Pesek maadleb Jordaniga 1916
John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek maadles kahel 1920. aastate kõige kuulsamal seaduslikul võistlusel. Pesek lõpetas kaks reklaamisõda, nõustudes "tulistama" võistlusi Marin Plestina ja Nat Pendeltoniga.
Sisse 1916, Pesek oli kasvav maadleja, kes tegutses oma koduosariigis Nebraskas. Neljapäeval, September 14, 1916, Pesek maadles teise Nebraska maadlejaga, Chris Jordan. Fans and newspaper reporters recognized Jordan as the former Nebraska middleweight wrestling champion.
Advertisement for the September 14, 1916 match between John Pesek and Chris Jordan (Public Domain)
While Jordon possessed an experience advantage, Pesek outweighed Jordan by twenty-five pounds. Clarence Ecklund trained Pesek for the ring and taught Pesek catch-as-catch-can wrestling. Pesek developed a particular proficiency with the leg scissors and double-arm wristlock.
Four hundred fans crowded into Shelton, Nebraska’s Hostetler Opera House for the anticipated match. In a common arrangement at the time, organizers placed a mat on the raised stage, so the spectators had an unobstructed view of the wrestling mat.
Pesek took Jordan to the mat to start the match and kept Jordan on the mat playing defense for the next two hours. Pesek almost secured the leg scissors twice, but each time Jordan slipped away from Pesek.
Jordan tried to secure his own arm locks a couple of times. Pesek powered out of every attempt and kept Jordan on the mat looking for an escape. At the end of two hours, the referee tapped both men on the back to end the match.
The referee’s stoppage confused the crowd. The promoters billed the bout as a finish match. Siiski, the referee informed the crowd that if the match continued to the 11 Pärastlõunal. curfew, the men agreed to call the match a draw.
The fans booed the referee and the wrestlers. Sensing the anger of the crowd, the referee, Pesek and Jordan headed for the dressing room before the fan’s anger led to a riot.
In a few years, Pesek could easily defeat Jordan, but it would not matter as the men transitioned to worked matches. Pesek never liked the worked or prearranged aspect of professional wrestling in the late 1910s and 1920s. Pesek ended up wrestling more legitimate contests than most of his contemporaries.
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Sources: The Shelton Clipper (Shelton, Nebraska), September 21, 1916, p. 1
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