Episode 41 – Why Mort Henderson?

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In this episode, we discuss a new discover about Ed “Strangler” Lewis, why Mort Henderson was picked to be the Masked Marvel, and a look at Jerry Lawler vs. “Dirty” Dutch Mantel. Update After recapping Stanislaus Zybszko double-crossing the Gold Dust Trio, I reveal that Ed “Strangler” Lewis wrestled Stanislaus Zbyszko for the first time in March 1914. Zbyszko wrestled […]

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Matsuda Wins First Match

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Sorakichi Matsuda originally trained in sumo wrestling.  When Matsuda decided to become a catch-as-catch-can wrestler, he was forced to travel to the United States.  Professional wrestling would not become popular in Japan until the middle of the Twentieth Century. Upon arriving in the United States in 1883, it took Matsuda a few months to secure a match.  He finally secured […]

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Top Ten Legitimate Pro Wrestlers

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Who is the greatest legitimate professional wrestler to wrestle in the United States? How do you determine it when wrestlers “worked” or cooperated with each other in matches since the sports emergence in the 1860s? . I examined the records and stories around the American, British, Polish, and Turkish wrestlers, who wrestled in the United States between 1870 and 1915 […]

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Death of the Head Rat

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William T. “Willie” Egan took over “Egan’s Rats” on the death of his older brother Tom in 1919. Thomas “Snake” Kinney and his childhood friend and brother-in-law Tom Egan formed St. Louis’ criminal organization in the late 1800s. Both Kinney and Tom Egan were saloon keepers and Democratic politicians. They employed “the Rats” for political slugging and other criminal activities. […]

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