Georges Hackenschmidt
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Before we get to the recap of Hack's career, here are the pages of an article which covers the "Secrets of Catch-as-Catch-Can" and the training Ferdinand Gruhn gave Hack in that style of wrestling. Thank you to Leo Louis who shared these pages with #PWHS. You can click to enlarge the images.
Before we get to the recap of Hack's career, here are the pages of an article which covers the "Secrets of Catch-as-Catch-Can" and the training Ferdinand Gruhn gave Hack in that style of wrestling. Thank you to Leo Louis who shared these pages with #PWHS. You can click to enlarge the images.
Before we get to the recap of Hack's career, here are the pages of an article which covers the "Secrets of Catch-as-Catch-Can" and the training Ferdinand Gruhn gave Hack in that style of wrestling. Thank you to Leo Louis who shared these pages with #PWHS. You can click to enlarge the images.
Georges Hackenschmidt was born on August 2, 1878 (July 20, 1878 on the old Russian calendar) in what is now known as Estonia (Then a part of the Russian Empire), Hackenschmidt was a phenomenal athlete even in his youth as many of the wrestlers from yesteryear were. It's said by the age of 20 he had managed a single hand lift of 269lbs, breaking the former world record of Eugen Sandow. Not only was Hackenschmidt a stand-out strongman though, he also excelled in sports such as swimming, cycling, and running.
As we know though it was professional wrestling that was his raison d'etre though. Debuting in 1900, by January of 1901 he had nearly won his first World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (Greco-Roman style) in Germany, however, the competition was halted part of the way through with Hackenschmidt leading. Not deterred by the set back he went on to win tournaments of the same nature held in Austria and France later that year. The former being held through-out April and May and the latter through November and December.
For the next couple of years he toured Australia, New Zealand, and Europe taking on the top competition everywhere he went. In 1902 he also finished third in a weight lifting competition. Picking up various championships along his travels, it was on May 4, 1905 he defeated Tom Jenkins, the American Heavyweight Champion (Catch-as-Catch-Can) to become the first ever Catch-as-Catch-Can World Heavyweight Champion.
An old ally of Hackenschmidt's, Georg Lurich, cast speculation on the shady going's on surrounding his victory. Not to be deterred, Hackenschmidt continued to defend the title. That was until he met Frank Gotch in what practically everyone at the time was calling "The Match of the Century." On April 3, 1908 Hackenschmidt met Frank Gotch and came out on the losing end. Again controversy was all over this contest.
It took over three years for a rematch to be made. September 4, 1911 was the date and 30,000 people turned out to witness the spectacle of Gotch-Hackenschmidt one more time. Once again Gotch came out the victor and this pretty much marked the end of the "Russian Lion's" active career.
Once Hackenschmidt retired from wrestling he split his time between England and France performing lectures on physical culture and writing books on the same subject and wrestling. He was also some what of a philosopher releasing several books on his pondering's. To give some perspective on how popular and how important the Russian Lion was to wrestling, it's said that at the peak of his career in England he was earning in one month more than the entire salary that a British citizen would earn in his whole life.
Before we get to the recap of Hack's career, here are the pages of an article which covers the "Secrets of Catch-as-Catch-Can" and the training Ferdinand Gruhn gave Hack in that style of wrestling. Thank you to Leo Louis who shared these pages with #PWHS. You can click to enlarge the images.
Georges Hackenschmidt was born on August 2, 1878 (July 20, 1878 on the old Russian calendar) in what is now known as Estonia (Then a part of the Russian Empire), Hackenschmidt was a phenomenal athlete even in his youth as many of the wrestlers from yesteryear were. It's said by the age of 20 he had managed a single hand lift of 269lbs, breaking the former world record of Eugen Sandow. Not only was Hackenschmidt a stand-out strongman though, he also excelled in sports such as swimming, cycling, and running.
As we know though it was professional wrestling that was his raison d'etre though. Debuting in 1900, by January of 1901 he had nearly won his first World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (Greco-Roman style) in Germany, however, the competition was halted part of the way through with Hackenschmidt leading. Not deterred by the set back he went on to win tournaments of the same nature held in Austria and France later that year. The former being held through-out April and May and the latter through November and December.
For the next couple of years he toured Australia, New Zealand, and Europe taking on the top competition everywhere he went. In 1902 he also finished third in a weight lifting competition. Picking up various championships along his travels, it was on May 4, 1905 he defeated Tom Jenkins, the American Heavyweight Champion (Catch-as-Catch-Can) to become the first ever Catch-as-Catch-Can World Heavyweight Champion.
An old ally of Hackenschmidt's, Georg Lurich, cast speculation on the shady going's on surrounding his victory. Not to be deterred, Hackenschmidt continued to defend the title. That was until he met Frank Gotch in what practically everyone at the time was calling "The Match of the Century." On April 3, 1908 Hackenschmidt met Frank Gotch and came out on the losing end. Again controversy was all over this contest.
It took over three years for a rematch to be made. September 4, 1911 was the date and 30,000 people turned out to witness the spectacle of Gotch-Hackenschmidt one more time. Once again Gotch came out the victor and this pretty much marked the end of the "Russian Lion's" active career.
Once Hackenschmidt retired from wrestling he split his time between England and France performing lectures on physical culture and writing books on the same subject and wrestling. He was also some what of a philosopher releasing several books on his pondering's. To give some perspective on how popular and how important the Russian Lion was to wrestling, it's said that at the peak of his career in England he was earning in one month more than the entire salary that a British citizen would earn in his whole life.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Georges Hackenschmidt.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #62.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: May 31, 2017
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Georges Hackenschmidt.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #62.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: May 31, 2017