Posts about Greco-Roman wrestling matches and other wrestling styles such as collar-and-elbow wrestling, side hold wrestling, Cornish wrestling, etc.
In this episode, we discuss Stanislaus Zbyszko’s last match of his first tour of America. We finish with his return to the United States in 1920. Update I discuss the progress of my new research project on the early career of Ed “Strangler” Lewis. We discuss Tony Khan’s recent Twitter, or X, Wars with the fans. We also discuss Vince […]
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Henry Moses Dufur specialized in collar-and-elbow wrestling when Dufur wrestled professionally in the 1870s and 1880s. Born on May 5, 1844, in Richmond, Vermont, Dufur wrestled primarily in the northeastern United States. On June 27, 1878, Dufur wrestled a return match with a wrestler named Cox at the Boston Baseball Park in front of five hundred fans. Five hundred fans […]
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Update We discuss the next podcast about the YouTube documentary, 350 Days. We also discuss my new project on the early career of Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Main Content We discuss a five-hour match from 1878 dominated by Henry Moses Dufur. Karl Stern talked about Dufur in a recent episode of Shut Up and Wrestle. I decided to research some of […]
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Ernest Roeber was an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler. William Muldoon, the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion from 1880 to 1889, wanted Roeber to take over from him as World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. However, the world title would continue to be disputed until George Hackenschmidt won several Greco-Roman Tournaments in Europe during 1901. Yusuf Ismail, the Terrible Turk, was considered one of the […]
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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 […]
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After several months of wrangling, Clarence Whistler met Duncan C. Ross on Monday, November 7, 1881 in a best three-out-of-five falls match. Two falls were to be conducted in catch-as-catch-can wrestling, which both men were considered adept at. Two falls were to be conducted in collar-and-elbow wrestling, which was a Ross specialty. The final fall would be conducted in Greco-Roman […]
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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 […]
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In this episode, I discuss what I learned completing my book on the first Japanese pro wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda, who wrestled in America from 1884 to 1891. Update I gave an update on my upcoming schedule. Wayfarer in a Foreign Land should be available at the end of July or August 2023 depending on how long the editing process […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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