"Wrestling Today Is Not Art"

"Sport No Longer One of Skill and Strength"

#PWHS #Article #Roeber #WrestlingIsArt

​In 1921 Ernest Roeber sat down with a journalist for an in depth discussion about professional wrestling. He was brought into the world on September 18, 1862 in Germany. While still a child his family immigrated to the Bowery within the Manhattan borough of New York City. Professional wrestling started for him when William Muldoon took him under his wing. Roeber was dubbed Muldoon's "best pupil" and was even awarded the American/World Graeco-Roman Championship by his tutor when Muldoon retired in 1891. 

That title belonged to him as he toured around North America, plus making a couple of trips to Europe, until 1900 when he briefly lost it. Not liking a bare waist, Roeber won the title back within a few months. A little over a year later at the end of 1901, after successfully defending the belt, he announced his retirement and thus vacated the championship. Like most wrestlers of this era and a lot in later eras frankly, Roeber entered into more of a semi-retirement status for the next couple of years. Still living in around New York City and operating a couple of businesses there, when he did fully retire he still had easy access to stay involved via refereeing.

 On December 21, 1944 he passed away at his home in Auburndale part of the N.Y.C. borough of Queens. As this was just a recap. If you are interested in learning more about one of the most well known names in professional wrestling from the 1890's then at the bottom of this article you will find links to a biography on him, his match listings and a couple of articles that feature him heavily. Also included is a link to the Title Lineage of the American/World Graeco-Roman Championship. Before we get to them though, let's check out what the "Bowery Adonis" had to say to the journalist conducting the interview, W.C. Vreeland.

Vreeland Arrived at the Aging Champion's Cafe to Find He Was...

"Engaged in attending appetites, wet and dry, of his customers. Roeber is nearing the three-score years of his life. The snow has entered his hair. Flesh, in rolls, has piled upon his heavy, well-knit frame. Age has left a few lines on his face. His blue-gray eyes have lost their strength and need the aid of glasses. But, the fires of battle still flash in them and show that he still retains the same undaunted spitir of the days of '90, when he was willing - nay, eager, to wrestle men who weighed from 20 to 90 pounds heavier. The years have touched light his shoulders. He is as wide across the beam as he was in the days when he met the Terrible Turk, Billy Muldoon, Tom Jenkins and Evan (Strangler) Lewis, the big four of the mat game in the years that are dead and gone."

Highlights of the Interview

Ed "Strangler" Lewis Versus Joe Stecher [October 20, 1915]

"I was amazed at the lack of action. The old-time wrestlers did more work in 15 minutes than Lewis or Stecher did in an hour. It takes a half hour to get warmed up. They do not begin to perspire until they are wrestling 40 minutes. They kill time. They are slow and deliberate in their movements. The old-time wrestlers would twist and turn a dozen times while they are turning around. They did not seem to know the old tricks of attack or breaking a hold. I was so disgusted that I would not go to see the second match, which was held at the 71st Regt. Armory [December 13, 1920]."
Old School Versus New School

"The Terrible Turk and Billy Muldoon would throw the present day top notch wrestlers in 30 minutes ." [The question specifically asked about Joe Stecher and Ed Lewis]

The Terrible Turk [Yusuf Ishmaelo]

"It was during our second bout that I realized that he was an expert in the game. I dropped on the floor to lead him into a trap. I had placed myself in a position to invite an attack. I said to myself, 'He will bite at my invitation.' But instead, he did just the opposite of what I expected, and instead of being the victim, I was on the verge of being caught myself. Only by a swift twist was I able to free myself."

"As the minutes passed and he realized that he was unable to pin my shoulders to the mat he became angry. He reverted to savage tactics. He tried to get his thumb in my eyes and gouge them out. I protested, but to no purpose. When he persisted, I hauled off and smashed him in the mouth. It was either my eyes or his face."

Firsts in Wrestling

"Frank Gotch was the first to use the toehold and Evan Lewis the first to use the stranglehold. The headlock was in general use but played no particular part in wrestling of those days because the topnotch wrestlers could always break the hold. It never caused oldtimers to lose a fall, although many of us had our ears mutilated by being smashed under the pressure of the forearm."

Toe Holds & Headlocks

"How can anyone call this sort of thing wrestling? Where is the science in it? Any man that is lucky enough to grab his opponent by the foot and possesses plenty of strength in his fingers can obtain a fall by merely smashing and crushing his victims toes. It is not necessary to know the skill and art of wrestling these days if toe holds are permitted. Any man under the catch-as-catch-can style - as it is portrayed on the mat today - can obtain a fall. In the old days when the Terrible Turk, Billy Muldoon, Tom Jenkins and Evan Lewis, the real strangler, worked on the mat we really wrestled. We portrayed the art as it was handed down through the generations - from the days of the Egyptians and passed along by the Greeks and Romans. A man's shoulders were pinned to the floor by a combination of skill and strength. The holds were fair and not foul. No agony was part and parcel of their makeup."

A Few Words on "Guarantees"

"You don't see any of the wrestlers backing themselves these days. Oh, no; they must have a guarantee of from $10,000 to $25,000. The reason for that is the wrestlers of today are all under one manager. One man controls all the best wrestlers. In my day each man had his own manager or looked after his own affairs. We wrestle what was in the house."

The Essentials of a Good Wrestler

"Strength and agility, plus a full knowledge of the tricks of the game and the ability to think quickly. A man must think like a flash and be able to grasp an advantage as soon as it presents itself. An opening comes and goes like lightning. A man must take advantage of it in a second. A man with bunched-up muscles will never be a first-class wrestler. He will be too slow. He is in a bundle, 'tied up.' He must possess a good, strong neck and a strong back. If he possesses the physical essentials and is alert in mind and body he is likely to reach the championship."

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Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.

"Wrestling Today Is Not Art"
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: September 7, 2015.
Article: #108.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.

Image Sources

1. Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
2. Boston Post.
3. Phillipsburg Mail.
4.  Indianapolis Star.
5. New York World.
6. Rasslin' Roundup.
7. Washington Herald.
8. The Day Book.
9. Rock Island Argus.

Other articles by Jimmy can be Read Here.