1915 New York Wrestling Tournament

国际摔跤比赛发生在两个阶段之间的五月 19, 1915 及二 31, 1915. 五十选手将在比赛的第一阶段,包括世界希腊罗马冠军亚历山大·竞争 “亚历克斯” ABERG. 第二批有 40 摔跤手,包括行动和未来的明星埃德 “<跨度bbox_x =“949”bbox_y“1780”bbox_w =“52”bbox_h =“19”的fsize =“13”fweight =“3”红=“255”绿色=“255”蓝色=“255”阿尔法“” 刘易斯, who joined a month into the tournament on November 22, 1915. The tournament is famous today for the introduction of the first masked wrestler, “The Masked Marvel”.

Samuel Rachmann, who promoted the tournament, was having a tough time filling the seats. Legitimate professional wrestling matches lasted a long time. Wrestlers would hold the same position sometimes for hours at a time. My grandfather told me that when he was a kid, he would go to the matches with his uncle at the old Coliseum in St. 路易, MO. They would often walk across the street, get some dinner and walk back to find the wrestlers in the same position as when they left.

亚历克斯aberg

亚历山大 “亚历克斯” Aberg from the Public Domain

Rachmann offered $1,000 to any wrestler, who could beat Aberg, leading up to the tournament. The winner of the tournament itself was promised $50,000. 然而, neither offer built much public interest in the tournament. The first day of the tournament did not make it into the New York Tribune’s sports pages. 然而, Rachmann hit on an idea. Bring a little vaudeville to his tournament.

During the second installment of the tournament from October to December 1915, he planted a masked man in the front row of the tournament. The masked man watched the first few days. “The Masked Marvel” then began standing up at ringside demanding his rightful place in the tournament.

Believe it or not, this stunt actually worked. Customers came to see the masked man at ringside. They also began to demand he be allowed to enter the tournament. In December 1915, he made his debut.

aberg掩蔽-奇迹绘图

Alex Aberg vs. Masked Marvel from December 28, 1915 Evening World

The Masked Marvel defeated his first opponent. He would beat all his opponents with the exception of Alex Aberg and Ed”<跨度bbox_x =“949”bbox_y“1780”bbox_w =“52”bbox_h =“19”的fsize =“13”fweight =“3”红=“255”绿色=“255”蓝色=“255”阿尔法“” 刘易斯, who both beat him. Wladek Zbyszko also drew with The Masked Marvel. The Marvel’s manager gave the game away on December 29, 1915, when he called the masked man “Mort” in front of a New York Tribune reporter.

The reporter realized that The Masked Marvel was Mort Henderson, a journeyman part-time wrestler and railroad detective. The Marvel and his manager denied it but it was proven in 1916, when The Masked Marvel was unmasked.

年轻-ED-扼杀 - 刘易斯

Young Ed “<跨度bbox_x =“949”bbox_y“1780”bbox_w =“52”bbox_h =“19”的fsize =“13”fweight =“3”红=“255”绿色=“255”蓝色=“255”阿尔法“” Lewis from the Public Domain

The Masked Marvel would signal the close of the legitimate wrestling era. Most of the matches in this tournament were legitimate but The Masked Marvel obviously had assistance in his competitive improvement. When promoters realized shorter matches and prearranged outcomes increased their business, legitimate contests came to an end.

Aberg defeated Lewis in the semi-final by throwing him at 42 分钟. Lewis gave Aberg everything he could handle up to that point in the match. 该 New York Tribune said that Lewis hit his head on the floor so hard that it took him several minutes to regain his senses. Aberg defeated The Masked Marvel in an anti-climatic finale on New Year’s Eve, 十二月 31, 1915.

<跨度bbox_x“925”bbox_y =“1780”bbox_w“16”bbox_h =“19”的fsize =“13”fweight =“3”红=“255”绿色=“255”蓝色=“255”阿尔法“ “<跨度bbox_x =“949”bbox_y“1780”bbox_w =“52”bbox_h =“19”的fsize =“13”fweight =“3”红=“255”绿色=“255”蓝色=“255”阿尔法“” Lewis would go on to win the freestyle World Wrestling Championship from Joe Stecher in a legitimate bout in December 1920. Aberg would lose his life around the same time trying to escape the Russian Civil War. Aberg was attempting to escape through Southern Russia, when he contracted an illness and died.

该 1915 International Wrestling Tournament brought the legitimate professional wrestling era to an end in America, This tournament, the Masked Marvel and predetermined outcomes would alter American professional wrestling forever.

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修订蒙面奇迹封面

Masked Marvel to the Rescue 可在亚马逊上以电子书形式获得, 平装本和精装本

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