Paul Pons
#PWHS #Biography #Bio #PaulPons #GrecoRoman #France #WorldChampion
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The exact date is lost, but Paul Pons was born sometime in 1864. He is considered by many as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the latter part of the 19th century. Pons not only had great technique, but he was also a big man at 6 foot 4 or 5 inches and he weighed around 260 pounds. He was a circus strongman too. Like some of the other biggest wrestling names from Europe Pons started his rise to fame by performing feats of strength. He then found professional wrestling as a natural line of work thereafter.
A lot of his accomplishments occurred in the 1900s. However, his most important and most influential victory happened in 1898. On December 27 to be exact. Pons won a tournament which was to crown the first World Graeco-Roman Champion. There were regular World Greco-Roman Championship Tournaments held across Europe from this point forward, but he was the winner of the first (known) one. Ladislaus Pytlasinski finished second and Maurice Gambier third.
Pons was said to have received 2,000 francs for winning the tournament. He made several investments including the purchase his a gymnasium. That allowed him to help train a new generation of French youngsters. Pons was quite the celebrity in France and across Europe, however, that same level of fame never quite translated to the United States.
He did have a brief, but successful run at the end of 1900 through to the early part of 1901 though. A highly anticipated bout came off between Pons and Ernest Roeber in front of 7,000 fans at Madison Square Garden on February 6, 1901. The contest had been promoted since 1899. It ended in a draw due to the building's curfew after 77 minutes of wrestling.
Back in France Pons continued to train wrestlers and continued to tour Europe. He won several tournaments and different titles across mainland Europe through-out the 1900s. The last victory happened in 1907.
Pons passed away during April 1915 when he drowned while on a fishing expedition. In that same year, his memoirs and a wrestling manual authored by him were released in France. In his obituary it was remarked that he was the standard by which French wrestlers were held and no one could remove him from the Paris arena at the peak of his career.
In France, he was analogous to Frank Gotch in the United States. You cannot give a wrestler a higher compliment than that in the pioneer days of professional wrestling.
The exact date is lost, but Paul Pons was born sometime in 1864. He is considered by many as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the latter part of the 19th century. Pons not only had great technique, but he was also a big man at 6 foot 4 or 5 inches and he weighed around 260 pounds. He was a circus strongman too. Like some of the other biggest wrestling names from Europe Pons started his rise to fame by performing feats of strength. He then found professional wrestling as a natural line of work thereafter.
A lot of his accomplishments occurred in the 1900s. However, his most important and most influential victory happened in 1898. On December 27 to be exact. Pons won a tournament which was to crown the first World Graeco-Roman Champion. There were regular World Greco-Roman Championship Tournaments held across Europe from this point forward, but he was the winner of the first (known) one. Ladislaus Pytlasinski finished second and Maurice Gambier third.
Pons was said to have received 2,000 francs for winning the tournament. He made several investments including the purchase his a gymnasium. That allowed him to help train a new generation of French youngsters. Pons was quite the celebrity in France and across Europe, however, that same level of fame never quite translated to the United States.
He did have a brief, but successful run at the end of 1900 through to the early part of 1901 though. A highly anticipated bout came off between Pons and Ernest Roeber in front of 7,000 fans at Madison Square Garden on February 6, 1901. The contest had been promoted since 1899. It ended in a draw due to the building's curfew after 77 minutes of wrestling.
Back in France Pons continued to train wrestlers and continued to tour Europe. He won several tournaments and different titles across mainland Europe through-out the 1900s. The last victory happened in 1907.
Pons passed away during April 1915 when he drowned while on a fishing expedition. In that same year, his memoirs and a wrestling manual authored by him were released in France. In his obituary it was remarked that he was the standard by which French wrestlers were held and no one could remove him from the Paris arena at the peak of his career.
In France, he was analogous to Frank Gotch in the United States. You cannot give a wrestler a higher compliment than that in the pioneer days of professional wrestling.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Paul Pons.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #112.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: December 27, 2018.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Paul Pons.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #112.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: December 27, 2018.