Beell Beats “Americus”

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In January 1905, well-regarded wrestler Gus Schoenlein, also known as Americus, agreed to meet Fred Beell in Schoenlein’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.  Schoenlein expected to beat Beell easily. At 5’10” and 210 pounds, “Americus” towered over the 5’04”, 170 pound Beell.  While Beell was powerfully built, Schoenlein’s 40 pounds was a mountainous advantage.   Both men were skilled wrestlers though. Second,

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Masked Marvel Beats Lurich

the-masked-marvel

(This post is an exert from my newest book Masked Marvel to the Rescue: The Gimmick That Saved the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament available on Amazon.) The fall version of the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament was struggling with attendance and interest, when promoter Sam Rachmann struck promotional gold by introducing a masked wrestler into his tournament.  The Masked Marvel stormed

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Planned Lewis – Zbyszko Match

zbyszko-working-toehold

When Billy Sandow and Ed Lewis decided Stanislaus Zbyszko’s title reign had run out of promotional steam, they decided to “win” back the title in March 1922.  St. Louis promoter John Contos was able to secure the big rematch, which would occur at the St. Louis Coliseum on Thursday, December 14, 1922. By this time, American professional wrestling outside of

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Russian Lion Defeats Terrible Turk

george-hackenschmidt-suit

On Saturday, January 30, 1904, George Hackenschmidt defended his Greco-Roman World Wrestling Championship against Ahmed Medrali.  “The Russian Lion” would have to defeat “The Terrible Turk” to retain his championship.  Promoters selected the giant Medrali, who was 6’02” and 224 pounds, to defeat the seemingly invincible Hackenschmidt. George Hackenschmidt stood only 5’09” tall and weighed 209 pounds.  Despite his smaller

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Thiebaud Bauer Denies Worked Matches in 1876

theobaud-bauer

Thiebaud or Theobald Bauer was a French wrestler, who specialized in Greco-Roman wrestling.  Bauer arrived in America during 1875 with a dubious claim to the World Greco-Roman Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.  He would defend his title for 5 years until defeated by William Muldoon in 1880.  If wrestling fans are familiar with Bauer at all, it is normally as the opponent

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Joe Stecher Throws Dan Kolov

joe-stecher-championship-belt

On Thursday, November 22, 1923, St. Louis promoter John Contos hosted a controversial card topped by a match between Joe Stecher and Dan Kolov, an up-and-coming Bulgarian wrestler.  The card was covered by John E. Wray, the Sports Editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The card was controversial because two of the biggest stars in wrestling were advertised but didn’t

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Alias the Champ (1949)

gorgeous-george-and-wife

Broadcast companies were looking for content during the early days of television.   Besides older movies and some broadcast company productions, sports were a source of programming for many television stations.  The Dumont Television Network was one of the powerhouse networks in the beginning of the Golden Age of Television.  One of their most popular programs was wrestling and the star

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Gotch Meets Match in Zbyszko

frank-gotch

On a Thursday night, November 25, 1909, World Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch met Polish Wrestling Champion Stanislaus Zbyszko for a handicap match in Buffalo, New York.  Gotch agreed to forfeit the bout if he could not throw Zbyszko twice in an hour. Zbyszko’s size and strength created problems for Gotch, who weighed 190 pounds to Zbyszko’s 260 pounds.  However, Zbyszko

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