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 Friday, June 29, 1883, fourteen wrestlers paid $50 to enter a two-day tournament for a $500 championship belt and $500 prize. Richard K. Fox, owner and publisher of the Police Gazette, put up the prize money and belt. Fox avidly supported the promotion of both professional boxing and professional wrestling. While fourteen men attempted to enter the tournament, Fox
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
James Hiram McLaughlin holds the distinction of being the first American professional wrestler. While people wrestled professionally before McLaughlin, he was the first to earn a professional living from wrestling. McLaughlin began wrestling professionally in 1860 at 16 years of age but the Civil War interrupted his career for a few years. McLaughlin began wrestling again in 1866. By 1877,
On Saturday, December 2nd, 1893, local Saint Louis boxing instructor and Greco-Roman wrestler Mike Mooney met Max Luttbeg at Saint Louis’ Entertainment Hall. Pre-match hype focused on Mooney never losing a wrestling match or a boxing bout. Mooney was considered a better Greco-Roman wrestler, while Luttbeg was a better catch-as-catch-can wrestler. In the 19th century, it was common for matches
When William Muldoon retired from professional wrestling in 1889, he intended for his protege, Ernst Roeber, to become the new World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Since Muldoon always defended his championship in the Greco-Roman wrestling style, his choice made sense. Roeber was arguably the best Greco-Roman wrestler in America at the time. However, the wrestling fans and journalist, covering the sport,
When William Muldoon retired as the World Heavyweight Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion in 1889, there was no ready successor to the championship. Evan “Strangler” Lewis was the best wrestler in the United States not named William Muldoon but his specialty was catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The best American Greco-Roman wrestler, Clarence Whistler, had died in Australia during 1885. Muldoon’s handpicked successor was German-born
Aleksander “Alex” Aberg made headlines in 1917 during a lawsuit over his refusal to fulfill a wrestling committment in Boston during March 1917. Aberg agreed to wrestle Wladek Zbyszko, his main opponent during the 1915 New York International Wrestling Tournaments, for Boston promoter George Touhey. However, Aberg pulled out of the bout shortly after signing an agreement to wrestle his
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
On April 21, 1884, Duncan C. Ross met Sorakichi Matsuda, also known as Matsada, the first Japanese professional wrestler in the United States. Matsuda immigrated to the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler because it didn’t really exist in Japan at the time. 28-year-old Duncan Ross was born in Turkey of Scottish descent on March
(This post is an exert from my newest book Masked Marvel to the Rescue: The Gimmick That Saved the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament available on Amazon.) The fall version of the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament was struggling with attendance and interest, when promoter Sam Rachmann struck promotional gold by introducing a masked wrestler into his tournament. The Masked Marvel stormed