Whistler and Ross Disgust Crowd

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 speciality.  The final fall would be conducted in Greco-Roman wrestling.  Whistler was more adept at Greco-Roman.

Since Ross was considered adept in the two styles of wrestling, which would be contested in four of the falls, he was considered the favorite.  Most of the betting crowd put their money on Ross.

The match took place at the Athenaeum in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Ross and Whistler kept the crowd waiting, while they argued over the referee selection.  E. R. Johnstone was finally agreed upon and the match began at 8:50 pm.

The men rushed at each other but the powerful Whistler lifted Ross up and brought him down to his knees.  Ross stayed in this position for the next hour and 35 minutes, while Whistler tried to twist Ross onto his shoulders.  Ross made no attempt to escape or wrestle Whistler.  He simply defended against being pinned.

After not making much of an effort for over 90 minutes, Ross announced that he would give Whistler the first fall rather than keep defending.  Whistler was furious but Johnstone declared him the winner.

The men rested the twenty minutes between rounds.  As they got ready to contest the first collar-and-elbow fall, Whistler told Johnstone and Ross that he was so impressed with Ross’ sportsmanship, he would forfeit both collar-and-elbow falls to Ross.

It was now time for Ross to be furious.  Ross had intended to soften Whistler up in his speciality.  While he was up two falls to one, Whistler was rested and showed his superiority in the catch-as-catch-can round.

Ross tried to prevent Whistler from conceding but Johnstone awarded Ross both falls.  Seething, Ross demanded both rest periods for his “victories”.  The crowd already sat through one 20-minute rest period.  Now, they were sitting through another 40 minutes.  They began booing Ross loudly.

William Muldoon, the current World Wrestling Champion, entered the arena during the intermission.  A sometime friend, sometime foe of Whistler, Muldoon greatly respected his greatest challenger.  He tried to bet on Whistler but he could not find anyone to take Ross at this point.

After the 40-minute period ended, his opponent showed Ross he was right to be worried about a rested Whistler.  Clarence Whistler used his greater than normal strength to slam Ross for the second fall in less than 4 minutes.

After the 20-minute rest, Ross began to argue about the rules in the Greco-Roman bout.  He claimed three-points had to touch the mat.  However, the agreed upon rules stated only the shoulders had to touch the mat.

Ross then stated that the signed match agreement said the bout had to occur before 8 pm and midnight.  Since it was now after midnight, the match would not go on.  However, Johnstone showed Ross that it was two minutes to midnight.  If Ross refused to wrestler, Johnstone said he would declare Whistler the winner.

Ross responded by putting on his robe and leaving the arena.  Johnstone declared Whistler the winner as fans booed the outcome.  While feeling like they had been ripped off, their anger was only directed at Ross.  The fans threw a number of projectiles at him as he left the arena.

The reporter for the St. Paul Daily Globe stated his belief that the terrible match would prevent future professional wrestling matches in St. Paul.  Ross also damaged his future career prospects with this terrible and selfish performance.

If you liked this post, you may like William Muldoon: The Solid Man Conquers Wrestling and Physical Culture available in paperback or e-book on Amazon.

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Sources: St. Paul Daily Globe, November 8, 1881 edition, p. 2

 

 

 

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