Combat Sports Historian at Martial Artist
Posts about catch-as-catch-can or catch wrestling matches, the dominant style of wrestling in the United States after 1890.
Dan McLeod defeated Martin “Farmer” Burns for the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship during October 1897. McLeod held the championship for four years until he met Frank Gotch’s toughest opponent, Tom Jenkins. Noong unang bahagi ng 1899, McLeod made a couple title defenses in Minnesota. On February 24, 1899, McLeod wrestled St. Louis Middleweight Wrestling Champion George Baptiste at Conover Hall in front
Professional wrestling evolved into an athletic exhibition from legitimate contests for two reasons. I have written extensively about the first reason. Legitimate contests between equally skilled wrestlers were often long, boring affairs with little action. These contests turned off fans and prevented professional wrestling exploding as a spectator sport. I have not written as much about the second reason. Ang
Bago ang pakikipagbuno sa Kentucky noong unang bahagi ng 1910s, Kilala ng mga wrestling fan si Ed “Strangler” Lewis bilang Bob Fredrichs. Ipinanganak si Robert Friedrich sa Nekoosa, Wisconsin, Ginawa ni Lewis ang kanyang propesyonal na wrestling debut sa 1905, habang pa lang 14 taong gulang. Inisip ng mga tagataguyod ng Kentucky na si Bob Fredrichs ay napakalinaw, kaya pinili ni Lewis ang kanyang bagong pangalan bilang pagpupugay sa kapwa katutubo at orihinal na Wisconsin
Sa Mayo 7, 1901, Nakipagbuno si Tom Jenkins sa higanteng si Nouralah Hassan sa New York City. Ipinanganak sa Bulgaria noong 1870, Tumayo si Hassan ng anim na talampakan, walong pulgada ang taas at may timbang 331 pounds. Habang si Jenkins ay nagtataglay ng superior wrestling skill, Inaasahan ng mga tagahanga at mamamahayag na ang napakalaking laki ni Hassan ay magpapakita ng mga problema para kay Jenkins. Ini-book ng mga promoter ang mga lalaking makikibuno sa Madison Square Garden
Sa Agosto 4, 1939, Namatay si Mort Henderson sa Rochester, New York sa 60 taong gulang. Malamang na hindi naalala ng mga tagahanga ng wrestling ang pangalang Mort Henderson kundi bilang kanyang alter ego, ang orihinal na Masked Marvel, na-save niya ang fall version ng 1915 International Wrestling Tournament in New York City. Itinaguyod ni Sam Rachmann ang tournament na may layuning
Noong Oktubre 26, 1897, Ipinagtanggol ni Martin “Farmer” Burns ang kanyang American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship laban sa Scottish catch wrestler na si Dan McLeod. Sina Burns at McLeod ay dalawa sa nangungunang tatlo o apat na catch-as-catch-can wrestler sa United States noong panahong iyon. 1,200 dumalo ang mga tagahanga sa laban na ginanap sa Grand Opera House sa Indianapolis, Indiana. Kadalasang naglalagay ng banig o mabigat ang mga promoter
Si George Tragos ay nakakuha ng katanyagan bilang tagapagsanay ng Lou Thesz, the dominant National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion of the 1950s and early 1960s. Tragos, isang 1920 Olympian for his native Greece, possessed an impeccable resume in legitimate wrestling. Born March 14, 1901, in Messinia, Greece, Tragos won national wrestling titles before representing Greece at the 1920 Olympics at only
At the end of 1932, 22-year-old Vila Milli sued her husband, professional wrestler Wladek Zbyszko, for divorce alleging physical cruelty and adultery. Milli charged the 41-year-old Zbyszko with physical cruelty for “hugging her too hard.” Justice Dunne of the Brooklyn Supreme Court heard the divorce case. He expressed doubt that Zbyszko abused his wife. Gayunman, he did not dismiss the
While researching the history of the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (1881 – 1922), I discovered Evan “Strangler” Lewis’ early matches in Montana. Prior to researching this topic, I thought Lewis started his career by winning a 64-man wrestling tournament in Montana during 1882. Gayunman, Lewis did not win the tournament. Noong Mayo 1882, Lewis wrestled in a Cornish wrestling tournament
Frank Gotch dominated American wrestling from 1905 to his retirement in 1913. Gotch, the current American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, won the biggest match of his career on April 3, 1908. Gotch defeated current World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Georg Hackenschmidt in Chicago, Illinois. Gotch proved as dominant a World Champion as he had been as the American Champion. Gotch agreed to