Zbyszko “Wins” World Title in 1921

Polish wrestler and strongman Stanislaus Zbyszko first came to the United States in 1909 to campaign for a shot at World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch. Zbyszko received and lost the match in a legitimate contest during 1910. Zbyszko continued wrestling for a few more years and won the World Greco-Roman Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in 1914 from hated rival Aleksander “Alex” Aberg. Unable to secure another title shot at Frank Gotch, Zbyszko returned to Europe in frustration.

After bouncing around Russia and Poland during World War I including a couple scary run-ins with Bolsheviks during a 1918 Russian tour, Zbyszko returned to the United States in 1919. Professional wrestling in the United States had undergone a transformation in the previous five years. While prearranged matches always occurred alongside legitimate wrestling contests, around 1915, professional wrestling became a worked exhibition.

While wrestlers occasionally tried to double-cross each other or promoters scheduled legitimate contests in front of fans to settle promotional wars, working matches became the rule. Promoters also used storylines to spice up matches.

Ed “Strangler” Lewis, a skilled shooter who could beat anyone in a legitimate contest and took the title from Joe Stetcher, was the current World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow along with New York promoter Jack Curley controlled the title. Lewis occasionally dropped the belt to a competitor to keep interest in the title. The wrestler later dropped the belt back to Lewis or Lewis would simply take it if they refused to do go along with giving Lewis the title back.

Sandow and Lewis wanted to use Zbyszko’s legitimate wrestling credentials to bolster the title. On May 6, 1921, Jack Curley promoted a match between Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Stanislaus Zbyszko. The match occurred in the 22nd Regiment Armory. The match drew 7,500 fans.

Instead of an hours long contest, Zbyszko “won” the title in 23 minutes, 17 seconds due to a “mistake” by Lewis. The May 7, 1921, edition of the New York Tribune reported the outcome shocked the fans as matches normally lasted between two and three hours. Fans began staying away from matches during the legitimate era because the legitimate contests lasted 3 to 4 hours. William Muldoon and Clarence Whistler wrestled to a seven-hour draw testing the patience of the most avid fans.

Fans considered Zbyszko a heavy underdog because promoters billed Zbyszko as the 46-year-old “Grand Old Man of Wrestling.” Zbyszko was 41 years old but still long in the tooth for professional sports. Zbyszko’s age made the victory even more surprising. Lewis also outweighed Zbyszko, 237 pounds, to Stanislaus’ 226 pounds.

At the four-minute mark, Lewis secured a body hold, but Zbyszko used his strength to break the hold. Lewis then secured a toe hold on the barefoot Zbyszko. Zbyszko crawled to the ropes three times causing the referee to stop the match and restart Lewis and Zbyszko in the center of the ring. The break allowed Zbyszko to recuperate a little each time from the painful hold, which Lewis held for a minute and thirty seconds at one point.

Lewis then threw Zbyszko to the floor, but Zbyszko prevented a pin fall and regained his feet. Zbyszko achieved his only offense of the match when he threw Lewis and obtained his own toe hold. Lewis escaped and applied a leg scissors to Zbyszko’s neck.

After Zbyszko escaped the leg scissors, Lewis tried for his finishing hold, the headlock. After Zbyszko shrugged out of two headlocks, Lewis showed visible frustration and made a wild rush for the headlock. Lewis’s feet slipped out from under him. Lewis fell flat to his back on the mat. Zbyszko jumped on Lewis for the fall and Zbyszko’s first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.

The quick fall shocked fans, who were quite for minutes before exploding with applause. Zbyszko would hold the belt for a year before dropping it back to Lewis. Ironically, Zbyszko was a shooter capable of beating most men in a legitimate match. Zbyszko just could not beat Frank Gotch.

In 1926, Zbyszko changed the wrestling industry for six decades, when he shot on World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion “Big” Wayne Munn and took the title in a double cross of “The Gold Dust Trio.” Promoters no longer allowed any wrestler other than a legitimate wrestler or tough guy like Harley Race to hold the world championship. Unless the money was too good. Then the promoters forgot again with a similar result.

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Source: New York Tribune (New York, New York), May 7, 1921, p. 12