Lewis Wrestles Demetral

On Tuesday, October 21, 1913, Ed “Strangler” Lewis defended his newly won American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship against William Demetral. Lewis wrestled Demetral at Lexington’s Auditorium on a mat instead of a ring. The mat setup played a role in the finish of the match.

Promoter Jerry Walls placed a mat on the elevated stage, a common setup before the widespread use of the wrestling ring. The stagehands placed the mat close to the front of the stage so the fans could see the action.

Demetral, who weighed 185 pounds, entered the ring first. The fans remained silent during Demetral’s entrance. When Lewis, who weighed 198 pounds, entered the auditorium, the fans cheered wildly. Lewis wrestled primarily in Lexington, Kentucky and the surrounding area for the past year developing quite a fan following.

After Promoter Jerry Walls introduced both men, Lewis addressed the crowd. Lewis said he was in peak condition and would offer no excuses if he lost. Walls said he expected a clean match. Demetral agreed with the desire for a clean match. Both men shook hands and prepared to wrestle.

To start the match, the wrestlers proceeded at a leisurely pace without a lot of action. After about ten minutes of limited action, Demetral accidentally poked Lewis in the eye. Walls, who also served as referee, separated the men to give Lewis a chance to recover from the accidental foul. After Lewis’ eye cleared, the men shook hands and continued.

Lewis remained on offense trying to secure the toehold but neither man exerted himself too much. After thirty-seven minutes, both men slid off the mat for the third or fourth time. Walls, frustrated with the lack of action, said, “Cut the kidding and go to it proper.” Both Lewis and Demetral picked up the pace after Wall’s admonishment.

Finally, at the forty-seven-minute mark, Lewis secured an arm and body lock combination. Despite Demetral’s best effort, Lewis flipped Demetral on to his back. Lewis pinned Demetral for the first fall of the best two-out-of-three-falls match. The men rested for the fifteen minute intermission and started the second fall with more action than the first.

Demetral wrestled offensively for the first time in the second fall. After escaping Lewis’ front face lock or headlock, Demetral applied a body scissors. Demetral almost forced Lewis to the mat but Lewis rolled to his knees. Standing up, Lewis shook off the body scissors.

Lewis applied a chin lock and started turning Demetral to his back. In a desperate attempt to escape, Demetral pushed both men off the mat towards the front of the stage. The momentum took Lewis over the footlights and headfirst into the orchestra pit. The fall injured Lewis’ head and shoulders.

At least three physicians were watching the match from the audience and went to render assistance after Lewis’ ugly looking fall. All three doctors told Walls that Lewis should not continue the match. Despite Lewis scoring the only fall, Walls awarded the match to Demetral via forfeit.

Demetral told the crowd the rules legitimized his victory. Since Lewis could not continue, the rules forced Lewis to forfeit the match.

Demetral claimed to be the new American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. However, Lewis disputed Demetral’s claim. He told Demetral he was still the champion and would wrestle Demetral again once he recovered.

Demetral’s odd victory clouded the championship, an all too familiar occurrence in the history of the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.

You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page or Twitter profile.

Sources: The Lexington Herald (Lexington, Kentucky), October 22, 1913, p. 10

Pin It