Posts and podcasts about professional wrestling in the 19th Century
This post was formally a podcast broadcast in 2015. In this episode, I discuss what Evan “The Strangler” Lewis’ hold would be called today. Main Content – When I first heard of the stranglehold or “hang hold” of Evan “The Strangler” Lewis, it sounded like a guillotine choke. However, several sources I checked described it as a rear naked choke. Lewis […]
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In a testament to his foresight and vision, the World Wrestling Champion William Muldoon was preparing to be a fitness trainer even while at the height of his powers as a wrestler. Muldoon held the championship from 1880 until he retired in 1890. During his reign, he often gave exhibitions to attract attention to his way of training. The Saturday, […]
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On Saturday, November 25, 1899, St. Louis wrestling fans experienced a shock, when a visiting wrestler easily threw local champion Oscar Wasem in a little over 20 minutes. After the easy victory, fans smelled a rat, when the “Indianapolis Cyclone” spoke with a Lancashire accent. Oscar Wasem surpassed George Baptiste as St. Louis’ wrestling champion in the mid-1890s. Wasem possessed […]
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Edwin Bibby and Duncan C. Ross established the first recognized professional wrestling championship in the United States on January 19, 1881. The men wrestled catch-as-catch-can style for the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. William Muldoon was the World Heavyweight Champion based on his defeat of Thiebaud Bauer in 1880. Andre Christol brought the World Title to the United States in the […]
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Clarence Whistler was born in Indiana during 1856. While standing only 5’09” or so and weighing 165 pounds, Whistler was considered one of the most powerful wrestlers of his era. Whistler was the only wrestler able to give William Muldoon a hard time during Muldoon’s 9-year run as World Champion. Whistler primarily competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, the dominant style in […]
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On August 26, 1886, Evan “Strangler” Lewis met the British Wrestling Champion Tom Cannon in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the legitimate wrestling era, other wrestlers feared the powerful Lewis because of his stranglehold. Lewis employed a carotid arterial strangle known as the rear naked choke in Judo. At least that was what I originally thought and most historians have quoted. Modern […]
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Dominant champions like William Muldoon often had to accept handicap conditions to get fans interested in watching them wrestle. Since fans only considered Clarence Whistler skilled enough to really threaten his reign, Muldoon would often generate interest by either performing feats of strength or taking on the challenge of handicap conditions. On May 5, 1885, Muldoon met Matsuda Sorokichi, who […]
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Paul Pons was the Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion of France in the 1890s. He won a tournament at the Folies-Bergeres before winning a tournament in Russia in 1898. These victories allowed him to claim the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship. Pons capitalized on this notoriety by opening a gym to train wrestlers and strong men. Pons’ victory was particularly remarkable because of […]
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On April 24, 1889, the Missouri Gymnasium hosted its annual event to highlight the athletic accomplishments of its members. Members showed off gymnastic skills and other athletic ability while an orchestra or the Ideal Banjo Club played music in the background. The gymnasium managers booked a main attraction for the evening. George Baptiste, a St. Louis middleweight wrestler who specialized […]
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The powerful William Muldoon was considered invincible as Greco-Roman World Wrestling Champion. Only one man seriously challenged Muldoon during his dominant reign. The 165-pound Clarence Whistler consistently gave Muldoon his toughest challenges. Muldoon and Whistler met on Thursday, November 1, 1883 in San Francisco, California in one of their several matches. William Muldoon was almost a head taller and weighed […]
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