Tag: pioneer era

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: My new Pioneer era book has arrived

Posted on by Karl Stern

This week marks the official launch of my new 700-page monster research project on the pioneer era of United States wrestling: the DragonKingKarl Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus: The Bible of the Pioneer Era of Pro Wrestling.

The book is available now in either print form or Kindle on Amazon.

On this week’s DKK Show, I am joined by my wife Tonya from the When It Was Cool website as we discuss the pioneer era, why it is so interesting, and how it really influenced modern wrestling.

If you have ever wondered about wrestling in the U.S. before Frank Gotch, check out this week’s podcast and the book!

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: More ‘From Milo to Londos’

Posted on by Karl Stern

Image: WWE

On this episode of my 1000 Hours subseries on the Pioneer Era, I wanted to look at one of the oldest books to talk about that time called From Milo to Londos which gave us a lot of information and also some misinformation.

If you’re here, buy my new DragonKingKarl Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus: The Bible of the Pioneer Era of Pro Wrestling on Amazon, clocking in at 700 pages. This book was 25 years in the making with research of around 10,000 newspapers, books, and more. I believe it to be the most detailed look ever at pre-1900 pro wrestling in the United States. A Kindle version will be available soon.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: ‘From Milo to Londos’ fact vs. fiction

Posted on by Karl Stern

My 1000 Hours sub-series is all about the pioneer era of pro wrestling — the era before Frank Gotch.

Gotch did not just appear out of a void and create pro wrestling for the masses in the early 1900s as he built on over 50 years of a thriving and, at times, hugely popular business. Much of what we as historians had to learn from until recent times were published books like Nat Fleischer’s From Milo to Londos and Fall Guys, but those books were written 30-to-50 years after the fact.

With the research tools we now have available, what is fact vs. fiction from source material like From Milo to Londos?

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The real Terrible Turk

Posted on by Karl Stern

On hour 57 of my 1000 Hours subseries focusing on the pioneer era of wrestling, I have new information about the original Terrible Turk provided by an expert on the matter, Phil Lions.

Phil has given us some great details not previously published about wrestling’s first major special attraction.

Then, we look more at William Muldoon and his arch-rival Clarence Whistler. Why did their partnership fall apart and what did their last meeting look like?

All that and more on the latest DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show~!

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The (mostly) truth about William Muldoon

Posted on by Karl Stern

As my research into the pioneer era of pro wrestling continues, I am now into the 1880s which was dominated by “The Solid Man” William Muldoon.

But was the reality of Muldoon? Should he be held in higher esteem than the dominant wrestler of the 1870s: Col. James H. McLaughlin?

Muldoon started out as a policeman in New York, but ran afoul of the police chief and commissioners because he wrestled for money in the Greco-Roman style which had a terrible reputation at the time.

So just how did William Muldoon become the most popular star in the country and the most recognizable name of the pioneer era and was he on the level?

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Will the real Andre Christol please stand up?

Posted on by Karl Stern

As part of the DragonKingKarl Class Wrestling Show, my 1000 Hours sub-series is all about the pioneer era of wrestling which is pre-1900 or the era before Frank Gotch.

On this episode, I have a wild, entertaining & hilarious set of stories about Lucien Marc, the French Greco Roman champion. I have talked about him previously like when a bear bit his finger off and he masqueraded around as fellow French champion Andre Christol.

Well, what happened when the real Andre Christol found out about it? Hilarity ensued, that’s what.

This is a tale from the 1880s you would swear is straight out of the 1980s. This one is worth your time to jump on if you’ve never listened before. Are you not entertained?

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: McMahon vs. McLaughlin

Posted on by Karl Stern

I am back with what is essentially a part two of last week’s 1000 Hours podcast focused on the pioneer era as I look more at the original first family of wrestling: John McMahon, James Owens, Peter Owens, and Ed Cox.

Plus, the trilogy of Col. James H. McLaughlin vs. McMahon concludes. What was real and what wasn’t between the two biggest stars of the 1870s? Lucian Marc meets the real Andre Christol, and he isn’t happy…or so the story goes.

More works, scams, fakes, and bears as we continue our look into the pioneer era of American pro wrestling.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Why did Lucien Marc only have three fingers?

Posted on by Karl Stern

I return with my DragonKingKarl podcast subseries on the pioneer era of pro wrestling (pre-1900) with a packed show today.

Most of it is spent discussing the very first family of wrestling. Wrestling families are part of its culture: The Von Erichs, the Armstrongs, the Welches, the Funks, the Briscos, the Windhams, etc.

