The One and Only WORLD Champion

#PWHS #Article #WorldChamp

Over the course of history in professional wrestling there have been many "World Heavyweight Champions." There has only ever been one that was recognized across the globe and in a manner that was virtually undisputed other than by those challenging for the title. 

Straight after the turn of the century he won tournaments across Europe in the Graeco-Roman style. Some were for titles, some were not. 

List of tournaments won:
​

01. Early July 1900 - For the Championship of Russia
02. Early September 1900 - Held in Dresden, Germany
03. Mid-September 1900 - Held in Chemnitz, Germany
04. October 17, 1900 - For the Grand Prix of Budapest
05. October 24, 1900 - Held in Graz, Austria
06. Late October 1900 - Held in Nuremburg, Germany
07. January 4, 1900 - Held in Paris, France
08. April 5, 1901 - Held in St.Petersburg, Russia
09. May 5, 1901 - For the World Heavyweight Championship (Austria)
10. May 12, 1901 - Held in Stetti, Poland
11. July 3, 1901 - For the Grand Prix of Berlin
12. October 27, 1901 - Held in Munich, Germany
13. December 19, 1901 - For the World Heavyweight Championship (France)
14. December 19, 1901 - For the Champion du Monde (France)
15. July 6, 1902 - Held in Brussels, Belgium
16. July 15, 1902 - Held in Antwerp, Belgium

Then on September 13, 1902 he won the European Graeco-Roman Championship from Tom Cannon in Liverpool, England. At this point he was already acknowledged by the majority of Europe as being the kingpin. When he then defeated Tom Jenkins, the American Catch-as-Catch-Can Champ on May 4, 1905, the world could not deny that he was the "undisputed" World Heavyweight Champion.  

That man was "the Russian Lion" Georges Hackenschmidt. For nearly three years he would defend the title. This was all building up to the biggest match in the history of North American professional wrestling, if not the whole world up until this point. 

On April 3, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois' Dexter Park Pavilion Hackenschmidt and Gotch finally met in a ring:
​

​Promoter: W.W. Wittig
Dexter Park Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 8,000
Referees: Edward F. Smith (Main Event) & 'Silent' Doc Krane (Preliminaries)
Seconds: 'Americus' & Rudy Unholz 'the Boer Fighter' (Hackenschmidt) & Farmer Burns & Jack Carkeek (Gotch)
1 - Tommy Rooney def. Young Jenkins 
(00:08:45)
2 - Young Billiter def. Ernest Limberg 
(00:14:32)
3 - Dick Sorenson def. Ted Tonneman 
(00:01:41)
4 - 'Americus' (of Baltimore) def. L. Loudenbach 
(00:01:59)
5 - William Demetral def. Mort Henderson 
(00:08:10)
6 - Handicap - Stegemueller to Throw Ortmann in Ten Minutes
Emil Stegemueller Vs. Henry Ordeman (of Minneapolis), 
Time-Limit - Stegemueller Failed to Throw Ortmann (00:10:00)
7 - World Heavyweight Championship - Catch-as-Catch-Can - Two out of Three Falls
Frank Gotch def. Georg Hackenschmidt (c), 
Forfeit (02:00:00) - NEW CHAMPION

Stegemueller was Hackenschmidt's training partner.

Immediately after the match Hackenschmidt sang Gotch's praises, said he was the better man and he quit as he would never win. By the next day he had claimed Gotch was greased and the accusations would become heavier agaisnt the American once Hackenschmidt was back in England.

Finally after three-and-a-half years of teasing, the rematch was set to come off on September 4, 1911. Once again the bout came off in Chicago. This time it was at the Comiskey Baseball Park. Even though approximately 30,000 people were in attendance with nearly $100,000 in gate receipts, those figures were considered disappointing. 

The card:
​

​Promotion: Empire Athletic Club
Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 30,000
Gate: $87,063
Timekeeper: Walter H. Eekersall
Referee: Edward W. Smith
1 - World Heavyweight Championship - Two out of Three Falls
Frank Gotch (of Humboldt, Ia.) (c) def. George Hackenschmidt (of Russia), 
Two Falls to None (F1 00:14:18 - F2 00:05:32 - C 00:19:50)

​Before the match started all bets were declared off at the request of the Chief of Police McWeeny and President Comiskey of the White Sox.

After the match it came out that Hackenschmidt had suffered from "broken tendons" in his leg. He did actually suffer a minor injury to his leg during training, but he was cleared by his doctor to compete. Years later a story would come out and be passed down by Lou Thesz that Gotch paid Ad Santel to take Hackenschmidt out in his training camp, there is absolutely no evidence to back this up and seems to be a complete myth.

Hackenschmidt fairly quietly departed from professional wrestling after that rematch going on to pursue his more academic based interests. 

There is no doubt though, that while to America Frank Gotch is arguably the most important man to professional wrestling: Without Georges Hackenschmidt travelling the world from Eastern Europe, to Western Europe and everywhere in between and then in the British Isles, America and Australia, Hackenschmidt impressed audiences with his skill, strength and win-loss records. 

That was something Gotch never accomplished. He made a very brief tour of England after defeating Hack the first time, but other than that his international resume lacked any substance other than reports that natives read in local newspapers. This hindered him in terms of longevity as an international superstar, among other reasons, whereas the Russian Lion remained a champion in the minds of a large portion of the audience.

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Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.

The One and Only WORLD Champion.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: April 1, 2016.
Article: #140.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.

Other articles by Jimmy can be Read Here.