Lewis Wrestles Mondt in Kansas City

World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis wrestled hundreds of legitimate wrestling matches with Joseph “Toots” Mondt over the years.  During conversations with his young protégé, Lou Thesz, Lewis said he only had to worry about losing to two wrestlers in his long career.  Only Mondt and Stanislaus Zbyszko had a chance of defeating him in a legitimate contest.

One of the first matches between Mondt and Lewis occurred in Kansas City, Missouri on February 16, 1923.  Fans were so convinced of Mondt’s ability that 10,000 fans showed up to see if Mondt could defeat the despised Lewis.  While Lewis could be cheered or booed depending on the opponent and town, Kansas City fans believed in the danger of Lewis’ headlock.  The fans detested Lewis, who they thought was trying to injure his opponents.

Consistent with the times, the match was a long one lasting three hours and 10 minutes.  The fans were not disappointed as it was considered one of the best matches ever held in Kansas City.  Mondt threw Lewis for the first fall after two hours of wrestling.

Lewis returned the favor an hour later, when he threw Mondt for the second fall.  Lewis secured a toehold to win the third fall in only ten minutes to retain his world title.  Mondt looked exhausted after the second fall leading to the quick end of the third fall.

The match itself was a prearranged exhibition as the close friends worked together to put on an exciting match.  While they wrestled more legitimate matches with each other than anyone else, they never had these matches in front of the fans.  They all occurred in training sessions.  Manager Billy Sandow and a few wrestlers would have been the only witnesses to these matches.

Mondt was trained for the ring by famed trainer, Martin “Farmer” Burns.  While Burns taught Mondt how to “work” with other wrestlers, Burns also taught Mondt submission holds, known as hooks in pro wrestling.  Mondt possessed legitimate wrestling skills and could handle legitimate challenges, if they arose.  He also displayed a gifted mind for promotional angles and making wrestling matches more exciting.

Burns recommended Mondt to Billy Sandow, Lewis’ manager, who added Mondt to his group of wrestlers in late 1922.  Mondt distinguished himself quickly.  Lewis, impressed by Mondt’s legitimate wrestling skills, started training with Mondt almost exclusively.

Sandow was also impressed by Mondt’s promotional abilities.  Mondt started helping Sandow setup shows.Mondt created the wrestling package show of 4 to 7 matches, which fans are used to even today.  Mondt also created a more dynamic style of wrestling.  Prior to the Trio, matches normally lasted several hours with wrestlers laying on the mat in a hold for long periods of time.    Soon Lewis, Sandow and Mondt were known as “The Gold Dust Trio”.

The Trio dominated wrestling in the early to mid-1920s.  They generated so much money that Ed “Strangler” Lewis was the highest paid athlete in the 1920s even with Jack Dempsey as World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

Eventually, the Trio would break up over a disagreement about a 1925 title change.  However, Lewis and Mondt remained best friends.  They continued to work together off and on until Lewis’ retirement.

I’ll talk about some of the less savory aspects of Mondt’s behavior in future posts but it never affected his friendship with Lewis.  They remained loyal to each other for the remainder of their lives.

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Source: Long Beach Telegram and Long Beach Daily News, February 17, 1923 edition, p. 17 and Hooker by Lou Thesz

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