Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Ed " Strangler " Lewis, actually Robert Hermann Julius Friedrich (* June 30, 1891 in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; † August 8, 1966 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) was an American wrestler and multiple world champion professional wrestler in free style.
Life
Robert Frederick descended from German parents who had emigrated to the United States. He grew up in his birthplace. When he was 13 years old, his parents moved with him to Rapid Falls. There he attended a high school where he first came into contact with the rings. For this purpose, he played baseball at this time also. With 14 years but he focused yet on the rings, but without quit baseball altogether. At 16 he won a few regional championships in amateur wrestlers. A little later he got a job as an Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Kentucky. There he had the opportunity to study human anatomy and to draw conclusions on strength and training effects.
At 18, he had matured into a young man of just 110 kg body weight using a very athletic figure. He therefore decided to try his luck as a professional wrestler. As an example, he took the case in the 1890s, highly successful American wrestler Evan Lewis and named after this Ed " Strangler " Lewis.
Ed " Strangler " Lewis now launched a career that made him a successful professional wrestler in free style of its era. He was a total of four full world champion and still won add some other world champions title, in which he was not recognized by all then-existing associations. Although he had resigned in the meantime a few times, took this career to the year 1948. Ed " Strangler " Lewis was in the 1920s in the United States immensely popular and known in its heyday. He was at that time, so improbable that sounds today, put on a par with such famous athletes of those years as Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones, Gene Tunney and Bill Tilden.
The late 1940s, Lewis began to slowly go blind. He coached and managed at that time the future world champion Lou Thesz, with whom he developed a close friendship. He also acted as organizer of professional events. Finally he went blind completely withdrew from everyday business. Nevertheless, he had earned in his best years, several million Doller (values to vary between 3 million and 15 million ), he finally passed away on June 30, 1966 in Muskogee penniless in a nursing home.
Sports career
1910-1919
After the first successes as a professional wrestler, he found in Jerry Walls a first professional manager who took care of his financial affairs. Later in this profession wily Billy Sandow became his manager. In 1910 Ed " Strangler " Lewis was given the opportunity against one of the leading professional wrestler of those years to fight, namely against the Stanislaus Zbyszko Poland for the first time. The experience richer lot Zbyszko won this fight in superior style and showed the just nineteen its limitations.
" Strangler " Lewis now had to play the hard way a professional novice and slowly struggling upward. In the next five years, he was indeed to many victories. But he got prominent opponents initially hardly. In 1913 he succeeded, however, to make forcefully by two victories in the freestyle wrestler scene ( Catch as catch can ) known. He defeated on September 18, 1913 in Lexington Ben Roller and on 15 December 1913 back to Lexingston, the former world champion Tom Jenkins.
On 20 October 1915 he was given a chance in Evansville (Indiana) vs. Joe Stecher to fight, which was already one of the best freestyle wrestler in the world at that time. After 2 hours and 3 minutes fight time he was present at an action out of the ring and landed on a chair so unhappy that he could not continue to wrestle with a shoulder injury. Until this accident, he had but Joe Stecher delivered a balanced fight. In the next few years, this one of the toughest competitors he should be in the fight for the world heavyweight championship.
Hardly restored, Lewis took in December 1915 in New York at a tournament in Greco -Roman style part. He fought there against the reigning World Heavyweight Champion in this style, the Russians Alexander Aberg draw and lost to them in another battle after a fight time of 1 hour and 4 minutes. In this tournament, he also fought against the brother of Stanilaus Zbyszko, Wladek Zbyszko, an outstanding wrestler in the Greco-Roman style, undecided.
On December 20 and December 22, 1915, he defeated a famous freestyle wrestler with the stage name " The Masked Marvel " twice in succession. Lost but on December 29, 1915 in New York in a fight in the Greco-Roman. Style again against Alexander Aberg.
On January 15, 1916 Lewis won again against Ben scooter. On July 4, 1916, he then fought back against Joe Stecher in Omaha. This fight has gone down in wrestling history because he lasted four hours and 52 minutes ( in some publications is even five hours and 30 minutes talk ) and ended in a draw. On December 22, 1926 Lewis had to put up in New York a defeat of Wladek Zbyszko.
Lewis was now fully established in the top of best professional wrestler in two styles, fought in the future but only in free style. On 2 May 1917, he was then with a win over the Finns Johan Olin first world champion of the professionals in free style. However, he was not recognized by all states as a world champion since winning the title against Joe Stecher Olins was controversial. Nevertheless, he defended that title on June 21, 1918 in Des Moines successfully with a win over Earl Caddock. On March 3, 1919 he succeeded in Chicago after a crucial time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 37 seconds and his first victory over Joe Stecher and on June 11, 1919, he celebrated a victory in Omaha after 1 hour, 34 minutes and 45 seconds over emerging Greeks Londos.
