Ken Zimmerman Jr.

På Juli 4, 1922, Alan Eustace received his shot at the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Eustace, the Kansas Champion, won a qualifying match with “Farmer” Bailey in March 1922 to qualify for the match with Lewis. 31-year-old Eustace was the same age as “Strangler” Lewis but Lewis was far more experienced. Debuting at 14 år,

Since its emergence as a spectator sport in the second half of the 19th Century, promoters and wrestlers were under a cloud of suspicion that they were working their matches. While professional wrestling would eventually consist almost exclusively of staged exhibitions, many, if not most, of the matches were legitimate contest prior to 1915. Promoters and wrestlers went to great

I början 1915, Sam Rachmann promoted the New York International Wrestling Tournament with the intention of replacing retired World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch. Rachmann believed no one could defeat Aleksander “Alex” Åberg, Rachmann’s handpicked successor to Gotch, in Greco-Roman wrestling. Rachmann’s challenge was catch-as-catch-can was the dominant wrestling style in America. To get around this challenge, Rachmann recruited international

I 1922, future World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Jim Browning began his career in Kansas. Browning moved from his hometown of Verona, Missouri in 1921 to train for a professional wrestling career. Tom Law, the Wichita, Kansas promoter, oversaw Browning’s training. By May 1923, Browning was already in the main event at smaller shows. On an Augusta, Kansas card, Browning wrestled

På mars 3, 1922, Och “Strangler” Lewis regained the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship from Stanislaus Zbyszko. This event marked the beginning of one of the most dominant professional wrestling combines in history. Manager Billy Sandow, World Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis and training partner/promotional genius Joseph “Toots” Mondt, known as the “Gold Dust Trio”, dominated the sport for the next six

In the early 1920s, Billy Sandow convinced Georgia promoter Tom Law to move to Wichita, Kansas and develop the area for future wrestling shows. The American Midwest would be a significant revenue generator for the Gold Dust Trio, which Sandow led with World Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis and promotional genius Joseph “Toots” Mondt, in the 1920s. Law would produce two

I 1894, Martin “Farmer” Burns förberedde sig för att brottas med Evan “Strangler” Lewis för American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Medan Burns var på väg in i sitt bästa år, Lewis hade varit på toppen av amerikansk professionell brottning för 5 år. Lewis brottades också med en trögflytande stil med betoning på underkastelse. Burns skulle behöva förberedas för en tuff tävling, som kunde

Verona, Missouri är en liten stad i sydvästra Missouri. Överskrider aldrig 900 invånare i dess historia, endast 438 eller så kallade folk Verona hem i 1926. Yet, ett professionellt brottningskort hölls i staden på måndagen, Mars 22, 1926. Utan den utbredda användningen av bilar eller vägar byggda för att hantera dem, resor skulle vara mycket svårt i 1926.

På fredag, Februari 17, 1922, Världsmästaren i tungviktsbrottning Stanislaus Zbyszko brottades en handikappmatch mot Francois Lemarque och den blivande stjärnan Jim Londos. Londos var fortfarande ett par år ifrån att bli den största tävlingen inom professionell brottning men han var den mest populära brottaren i St.. Louis. Medan Londos bara stod omkring 5’06” eller 5’07”, han ägde