Ken Zimmerman Jr.

In a blog post last month, I wrote about the difficulty promoters had in staging the Joe Stecher vs Jess Westergaard match. Originally scheduled for Omaha, Nebraska, the Omaha Chief of Police and Police Commissioner were concerned about the match being prearranged or a “work”. They didn’t want gamblers being taken in by the exhibition. To prevent this occurrence, they

Frank Gotch, ti gason an soti nan fèm Humboldt, Iowa, ta defèt George Hackenschmidt pou Mondyal lour Championship Lit a nan 1908. Viktwa sa a ak defèt li nan ki vin apre “Hack” nan la 1911 rematch simante plas Gotch a kòm youn nan luteur yo pi gran nan tout tan tout tan. Gotch was a very talented wrestler but he was not the undefeated wunderkind of legend. Gotch

Nan mwa janvye 10, 1912, Stanislaus Zbyszko continued his campaign for another title shot with World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch. To press his claim, he secured a match with Gotch training partner and protegé, Jake Westergard. Westergard claimed a questionable win over his mentor Gotch, who probably dropped the match to Westergard in a prearranged match. Zbyszko was a skilled

Omaha Chief of Police H.W. Dunn created headlines on March 28, 1915, when he issued an order banning the advertised professional wrestling match between Joe Stecher and Jess Westergaard. Avril la 6, 1915 match was scheduled for the Omaha Auditorium. The chief actually issued the order at the behest of Superintendent of Police A.C. Kugel. Kugel issued a statement to

Sou Desanm 13, 1920, Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Joe Stecher for his World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Professional wrestling was a staged exhibition by 1920. Sepandan, such was the strong feelings between the men that the match may have been a “shoot” or legitimate match in which Lewis took the belt. Whether the outcome of the match was real, the feud

Evan “Strangler” Lewis, yo te rele tou Evan Lewis “Strangler a”, te yon wrèstle pwofesyonèl ki soti nan 1882 to 1899. Lewis was the first American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch Can Wrestling Champion. He was also the first wrestler to perfect the “stranglehold” oswa “hang hold”, which modern MMA fans know as a guillotine choke. Lewis made his professional debut by winning a 64 man tournament

Martin “Kiltivatè” Burns is famous today as the trainer of legendary wrestler Frank Gotch. “Kiltivatè” Burns was a great wrestler in his own right. Burns won the American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in the legitimate pro wrestling era despite being only 165 liv. Nan 1891, Burns as the Iowa Heavyweight Champion took on J.C. Comstock, the Michigan Heavyweight Champion. J.C. Comstock was

Nan mwa janvye 11, 1911, world heavyweight wrestling championship contender Stanislaus Zbysko faced the challenge of the powerful but less talented Peter “Giant” Nogert. Nogert was a South African wrestler, who came to the United States for a few years in the early 1910s. Due to a strong international reputation, a few American wrestlers had even claimed to be Nogert before