Dr. Benjamin Franklin Roller
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Professional wrestling is a sport that someone from any walk of life can get into. There's a stigma that has been around for a long time that sportsmen and wrestlers in specific are all larger than life dummies. Sure, there are wrestlers of below average intelligence, but no more than in any other form of employment. There have also been those who could outwit most of those who scoff the art of physical ballet.
Dr. Roller was one of the latter bunch. Born on July 1, 1876 on a farm at Newman in Douglas County, Illinois, he started his life off on a farm, but he showed the world he had no intention on staying there, for Roller had much grander plans for what he wanted to accomplish in life. Not wanting to spend his whole life shoveling cow pats Roller worked odd jobs to pay his way into a college education at De Pauw University.
He'd played football and took part in other athletics already. It's said he saw his first wrestling match while he was at college and started training for that too shortly afterward. He mastered the foundations from 1898 until he fully graduated two University courses. As soon as he graduated the second, he was offered a position at the University of Washington as a professor of physiology and as an adviser to the Seattle Athletic Club.
With in no time at all Roller also opened up his own doctor's practice. After all that transpired it was 1906 before he actually started his professional wrestling career. Roller was guaranteed to make money. He had absolutely every tool you could want a wrestler to have at that time. He already had some fame from his great work within medicine, as well as the background of a natural athlete and champion University football player. All he needed was the right guidance.
As it would happen he managed to find the best people he could have possibly managed to come across. After signing up for a match with Jack Carkeek, who was associated with the troupe of J.C. (Ole) Marsh, Martin Burns and the one and only Frank Gotch. After disposing of Carkeek, Burns fought a handicap match with Gotch and managed to last the time-limit.
From there it was a case of getting Roller more exposure on the wrestling mat and showing the world he was a force to be reckoned with. He didn't wrestle too often to start with, and it wasn't until after his first big match with Gotch that he went full time. That match happened on July 1, 1908. Gotch defeated Roller in two straight falls taking less than an hour to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.
The loss could be written off as a case of Roller still being relatively new to the sport of professional wrestling. Briefly he'd try his hand at boxing, something he never fully mastered like he did with other sports. Then in April of 1909 he started his full time career. Over the next decade he had several matches with Frank Gotch.
Around that time Roller made a very wise decision, whether it was foresight or just plain luck, he separated himself from the likes of Marsh and Carkeek, both of whom were imprisoned within the following eighteen months for a huge sporting scandal involving the fixing of matches. Roller made the acquaintance of Jack Curley and sided with him. Curley was on the rise to become one of the most important promoters in American wrestling history. Roller just seemed to have a talent for attaching himself to the right people.
Roller was the go to guy, if they needed someone who the fans liked, had an air of legitimacy about them and could put on a good match that fans would enjoy, even if they knew he wouldn't win, Roller was the guy. On April 27 he lost again by two straight falls to Gotch in front of 5,500 fans. If Roller wasn't facing Gotch though, he would normally win his matches. Unless it was someone being prepared for a battle with Gotch. As shown on April 10, 1910 and May 16 of the same year when Roller went down in defeat to both Yussiff Mahmout and Stanislaus Zbyszko.
On March 6, 1911 he won his first widely recognized title by defeating Charles "Kid" Cutler in two straight falls for the American Heavyweight Championship, it was the same title held by the likes of Frank Gotch, Evan Lewis, Edwin Bibby and others. His reign was only short though as he lost the title back to Cutler on March 25.
Probably what got him the most attention in the year of 1911 was the fact he was one of Georges Hackenschmidt's main trainers. Along with Jakob Koch and Americus, Roller trained daily with the "Russian Lion" in Chicago during the weeks prior to the "Match of the Century," the rematch with Frank Gotch for the World Heavyweight Championship on September 4, 1911.
For nearly a decade following that Roller remained one of the top names in within professional wrestling. He eventually wound down his career to concentrate on his career as a doctor and as a writer about physical culture. He was a well respected physician right up until the time he died on April 19, 1933.
