Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about Greco-Roman wrestling matches and other wrestling styles such as collar-and-elbow wrestling, side hold wrestling, Cornish wrestling, etc.
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
On Thursday, March 31, 1881, 200 fans filtered into New York’s Turnverein Hall to watch Clarence Whistler wrestle Henry Moses Dufur in a three-out-of-five-falls catch-as-catch-can wrestling match with both wrestlers wearing jackets. The promoters used the rules and jackets to even the chances of each wrestler to win. Clarence Whistler specialized in Greco-Roman wrestling. Whistler took World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion
On Thursday, October 7, 1884, Colonel James Hiram McLaughlin wrestled Henry Moses Dufur for what both men claimed would be the last time. The 40-year-olds specialized in collar-and-elbow wrestling. The men wrestled in Detroit, Michigan, the home territory of McLaughlin. The match took place at the Detroit Opera House in front of a small crowd. Professional wrestling had not developed
On Tuesday, January 29, 1884, approximately two thousand fans crowded into the Detroit Opera House to watch the first of a two-match series between Colonel James H. McLaughlin and Henry Moses Dufur. The crowd had to delight the organizers and wrestlers. Matches drawing crowds in the thousands were rare during the 19th Century. Organizers claimed McLaughlin was defending the American
Sorakichi Matsuda travelled to the United States in late 1883 to begin his professional wrestling career. Matsuda intended to learn American professional wrestling and return to his homeland to start his own wrestling promotion. Matsuda’s manager made claims about his training in Japan, which could not be verified. Matsuda trained in sumo wrestling with the famous Isegahama stable but did
On Thursday, April 10, 1884, America’s first full-time professional wrestler, J.H. McLaughlin wrestled all-around Scottish athlete and wrestler Duncan C. Ross at Detroit’s Opera House. The men wrestled a three-out-of-five falls mixed styles match. McLaughlin specialized in collar-and-elbow wrestling. The men wrestled two falls under collar-and-elbow rules. Ross favored side hold rules. The men wrestled two falls by securing side
On Saturday, September 10, 1910, Stanislaus Zbyszko, fresh off his first tour of the United States, wrestled the Great Gama at Shepherd’s Bush Stadium in London, England. 7,000 spectators crowded into the stadium to watch the match. A few weeks earlier, Mr. Benjamin brought a group of Pehlwani wrestlers from India to wrestle in England. Fans consider the Great Gama
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. Roeber did have a
In the early 1880s, Sorakichi Matsuda, or Matsada in most American newspapers, traveled to the United States to wrestle professionally. Japan did not have a developed professional wrestling circuit, so Matsuda thought he would bring the sport back to Japan after an apprenticeship in the United States. After training for a while, Matsuda signed an agreement to wrestle the first
On March 10, 1870, Colonel James Hiram McLaughlin competed on the last night of the International Wrestling Tournament in Detroit, Michigan. The tournament ran for almost two months before the finale on March 10th. Wrestling historians frequently credit J. H. McLaughlin as being the first professional wrestler to live only on his earnings as a professional wrestler. Most professional wrestlers