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.
In a testament to his foresight and vision, the World Wrestling Champion William Muldoon was preparing to be a fitness trainer even while at the height of his powers as a wrestler. Muldoon held the championship from 1880 until he retired in 1890. During his reign, he often gave exhibitions to attract attention to his way of training. The Saturday,
On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1905, St. Louis sports fans were treated to a special match between local professional wrestler George Baptiste and traveling Japanese jujitsu practitioner Arata Suzuki. Baptiste delighted local fans by quickly defeating Suzuki in two straight falls. George Baptiste was a professional wrestler and all-around athlete, whose powerful swimming saved many St. Louisans from drowning
For my birthday this year, I purchased one of my favorite books, The Way to Live in Health and Strength (affiliate link) by Georg Hackenschmidt. Georg Hackenschmidt set many weightlifitng world records before focusing on professional wrestling. Hackenschmidt would win the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in 1901. Hackenschmidt would reign as undefeated World Champion for 7 years until losing his
William Muldoon, a former New York City detective, won the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championship by defeating Thiebaud Bauer. Muldoon reigned for ten years before retiring as champion. After retiring, he began to make a living as a personal trainer. Muldoon trained wrestlers but really came to prominence after getting a woefully out of shape John L. Sullivan fit for his
On June 4, 1883, the Greco-Roman World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion William Muldoon faced skilled French wrestler Jules Rigal in San Francisco, California. When the wrestlers stripped to their trunks for the match, it was obvious Muldoon’s power would prove a formidable challenge to Rigal. Muldoon stood around 6 feet tall and weighed between 193 and 210 pounds during his career.
I first read about William Muldoon in a biography of John L. Sullivan, the last bare knuckle heavyweight champion. Sullivan ushered in gloved boxing by refusing to take part in any more bare-knuckle bouts. John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain fought the last major bare-knuckle bout in 1889. Odds were against Sullivan, a binge drinker indulging heavily between bouts. He was in terrible
How often have you heard it best to use short copy or long copy for Internet marketing. Copy editors will advocate short copy, while other copy writers advocate long copy. One person who believed in the use of long copy for selling his services was William Muldoon. Muldoon was the Greco-Roman World Wrestling Champion until he retired to become a
George Baptiste spent about twenty years serving as St. Louis’ resident all-around athlete before taking over the company, Baptiste Tent and Awning, founded by his father Alexander Baptiste. Besides plying his trade as an occasional but accomplished professional wrestler, Baptise was a powerful swimmer. On August 11, 1900, Baptiste used his swimming skills to save another St. Louisan from drowning.
The fate of much of St. Louis’ historic buildings prove the old real estate adage. It’s all about location, location, location. If the building is in the South St. Louis, it has a better chance of being saved than a building on the North Side. The same could be said for buildings located in the center of the city except
The May 9, 1905 edition of the St. Louis Republic’s sport section contained a story about an upcoming match between local wrestler George Baptiste and the touring World Wrestling Champion, George Hackenschmidt. The paper did not give Baptiste a chance against Hackenschmidt, who just beat Tom Jenkins for the World Championship. If the editor knew “Hack’s” condition at the time, he may have