The Prodigal Anti-Lemming
Registered Lemming Smasher
I dont know how to post pics. If someone can teach me, I might be able to better Mr Gotchs case with some of him. If not, fine.
Frank Gotch hails from a time when professional wrestling was as much a shoot as it was a work. It was an era in which crooked promoters doubled as shady managers in an effort to exploit talent; an era in which the most rugged individuals of the hooker caste needed to employ assumed names in order to find regular opposition. Today, backstage politics are a major factor in determining a top star, but in those days, you had to be ready and willing to defend yourself in an impromptu private shoot, away from the eyes of the fans. Careers were made and, presumably broken, in those secret fights no one seems to know much about. And in case you were wondering, Frank Gotch was a man who could hold his own against anyone in the world in such an ordeal.
In turn of the century America, there were few training programs for wrestlers. Many of the sports elder statesmen were self taught in the gritty landscape of the old frontier style of wrestling. The top wrestlers of the time tended to be men with farming backgrounds, and often situated in the Midwest. Farmer Burns developed his skills in this rugged atmosphere, and many future champions, including Joe Stecher, John Pesek and Earl Caddock, learned in this environment as well. Gotch, a native Iowan himself, was brought up in just such a grueling environment, and just so happened to be trained by Burns, who was renowned as the greatest hooker the wrestling world had ever known up to that point in history.
Burns taught Gotch how to survive in the wrestling industry. More specifically, he taught Gotch how to maim and hurt people. During the early-1900s, wrestling was as legitimate a sport as was boxing. Gotch wrestled in both shoots and works, gradually honing himself into the type of wrestler who could work an entertaining match, but also dislocate your shoulder if he wanted to. In the ring, he had a reputation as a sadist. Not a heel in the currently applicable sense, Gotch was nonetheless feared because he took subtle shortcuts and was an able bodied roughhouser.
In 1903, Gotch was fast improving in the ring, and Burns set him up for the first of a series of matches with Tom Jenkins, the American Freestyle champion. Although Jenkins lacked the training of Gotch, he was no slouch in a clinch and was generally renowned as the fiercest and most intimidating wrestler in the U.S. Gotch lost the all-important first encounter, then beat Jenkins in best-of-three-falls on January 27th, 1904 to win the American Freestyle title for the first of three times.
There were rematches, and both wrestlers traded the title back and forth in a series of bouts that were acclaimed as the most exciting in wrestling history. There was reason for this: Gotch and Jenkins generally tussled on the mat with other opponents, but on the occasions they wrestled each other, such bouts generally looked as much like bare knuckle brawls as they did wrestling matches.
Gotchs crowning achievement occurred on April 3rd, 1908, when he defeated The Russian Lion George Hackenschmidt to claim the world heavyweight title. He trained religiously in the weeks leading up to the bout, running several miles daily and sparring with his training partners. The match occurred in Chicago, ending in a draw just after two hours of the first fall when Hackenschmidt left the match to get out of Gotchs toehold, then refused to reenter the ring. Gotch was declared the champion by forfeit, and Hackenschmidt returned to Europe in shame. To Gotchs detriment, the deposed champion claimed that Gotch had fouled him repeatedly and that the referee had turned a deaf ear to his pleas. Furthermore, Hack stated that Gotch had doused his body in oils to prevent Hack from applying a hold on him.
The eventual rematch occurred on September 4th, 1911, again in Chicago, and ended after merely twenty minutes with Gotch going over in straight falls to retain the title. Hack claimed to have hurt his knee in preparation, while Gotch dismissed Hack as not up to the task. Many thought the match was crooked, and the outcome led to a sudden decline in wrestling.
Gotch announced the latest of several retirements in 1913, and spent the rest of his athletic career wrestling exhibition matches for various circuses before he broke his leg in training for a match with Joe Stecher in May 1916. Even in retirement, he was recognized by many promoters and various newspapers as the rightful world champion because he had never lost the title.