1920-1929
On December 13, 1920 Ed Lewis scored in New York after a crucial time of 1 hour, 41 minutes and 56 seconds a recent victory over Joe Stecher and has now been recognized by all organizations as full world champion professional wrestler in free style. This title he lost, however, already on May 6, 1921 in New York Stanislaus Zbyszko, but caught up with him on March 3, 1922 in Wichita from this back.
After his title win on December 13, 1920 Lewis co-founded with his manager Billy Sandow and the wily manager and promoter Joseph " Toots " Mundt of the so-called " Golden Trust Trio". This group dominated in the next 10 years, hard fought by the group Joe Stecher / Tony Stecher and Jack Curley, another major promoter, the wrestling Gifts in the United States.
After the audience response was decreased in the major professional wrestler events in the following years, decided to bring new life into the wrestling sport the " Golden Trust Trio" by new people. You proteges to the U.S. football star Wayne Munn as a heavyweight wrestler. This succeeded on January 8, 1925 in Kansas City, to become world champion with a victory over his protege Ed " Strangler " Lewis, the fight outcome was of course denied.
Wayne Munn defended on April 15, 1925 in Philadelphia his title against Stanislaus Zbyszko, the agreement pursuant to voluntarily " lie down " should be. Zbyszko held, however, influenced by Jack Curley, not to this agreement, defeated Wayne Munn and thus had to be declared as the new world champion.
Joe Stecher and Ed " Strangler " Lewis finished then their differences. The result was that Jos Stecher very soon took the world championship title of Stanislaus Zbyszko and Wanye Munn played no role in the " Gold -Trust Trio". Ed " Strangler " Lewis defeated Munn then on May 12, 1927 in Louisville, and showed this so that its borders once more. On February 28, 1928 Ed " Strangler " Lewis took on the Wrigley Field in Chicago then with a win over Joe Stecher in three courses, one of which he won two, back the world champion title.
This title he defended on March 12, 1928 in Chicago with a win over Ukrainian Alexander Garkawienko and on May 28, 1928 in Minneapolis and on July 9, 1928 again in Minneapolis each against Marin Plestina successful. However, on January 4, 1929 he lost his title to the new U.S. Star Gus Sonnenberg.
1930-1948
Ed " Strangler " Lewis attempts to take back the title of Gus Sonnenberg, failed on May 20, 1930 in Kansas City on June 18, 1930 in Milwaukee. Both fights won Gus Sonnenberg.
But he was not irrepressible. On 13 May 1931 he took on the " Wrigley Field " in Chicago with a win over Ed Don George, Gus Sonnenberg had dethroned, for the fourth time fully recognized World Champion title in the heavyweight division. But soon it came back to inconsistencies in the awarding of the World Cup title. Ed Lewis met namely on May 4, 1931 in Montreal Frenchman Henri Deglane, Olympic champion in 1924 in Paris and lost this fight controversial. Then some recognized organizations continue. Ed " Strangler " Lewis as a world champion, but some other, including such powerful Commission of New York recognized as a world champion Henri Deglane
On June 6, 1932 in New York Lewis defeated NWA World Champion Richard Schikat from Germany. He then fought on February 20, 1933 Madison Square Garden New York vs. Jim Browning also to the world title after the NYSAC version of this fight but lost. A legendary battle he delivered in 1933 at Madison Garden Sauare also with the German Russians Pete Sauer ( Ray Steele ). Both wrestlers were more or less opposite idle for twenty minutes. In the furious whistling of the audience of the enervated Pete Sauer replied with a targeted punch to the chin of Lewis, who then KO went. Sauer but was disqualified.
On September 20, 1934 Ed Lewis fought in New York against the reigning world champion Jim Londos and lost that fight, which was attended by 35,265 paying spectators, who provided a record revenue of $ 96,302. This revenue record held until 1950.
1937 started Ed " Strangler " Lewis several times in New Zealand, where an interesting professional wrestler scene had emerged. He won there over Floyd Marshall, John Spellman, Glen Wade and Earl McCready, the Canadian champion.
Even after he was returned to the United States, to 1948 a few times in the rings. But had it not significant opponents more. In 1948, he joined finally back for good. He should have played a total of 6,200 fights in his career, of which he only lost 33.
Swell
- Oldtimestrongman.com
- Wrestlingclassics.com
- Cagematch.de
- Nyprowrestling.com
- Wrestlingmuseum.com
- Georgiawrestlinghistory.com
- Wwf4ever.de