Ismail Wrestles Jenkins

On May 5, 1898, Yusuf Ismail wrestled Tom Jenkins in Cleveland, Ohio. Ismail only toured the United States for six months in the early part of 1898. Ismail wrestled less than ten matches but left a path of destruction remembered to this day.

Ismail made a powerful impression by easily defeating both Evan “Strangler” Lewis. Ismail also made a strong impression by his frequent fouling.

The referee disqualified Ismail in his match with Ernst Roeber after Ismail deliberately knocked Roeber off the platform where they were wrestling. Roeber fell eight feet into the orchestra pit. The fall injured Roeber, who could not continue but the referee already disqualified Ismail.

In the match with Jenkins, Ismail displayed both his dominance and his poor sportsmanship. Ismail weighed two hundred forty-eight pounds for the match. Jenkins weighed only one hundred seventy-two pounds.

Ismail frequently picked Jenkins up and tried to throw him off the platform. Jenkins held on despite Ismail trying to shake him off. Ismail drug Jenkins face across the mat several times trying to break Jenkins’ grip. Despite the mat burns on his face, Jenkins held onto Ismail.

Ismail continued throwing Jenkins around, palm striking Jenkins in the head and rubbing Jenkins’ face into the mat. After one hour, one minute, Ismail pinned a bleeding and mat-burned Jenkins for the first fall.

After the ten-minutes intermission, Jenkins appeared recovered. Despite his immense size, Ismail also appeared fresh.

Ismail started pushing Jenkins off the mat again. Ismail pushed Jenkins off the mat a couple of times. By rule, Ismail should back off, so Jenkins could get back onto the mat.

During one of Jenkins’ attempts to reenter the ring, Ismail picked Jenkins up and slammed Jenkins onto his back next to the mat but not on it. The referee awarded Ismail the second fall.

Newspaper reporters pointed out that the referee should have waived off the fall. The referee should have then made Ismail back up so Jenkins could reenter the mat area.

However, the referee awarded Ismail the fall for the illegal move. Jenkins expressed his frustration with the referee, but it was too late. Ismail won the match in two straight falls.

Ismail and the referee ran from the ring as Jenkins’ hometown Cleveland crowd attempted to attack both men. Jenkins showed little interest in preventing the assault and watched both men run back to the dressing room area.

Ismail set sail for Bulgaria not long after this match. However, Ismail died when the ship he booked passage on sunk of the Canadian coast killing most of the passengers onboard.

Jenkins recovered from this disappointment to claim the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship three times. Jenkins proved to be Frank Gotch’s most difficult opponent.

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Sources: The Dayton Herald (Dayton, Ohio), May 6, 1898, p. 6

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