Legend of Chief Two Feathers

On December 23, 1903, Frank Gotch traveled to Bellingham, Washington to take on a 6’05”, 215 pound Native American wrestler from Montana.  Wrestling fans in the area considered Chief Two Feathers to be unbeatable.  Frank Gotch was not impressed with his reputation but he gave Gotch the most uncomfortable 15 minutes of his young career.

Chief Two Feathers entered the ring wearing a bead robe of many colors.  Chief Two Feathers stood a full six inches taller than Gotch.  The men met at center ring, shook hands and returned to their corners.

As the bell started the match, Gotch and Two Feathers tied up in center ring.  In a surprise to Gotch and his supporters, Chief Two Feathers slammed him to the ground.  Gotch struggled mightily to get back to his feet but Two Feathers kept forcing him down on the mat.

Gotch struggled repeatedly to keep from being pinned and tried to get back to his feet.  However, Chief Two Feathers kept working him over on the ground.

For a full 15 minutes, Chief Two Feathers continued to try to pin Gotch but eventually Gotch’s superior wrestling ability allowed him to escape.  None of Gotch’s team ever saw anyone hold Gotch down for so long.

Despite being back on his feet, Gotch still struggled to get close enough to grip Chief Two Feathers.  After almost another 30 minutes of wrestling, Gotch saw his opening.  Gotch secured a scissor hold and took Two Feathers to the ground.  Gotch quickly secured a hammerlock and pinned Chief Two Feathers for the first fall at 46 minutes.

After a rest, the men began the second fall.  Chief Two Feathers slammed Gotch a couple of times but Gotch wriggled free each time.  Two Feathers came close to beating him with a hammerlock but Gotch reversed it and secured another scissors hold.  Gotch secured another hammerlock with the scissors hold to pin Chief Two Feathers for the second fall.

Chief Two Feather gave Gotch a bigger challenge than Gotch expected but the legend grew as the years went on.  Stories written towards the end of Gotch’s career claimed Chief Two Feather never wrestled again.  Chief Two Feathers was quoted as saying, “Gotch, he heap big wrestler.  Me no match.”  However, Gotch and Chief Two Feathers wrestled again in both 1904 and 1905.  The subsequent stories were mostly hype to build Gotch in the public’s eye.

Had you heard about Gotch and Chief Two Feathers before?  Why do you think the legend of this match grew?You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page, Twitter profile and Google+ page.

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