But the original first family of wrestling were the four members of John McMahon’s family: John himself, James Owens, Peter Owens, and Ed Cox. There are multiple American (World) championships between them during the 1870s and all were among the top tier of pro wrestlers in America.

However, I couldn’t help but name the episode after Lucien Marc’s missing fingers because that is one heck of a story.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Europeans who popularized wrestling in the 1800s

Posted on by Karl Stern

On today’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I am back with my 1000 Hours subseries that focuses on the history, origin, and evolution of pro wrestling in America.

A listener recently asked about Germany, France, and Europe in the pioneer era of wrestling. France, in particular, was hugely important in the sport’s popularity in the United States with Prof. Thiebaud Bauer bringing his French style of Greco-Roman and turning it into a true entertainment spectacle.

Wilhelm Vandervecken and Wilhelm Heygster of Germany and many other Europeans impacted the formation and popularity of wrestling in the U.S.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The man who finally derailed the Colonel

Posted on by Karl Stern

On the latest DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I return with another installment of my 1000 Hours subseries which focuses exclusively on the pioneer era of pro wrestling or the era before Frank Gotch.

I am looking back today at 1875 and 1876 which was dominated by the American heavyweight champion Col. James H. McLaughlin, pro wrestling’s first major star.

McLaughlin won pro wrestling’s first big championship tournament in 1870 in Detroit and had dominated until, out of nowhere, a relative unknown Michigan wrestler named Jacob H. Martin showed up and took McLaughlin to a draw not once but twice! One of those bouts lasted almost eight hours.

Is there more to the story? I discuss it on this episode.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Was Davy Crockett actually a pro wrestler?

Posted on by Karl Stern

Hour 49 of the 1000 Hours podcast subseries on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show is a packed one. The subseries is my detailed, heavily researched look at the pioneer era of pro wrestling, or pro wrestling before the time of Frank Gotch.

On today’s episode, I answer a question about Davy Crockett whose obituary following his death at the Alamo claimed he was a wrestler. What is the reality of that claim?

Plus, we discuss the shooting of pioneer legend John McMahon whose working of matches caught up to him in San Francisco.

There’s tons to talk about on this episode so let’s get to it.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Pioneer era legend The Terrible Turk

Posted on by Karl Stern

I first covered pioneer era wrestling special attraction Yusuf Ismael, aka The Terrible Turk, on an early episode of my 1000 Hours pioneer era-focused subseries here on the DragonKing Classic Wrestling Show, but the Terrible Turk deserves a follow up as requested by one of our listeners.

Now I tell you the latest information I have uncovered about the original Turk who came to America in 1898, beat the best in the country (including the American champion), and then died on his way back to Europe…and how much of it was legitimate.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The true story behind the 1870 Detroit International tournament

Posted on by Karl Stern

I have recently spent many hours digging through hundreds of pages of 1870 newspapers from Detroit, Chicago, Ontario, and beyond chronicling the real story of the biggest tournament in history of American pro wrestling in the pioneer era: the Detroit International tournament.

On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I reveal what I found.

The tournament awarded an ornate championship belt to its winner (Col. James H. McLaughlin), but McLaughlin did not become the American champion, at least not yet, but I give you that story, too.

Also, McLaughlin may have killed Barney Smith, but it probably did not happen here either. I also clear up a number of other myths and errors that history books have recorded about this milestone in pro wrestling history. This is hour 46 of my 1000 Hours series focusing on the pioneer era of wrestling.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The pioneer era in Australia

Posted on by Karl Stern
The latest entry into my 1000 Hours series on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show looks at the pioneer era of wrestling in Australia of all places.

Believe it or not, there was pro wrestling there in the 1800s, and one of America’s top stars actually died there.

The incredible story of the death of Clarence Whistler has been often told but the details are a bit incorrect. On this episode, we will look at what is really known about how and why Whistler died while wrestling in Australia. I also talk about his last match there and why he was even in Australia to begin with.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The pioneer era in the Great Lakes region

Posted on by Karl Stern

The pioneer era (pre-1900) of pro wrestling flourished in the Great Lakes area of the United States.

While initially the Northeast, and especially New York and Vermont were early hotspots, cities like Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and the entire Great Lakes region became very important in pro wrestling by 1870.

The 1870 Detroit International tournament was a real ignition point for the popularity of wrestling nationwide and the Detroit Opera House became a shrine for the genesis of American pro wrestling. 

Join me on my 43rd hour of discussing the pioneer era in pro wrestling with a stop in the Great Lakes.

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