Minneapolis, Minnesota: Tuesday, January 7, 1913 (The Auditorium) ... Jess Westergaard b. Henry Ordemann to capture the American Heavyweight Title (2/3) (during the second fall, Ordemann suffered torn ligaments in his left arm) ... Danny Larkin b. Crowley (2-0) ... Joe Carr b. Harry Katron and Harry Mills ... (referee: Frank Gotch) ... (3,000 fans) Notes: The Ordemann-Westergaard bout was billed as being for the "heavyweight championship of the United States." The Minneapolis Morning Tribune stated that "the winner is to be proclaimed the American champion and will hold the title just as long as Frank Gotch sticks to his determination to remain in retirement." The paper also said that Charlie Cutler may be the only other wrestler who may dispute the claim to the American championship. Gotch felt both wrestlers were evenly matched before the bout. He was accompanied by his wife to Minneapolis, and said he going home immediately after the match. Gotch talked up the farming life, and said, "there will be no more wrestling for me if I can possibly avert it." Westergaard was from Des Moines. The facility was at Eleventh Street and Nicollet Avenue. After the show, Gotch decided to stay in Minneapolis a little longer, and planned to check out some real estate and appear at Dr. E.R. Cooke's gym. Gotch spoke to the crowd, telling them that outside of his hometown, he had no more friends than in Minneapolis. Ordemann's injury was said to have been serious enough to keep him from wrestling through the end of the winter. The ligaments between his shoulder blade and collar bone had been injured. Sports writer Frank E. Force for the Minneapolis Morning Tribune said that Westergaard won "fairly and squarely." After the bout, Westergaard went into North Dakota and Northern Minnesota for matches. Duluth, Minnesota: Wednesday, January 15, 1913 ( ) ... Stanislaus Zbyszko b. Jess Westergaard (2-0) (second fall by DQ) Minneapolis, Minnesota: Thursday, January 16, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Stanislaus Zbyszko b. five wrestlers in a handicap match (Zbyszko had to beat all five in under 60:00) (those defeated were Young Mahmout 5:10, Ernest Johnson 4:45, Ivan Nelson 7:15, Eugene Sampson 10:10, Carl Matson 13:10) (Mahmout was a substitute for Theodore Vita) ... (theater manager: William Koenig) Notes: Prior to arriving in Minneapolis, Zbyszko's manager Jack Herman issued a challenge to Frank Gotch, and was willing to post $1,000 in Minneapolis for a bout. St. Paul, Minnesota: Friday, January 17, 1913 (St. Paul Auditorium) ... Stanislaus Zbyszko b. Dr. B.F. Roller (2-0) ... Theodore Peter b. George Turner (2/3) Notes: Peter was from St. Paul and Turner from Aberdeen, South Dakota. Monticello, Minnesota: January 1913 ( ) ... John Albrecht b. Stokes (2-0) Notes: Albrecht was a middleweight from Minneapolis and Stokes was from Monticello. This match was held "the other night," according to the Minneapolis Morning Tribune, January 26, 1913. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, January 31, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Fred Beell failed to throw Walter Miller in 30:00 (handicap match) (Beell forfeited $25) ... Joe Carr beat three men in less than 30:00 (handicap match) (those defeated were Harry Katron 5:50, Harry Mills 10:40, Ernest Johnson 6:10) ... (promoter: William Koenig) ... (referee: Billy B. Hoke) Notes: Carr was the middleweight champion of Minneapolis. Recently, Beell beat Miller in Duluth and held a good weight advantage. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, February 7, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... George Lurich b. Stangel (2-0) ... Burlesque show ... (promoter: William Koenig) Notes: Lurich was said to have beat George Hackenschmidt overseas and also toppled Zbyszko. He was looking for a bout with Frank Gotch. Lurich was managed by Jack Curley, who was credited with "discovering" him in London a few years earlier. Curley finally was able to convince Lurich to venture to America. The Lurich-Stangel bout was said to have been funny and entertaining to the crowd. After the show, Minneapolis writers lambasted Lurich, saying that he was no catch-as-catch-can wrestler. Frank E. Force of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune wrote that Lurich may be a good Graeco- Roman grappler, "but there are probably 20,000 heavyweights in the world who know more than he does about the American style of mat work," in his February 9, 1913 article. Basically, Lurich was a better comedian than a wrestler. Duluth, Minnesota: Monday, February 10, 1913 (The Auditorium) ... World Middleweight Champion Mike Yokel b. Walter Miller (2-0) (1:16: 00, 14:00) Notes: During the first fall, Yokel tossed Miller onto his head outside the ring, leading to Yokel scoring the initial pinfall. Miller became sick to his stomach during the rest period, and began vomiting profusely. He refused to forfeit, and continued the bout, only to be thrown a second time in succession. Yokel weighed 158 and Miller weighed 151. Miller was believed to have had food poisoning. St. Paul, Minnesota: Monday, February 10, 1913 (St. Paul Auditorium) ... Theodore Peter b. Fred Beell Note: Beell was said to be a light heavyweight championship claimant, and the title was on the line against Peter. Thief River Falls, Minnesota: Monday, February 10, 1913 ( ) ... L. Curtis vs. Dan Larkin Note: Larkin was from Minneapolis. