Duncan C. Ross
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Duncan C. Ross was born on March 16, 1855 in either Turkey, Scotland or Canada. His parents were both Scottish. As a young man he was a noted swordsman one of the best in the world. Proven when he became the broad swordsman world champion at the age of 25. Whilst in the British Army he was awarded with the Victoria Cross, which is the highest military decoration awarded for valor in the face of the enemy. It's very likely that latter accolade was pure ballyhoo.
Ross was also an accomplished wrestler though. On at least two separate occasions he captured the American Mixed Style Championship, possibly more, but there's much work to be done on that title's lineage. He faced all the top stars of his era including Professor Thiebaud Bauer, Professor William Miller, William Muldoon, Ernest Roeber, Matsuda Sorakichi, Edwin Bibby, Colonel James H. McLaughlin and Captain James C. Daly.
When Ross arrived in America I'm not entirely sure, but it was by the mid 1870's. As in the later years of that decade he started to claim he was the "World Champion Athlete." Richard K. Fox of the Police Gazette newspaper backed him in the matter. He competed in several all-round athletic contests and did good in them, but not without flaw, he was still relatively young at the time.
In 1879 he lost to Professor William Miller in a fifty hour walking contest. A couple of years passed while Ross solidified himself within pro-wrestling before he started winning regularly. On February 17, 1883 he defeated Bauer for a version of the American Graeco-Roman Championship. He lost it five days later and lost again in a further rematch on March 18.
What he found he was best at was mixed style wrestling. Maybe it was due to the fact he was a natural all-round athlete anyway, but he just took to wrestling falls in different styles. He won his first known tournament on September 10 in Cleveland, Ohio and then won a two day tournament on October 10 and 11 in Rochester, New York. The second tournament also gave him possession of the aforementioned mixed style belt. He'd later lose it to Colonel James Hiram McLaughlin.
From 1890-1893 Ross legitimately toured the world. He stopped off in places such as England, Scotland, , India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Indonesia and Gibraltar. He made claim to the World Mixed Style, or All-Round Champion in each location he appeared.
As far as I know Ross never won another championship in wrestling, but he did continue wrestle until the early 1900s. According to a couple of newspapers sometime after this he left for England and worked there as a stone mason by 1908. It's said he returned to England around 1910 and continued to perform in sword exhibitions.
He passed away on September 8, 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was immortalized on an 1886 branch of cigarette cards featuring the very cream of the crop in the athletic world. He had success in several varieties of swordsmanship, fencing, running, walking, wrestling, boxing, and all-round competitions. Duncan C. Ross was something that should have been one-of-a-kind, his only flaw was he came along a few years after Professor William Miller was already setting the wrestling and athletic world on fire.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Duncan C. Ross
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #118.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Last Updated: September 28, 2019.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Duncan C. Ross
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #118.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Last Updated: September 28, 2019.