Gotch died young under shady circumstances on December 16th, 1917, either of uremic poisoning or syphilis.
Frank Gotch hails from a time when professional wrestling was as much a shoot as it was a work. It was an era in which crooked promoters doubled as shady managers in an effort to exploit talent; an era in which the most rugged individuals of the hooker caste needed to employ assumed names in order to find regular opposition. Today, backstage politics are a major factor in determining a top star, but in those days, you had to be ready and willing to defend yourself in an impromptu private shoot, away from the eyes of the fans. Careers were made and, presumably broken, in those secret fights no one seems to know much about. And in case you were wondering, Frank Gotch was a man who could hold his own against anyone in the world in such an ordeal.
In turn of the century America, there were few training programs for wrestlers. Many of the sports elder statesmen were self taught in the gritty landscape of the old frontier style of wrestling. The top wrestlers of the time tended to be men with farming backgrounds, and often situated in the Midwest. Farmer Burns developed his skills in this rugged atmosphere, and many future champions, including Joe Stecher, John Pesek and Earl Caddock, learned in this environment as well. Gotch, a native Iowan himself, was brought up in just such a grueling environment, and just so happened to be trained by Burns, who was renowned as the greatest hooker the wrestling world had ever known up to that point in history.
Burns taught Gotch how to survive in the wrestling industry. More specifically, he taught Gotch how to maim and hurt people. During the early-1900s, wrestling was as legitimate a sport as was boxing. Gotch wrestled in both shoots and works, gradually honing himself into the type of wrestler who could work an entertaining match, but also dislocate your shoulder if he wanted to. In the ring, he had a reputation as a sadist. Not a heel in the currently applicable sense, Gotch was nonetheless feared because he took subtle shortcuts and was an able bodied roughhouser.
In 1903, Gotch was fast improving in the ring, and Burns set him up for the first of a series of matches with Tom Jenkins, the American Freestyle champion. Although Jenkins lacked the training of Gotch, he was no slouch in a clinch and was generally renowned as the fiercest and most intimidating wrestler in the U.S. Gotch lost the all-important first encounter, then beat Jenkins in best-of-three-falls on January 27th, 1904 to win the American Freestyle title for the first of three times.
There were rematches, and both wrestlers traded the title back and forth in a series of bouts that were acclaimed as the most exciting in wrestling history. There was reason for this: Gotch and Jenkins generally tussled on the mat with other opponents, but on the occasions they wrestled each other, such bouts generally looked as much like bare knuckle brawls as they did wrestling matches.
Gotchs crowning achievement occurred on April 3rd, 1908, when he defeated The Russian Lion George Hackenschmidt to claim the world heavyweight title. He trained religiously in the weeks leading up to the bout, running several miles daily and sparring with his training partners. The match occurred in Chicago, ending in a draw just after two hours of the first fall when Hackenschmidt left the match to get out of Gotchs toehold, then refused to reenter the ring. Gotch was declared the champion by forfeit, and Hackenschmidt returned to Europe in shame. To Gotchs detriment, the deposed champion claimed that Gotch had fouled him repeatedly and that the referee had turned a deaf ear to his pleas. Furthermore, Hack stated that Gotch had doused his body in oils to prevent Hack from applying a hold on him.
The eventual rematch occurred on September 4th, 1911, again in Chicago, and ended after merely twenty minutes with Gotch going over in straight falls to retain the title. Hack claimed to have hurt his knee in preparation, while Gotch dismissed Hack as not up to the task. Many thought the match was crooked, and the outcome led to a sudden decline in wrestling.
Gotch announced the latest of several retirements in 1913, and spent the rest of his athletic career wrestling exhibition matches for various circuses before he broke his leg in training for a match with Joe Stecher in May 1916. Even in retirement, he was recognized by many promoters and various newspapers as the rightful world champion because he had never lost the title.
Gotch died young under shady circumstances on December 16th, 1917, either of uremic poisoning or syphilis.