John McMahon

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He was born back on July 7, 1841 in Rutland, Vermont. Given that he was born to a family of Irish descent it was no surprise he got into the Collar and Elbow style of wrestling. It's said he was a natural athlete growing up. His career actually started in the early 1860s but as with all these early guys it's very hard to find information on them for that decade. 

It is often cited  that McMahon was unbeaten for seventeen years, while these claims are normally bogus or fabricated with McMahon it may not be too far from the truth. As I say little is known about his first decade as a wrestler so at present it is an impossibility to prove that either way, but it does appear he went unbeaten for at least five years from 1873 to 1878. 

It was on May 30 in the former year that McMahon won the American Collar and Elbow championship. He defeated Homer Lane two falls to one. The two would go on to wrestle many times as they traveled the country together, McMahon always getting the win. They worked together right through to the end of 1875 and then sporadically going forward. The likelihood is that although McMahon was fairly seasoned by this point, Lane was still more so and had much information he could pass on to him. 

On July 22, 1873 McMahon defeated Thomas Copeland, who was billed as the Canadian Collar and Elbow Champion, and was thus crowned the Collar and Elbow Champion of Canada and America; often it was just cited as the World Championship. Something he never did in his over five year reign though was face Colonel James Hiram McLaughlin and it was a match every wrestling and sporting fan wanted to see. 

1878 the year they finally met. McLaughlin who was still making a claim to being the Collar and Elbow Champion stepped onto the stage to face McMahon for the first time on November 23. The attendance was said to be "enormous." It was champion versus champion, who would come out with all the glory and who would come out a claimant to nothing. Who would win was a tough decision to make, both men had such great records and both men were so adept in their chosen style. 

In a match that lasted one hour and seventeen minutes, McMahon came out on top by taking two out of the three competed falls. Just under a month later on December 14, this time McLaughlin won in forty-seven minutes by two falls to one. It'd take him just under two years to work back up to championship status, although he was still considered one of the best in the country. 

That wasn't the end of the title mess either, there was still another version floating around that was claimed by Henry Moses Dufur. This was the version McMahon won on December 16, 1880 in Boston. For nearly three years he defended the title successfully and even started competing in mixed style matches. Then on December 13, 1883 he lost his version of the title back to Dufur. 

The rematch had much controversy surrounding it. Not only did John McMahon's second, Steve O'Donnell forfeit the match on behalf of McMahon in the second hour of the first fall. O'Donnell explained that McMahon's mother had recently died so he had not trained as he should and it was time to call the match off. Dufur was still awarded the title and the match though, but the two did agree to meet in a rematch. 

That third match took place on October 15, 1884 and McMahon won the title back. Earlier in the year the two remaining versions of the title were unified, so this made McMahon the undisputed American Collar & Elbow Champion. For three years he held that honor until finally at the Marlboro Baseball grounds in Massachusetts he lost it back to Dufur for the final time on September 3, 1884.  

Going forward McMahon would wind down his career. What he did afterward is not really known. He seems to just vanish from the public eye. Some places state he died in 1912, but again I've seen nothing to support this so cannot confirm that. 

His legacy speaks for itself though. He wasn't related to Vince McMahon, but the series of contests held between John McMahon and James H. McLaughlin were comparable in intensity and drawing power as the Vince McMahon created feud between the Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, or at least that's the impression the newspapers give. 

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• Biography Information

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Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.

Biography of John McMahon.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #102.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.

Last Updated: June 14, 2019.