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Wednesday, February 12, 1913 (The Auditorium) ... Joe Carr b. Walter Miller (2-0) (first fall in 1:21:00, second fall by DQ in 11:00) ... Harry Mills b. Young Brown (8:07) ... Albrecht and Rule drew to allow the main event to start (1-1) ... (referees: Ed Shave - main event, Billy Hoke) ... (small crowd) Notes: Miller was one of the top contenders to the World Middleweight Title. On Monday, February 10, Miller was wrestling the champion, Mike Yokel in Duluth. Carr trained at Dr. Cooke's gymnasium. Miller was not seriously injured in his bout with Yokel. Minneapolis Morning Tribune sportswriter Dick Farrington wrote good words about this match, saying that it was the "most spectacular" match in the city that winter, and that it was full of catch- as-catch-can science. Miller reportedly lost his cool during the second fall and began fouling despite warnings. The paper stated that Carr's win put him "in a class with the best men in th country, and he is undoubtedly the equal of Yokel, Gehring, and others in the middleweight division." Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, February 21, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Henry Ordemann failed to throw five men (Ordemann beat Ernest Johnson, Ivan Nelson, George Steis (Steiff) and Carl Mattson) (his last opponent, Julius Nelson remained through 13:10) (handicap match) (Ordemann had to beat all five in 45: 00) ... Burlesque Show ... (promoter: William Koenig) Notes: Said to be Ordemann's first match since his loss to Westergaard. He was looking for a match with George Lurich, and was confident he could beat him. Julius Nelson was from Montana and a protege of promoter Koenig. He was 6'2" tall. The newspaper claimed that during Ordemann's bout with Nelson, Nelson was on the offensive, and nearly pinned his opponent. After the match, Nelson said he would've beat Ordemann had there been a few more minutes, and wanted a finish bout. The local newspaper reported on February 24, 1913 that Ordemann requested an added month of training to prepare for Nelson, claiming that he was still out of condition from his recent injury. Nelson responded by calling Ordemann a "quitter." A verbal battle between the men was engaged in the press. Nelson had reportedly beat John Gordon, the "former police champion of Minneapolis," who was now living in Montana. Within days, however, Ordemann had agreed to a match. All the talk had gotten to him, apparently. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, February 28, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Henry Ordemann b. Julius Nelson (2-0) (30:06, 6:00) ... Burlesque Show ... (promoter: William Koenig) ... (referee: Sam Lewis) ... (large crowd) Notes: Lewis was a sports promoter from New York and part of the Jardin de Paris show. Koenig planned the give the winner $100. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, March 7, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Henry Ordemann b. Eugene Sampson (2-0) (5:00, 2:00) ... Jess Westergaard b. Julius Nelson (2-0) (22:20, 7:00) ... Jardin de Paris Company Performance ... (promoter: William Koenig) ... (referee: Sam Lewis) ... (large crowd) Note: Sampson claimed to be from Omaha, while some believed he was from Minneapolis. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, March 14, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Stanislaus Zbyszko failed to throw Henry Ordemann, Eugene Sampson and Julius Nelson in 30:00 (handicap match) (Zbyszko only wrestled Ordemann, the first of the three grapplers, through the entire 30:00) ... (promoter: William Koenig) Notes: Upon getting an agreement from Zbyszko and his manager Jack Herman for a handicap match in which Zbyszko had to beat three wrestlers in 30:00, promoter Koenig signed Henry Ordemann, Jess Westergaard and Julius Nelson. Herman heard the wrestlers his man would be facing, and wanted to back out of the bout. Koenig reportedly threatened a lawsuit if Zbyszko failed to go through with the match. Frank E. Force of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune stated that Zbyszko was "considered the best grappler in the world with the possible exception of Frank Gotch." The wrestlers in the bout were changed to Ordemann, Sampson and Nelson. After the match, Zbyszko tried to explain his failure to win the bout, but was "hooted" off the stage by the audience, according to the Minneapolis Morning Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Thursday, March 20, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Stanislaus Zbyszko failed to throw Henry Ordemann in 45:00 (handicap match) (Zbyszko had to beat Ordemann once in the time-limit or forfeit $150) ... Burlesque Show ... (promoter: William Koenig) Minneapolis, Minnesota: Friday, March 28, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... Henry Ordemann failed to throw Dr. B.F. Roller in 30:00) (Ordemann agreed to throw Roller once in 30:00 or forfeit $50) ... (promoter: William Koenig) Minneapolis, Minnesota: Thursday, April 3, 1913 (Gayety Theater) ... LeMarin vs. Henry Ordemann ... (promoter: William Koenig) St. Paul, Minnesota: December 3, 1913 ( ) … Theodore Peter b. Henry Irslinger (2/3) Note: Irslinger was said to be the European Middleweight Champion. Peter was a light heavyweight grappler. Research by Tim Hornbaker October 11, 2010 |
Minneapolis Wrestling Results - 1913 |