑. Gotch began wrestling in 1999 在 21 岁. He defeated all the locals before taking on former champion Dan McLeod in a match lasting two hours. McLeod finally overcame Gotch but was impressed by the youngster’s ability.

In December 1899, Gotch took on Martin “农民” 伯恩斯, who defeated Gotch in 11 分钟. It was a turning point for Frank Gotch. 伯恩斯, a celebrated wrestling trainer, was so impressed that he offered to train Gotch. This meeting would lead to Frank Gotch becoming world champion nine years later.

Prior to his world championship run, Frank Gotch paid his dues. He even lost some matches along the way. 周三, 三月 27, 1901, 弗兰克Gotch, the Iowa Wrestling Champion, took on Oscar Wasem, 圣. 路易, MO Champion, at Burlington, Iowa in front of 500 fans at the local Turner Hall. 三月 28, 1901 版的 圣. 路易共和国 carried a story about the bout.

The match was a two out of three falls event. Oscar Wasem won the first fall after 31 分 30 秒. 根据本 Republic, Gotch won the second fall by a fluke in 4 分 35 秒. The reporter did not explain how it was a fluke but being the hometown newspaper the reporter might not have been the most impartial observer. Wasem won the third and deciding fall after 26 分 45 秒. Wasem immediately challenged Martin “农民” 伯恩斯.

The immediate challenge of “农民” Burns would indicate that Frank Gotch was still acting as Burns’ “policeman”. If a challenger wanted to face a champion, the challenger usually had to defeat another contender before he got the shot at the championship. Gotch seems to be the challenger or “policeman” that the potential title contender had to beat. Oscar Wasem did not beat “农民” 伯恩斯.

Possibly inspired by this defeat, Frank Gotch would go on a tear beating every challenger from Nebraska and Iowa before leaving for the Klondike during a gold rush in 1902. Gotch made quite a name for himself during his Klondike run.

Oscar Wasem was small for a heavyweight at 165 英镑. He was still wrestling in 1912, when he was training with Frank Gotch for a match with Dr. Ben Roller. The match was supposed to be a retirement match. Oscar Wasem disappears from history at this point. Frank Gotch would make history in 1908 but he had to pay his dues first.

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Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt: The Matches That Made and Destroyed Legitimate American Professional Wrestling is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback and e-book.

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