Professional wrestling is a sport that someone from any walk of life can get into. There's a stigma that has been around for a long time that sportsmen and wrestlers in specific are all larger than life dummies. Sure, there are wrestlers of below average intelligence, but no more than in any other form of employment. There have also been those who could outwit most of those who scoff the art of physical ballet.
Dr. Roller was one of the latter bunch. Born on July 1, 1876 on a farm at Newman in Douglas County, Illinois, he started his life off on a farm, but he showed the world he had no intention on staying there, for Roller had much grander plans for what he wanted to accomplish in life. Not wanting to spend his whole life shoveling cow pats Roller worked odd jobs to pay his way into a college education at De Pauw University.
He'd played football and took part in other athletics already. It's said he saw his first wrestling match while he was at college and started training for that too shortly afterward. He mastered the foundations from 1898 until he fully graduated two University courses. As soon as he graduated the second, he was offered a position at the University of Washington as a professor of physiology and as an adviser to the Seattle Athletic Club.
With in no time at all Roller also opened up his own doctor's practice. After all that transpired it was 1906 before he actually started his professional wrestling career. Roller was guaranteed to make money. He had absolutely every tool you could want a wrestler to have at that time. He already had some fame from his great work within medicine, as well as the background of a natural athlete and champion University football player. All he needed was the right guidance.
As it would happen he managed to find the best people he could have possibly managed to come across. After signing up for a match with Jack Carkeek, who was associated with the troupe of J.C. (Ole) Marsh, Martin Burns and the one and only Frank Gotch. After disposing of Carkeek, Burns fought a handicap match with Gotch and managed to last the time-limit.
From there it was a case of getting Roller more exposure on the wrestling mat and showing the world he was a force to be reckoned with. He didn't wrestle too often to start with, and it wasn't until after his first big match with Gotch that he went full time. That match happened on July 1, 1908. Gotch defeated Roller in two straight falls taking less than an hour to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.
The loss could be written off as a case of Roller still being relatively new to the sport of professional wrestling. Briefly he'd try his hand at boxing, something he never fully mastered like he did with other sports. Then in April of 1909 he started his full time career. Over the next decade he had several matches with Frank Gotch.
Around that time Roller made a very wise decision, whether it was foresight or just plain luck, he separated himself from the likes of Marsh and Carkeek, both of whom were imprisoned within the following eighteen months for a huge sporting scandal involving the fixing of matches. Roller made the acquaintance of Jack Curley and sided with him. Curley was on the rise to become one of the most important promoters in American wrestling history. Roller just seemed to have a talent for attaching himself to the right people.
Roller was the go to guy, if they needed someone who the fans liked, had an air of legitimacy about them and could put on a good match that fans would enjoy, even if they knew he wouldn't win, Roller was the guy. On April 27 he lost again by two straight falls to Gotch in front of 5,500 fans. If Roller wasn't facing Gotch though, he would normally win his matches. Unless it was someone being prepared for a battle with Gotch. As shown on April 10, 1910 and May 16 of the same year when Roller went down in defeat to both Yussiff Mahmout and Stanislaus Zbyszko.
On March 6, 1911 he won his first widely recognized title by defeating Charles "Kid" Cutler in two straight falls for the American Heavyweight Championship, it was the same title held by the likes of Frank Gotch, Evan Lewis, Edwin Bibby and others. His reign was only short though as he lost the title back to Cutler on March 25.
Probably what got him the most attention in the year of 1911 was the fact he was one of Georges Hackenschmidt's main trainers. Along with Jakob Koch and Americus, Roller trained daily with the "Russian Lion" in Chicago during the weeks prior to the "Match of the Century," the rematch with Frank Gotch for the World Heavyweight Championship on September 4, 1911.
For nearly a decade following that Roller remained one of the top names in within professional wrestling. He eventually wound down his career to concentrate on his career as a doctor and as a writer about physical culture. He was a well respected physician right up until the time he died on April 19, 1933.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Roller.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #117.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: September 28, 2019.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Roller.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #117.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: September 28, 2019.