Lewis און Roeber פאַרייניקן טיטל
ווען וויליאם מולדאָן ויסגעדינט פון פאַכמאַן ראַנגלעריי אין 1889, ער האט בדעה צו זײן שוץ, ערנסט ראבער, צו ווערן דער נייַ וועלט העאַוויוועיגהט ראַנגלעריי טשאַמפּיאָן. זינט מולדאָן שטענדיק פארטיידיקט זיין טשאַמפּיאַנשיפּ אין די גרעקאָ-רוימער ראַנגלעריי סטיל, זיין ברירה האט זינען. ראָבער איז געווען אַרגיואַבלי דער בעסטער גריכיש-רוימער ראַנגלער אין אַמעריקע אין דער צייט.
אָבער, די ראַנגלעריי פאַנס און זשורנאַליסט, קאַווערינג די ספּאָרט, were not quick to recognize Roeber as Muldoon had hoped. ערשטער, catch-as-catch-can wrestling was becoming the dominant American style. Many fans and pundits considered Evan Lewis, the current American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch-Can Wrestling Champion, to be the best overall wrestler.
עוואַן “סטראַנגלער” Lewis in his prime from the public domain
Lewis had given Muldoon a tough tussle in Muldoon’s final match. It took Muldoon 45 minutes to throw Lewis in Muldoon’s specialty of Greco-Roman Wrestling. Due to Lewis’ reputation, Roeber was recognized as the American Heavyweight Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion but not the world champion.
Both men defended their individual titles for the next few years, while demand built for them to meet and unify the championships. אין 1893, the match would finally happen. On March 2nd, Lewis and Roeber would meet at the Olympic Athletic Club in New Orleans, Louisiana to unify the titles.
The match was 3-out-of-5 falls. Falls were often contested in different styles during the 19th Century until catch-as-catch-can became the dominant American style in the late 1890s.
די מענער זײַנען אַרײַן אין רינג בײַ 9 פּ.ם. Muldoon was announced as Roeber’s second in the weeks leading up to the match. אָבער, he wasn’t in New Orleans for the match. A coin was tossed to select the style for the first fall. Lewis won the toss and unsurprisingly chose catch-as-catch-can for the first fall.
Roeber did have Lewis’ stranglehold banned for the match but it didn’t help him in the first fall. Lewis had Roeber on his hands and knees almost immediately. Lewis turned Roeber onto his shoulders to win the first fall in 7 מינוט, 56 סעקונדעס.
Sorakichi Matsuda and Ernst Roeber demonstrating wrestling in the late 1880s
Roeber won the second fall, contested by Greco-Roman wrestling rules, אין 28 מינוט, 52 סעקונדעס. For some reason, the third fall was Greco-Roman wrestling even though Lewis had won the toss. Lewis proved his wrestling skill though by winning the third fall.
Roeber was desperate entering the fourth fall. He pinned Lewis in a foul-filled fourth fall at 20 מינוט, 43 סעקונדעס. Roeber’s tactics weren’t wise. You didn’t want to make Evan Lewis angry in a wrestling match.
Lewis won the final fall, contested under catch-as-catch-can rules, אין 1 minute, 3 סעקונדעס. The newspapers don’t say how Lewis won but a quick submission sounds likely. If you made Lewis mad, you better tap quick when he secured a submission hold. Lewis would injure wrestlers on purpose, if they made him angry.
Roeber continued wrestling but Evan Lewis became the major star of the 1890s. He and Martin “פּויער” Burns would take American professional wrestling into the 20th Century.
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Source: The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), מאַרץ 3, 1893 edition, פּ. 3
Cover of Shooting or Working? The History of the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship
