Posts about catch-as-catch-can or catch wrestling matches, the dominant style of wrestling in the United States after 1890.
In late 1909, Stanislaus Zbyszko traveled to the United States to challenge World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch. Prior to meeting Gotch, Zbyszko toured the United States and battled many local wrestlers throughout the early part of 1910. Zbyszko would travel 37,000 miles. Early in his tour, Zbyszko met Frank Gotch in a handicap match. Zbyszko defeated Gotch, who was […]
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RKO Pictures brought the Dick Tracy comic strip character to the big screen on December 1, 1945. While the film is definitely a “B” film meant to be first on the double bill, it still would have been of interest to the many fans of the popular comic strip. Chester Gould created the strip in October 1931 for the Detroit […]
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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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On Thursday, January 27, 1904, Tom Jenkins defended his American Wrestling Championship against an up-and-coming wrestler from Iowa. After the first fall, the fans realized it was the toughest match of the c Frank Alvin Gotch, the Humboldt, Iowa farm boy who would defeat Georg Hackenschmidt for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1908, was Jenkins’ challenger. Jenkins had defeated Gotch’s […]
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In January 1921, Ad Santel started a minor controversy by claiming Ed “Strangler” Lewis was a better wrestler than the late Frank Gotch. Santel trained with both Gotch and Lewis, so Santel did have an insider’s knowledge. Was he right though? Gotch was the last undisputed World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Gotch won the title by defeating the great Georg Hackenschmidt. […]
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When World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion William Muldoon retired in 1889, he hoped his protege Ernest Roeber would be recognized as the new champion. However, Muldoon won his title in Greco-Roman wrestling, which was the German-born Roeber’s expertise. Unfortunately, the exploits of Martin “Farmer” Burns and Evan “The Strangler” Lewis catapulted catch-as-catch-can wrestling into the dominant style of professional wrestling in […]
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In late 1902, Harvey Parker, a professional wrestler who began wrestling in 1900, travelled to St. Louis to challenge the local wrestling community. Parker may have thought St. Louis to be an easier town than “Farmer” Burns territory in Chicago and Iowa. However, Parker would discover two capable wrestler in St. Louis, George Baptiste and Oscar Wasem. By 1902, George […]
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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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On January 10, 1910, recently arrived Polish wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko took on Charlie “The Kid” Cutler in a best two-out-of-three falls match. Cutler had been a boxer in a troupe run by John L. Sullivan before transitioning to wrestling. While Cutler was extremely tough, Stanislaus Zbyszko had been wrestling since his youth. Zbyszko used these skills to overcome Cutler and […]
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In the 1910s, American professional wrestling permanently moved from legitimate wrestling contests to prearranged exhibitions. Fan interest, promoter control and less wear and tear on the wrestlers all played a role in this transition. Another less talked about pressure was outside of the sport itself. Prior to the 20th Century, professional boxing was illegal in the United States. Legislatures long […]
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