On October 26, 1901, Joe Sullivan beat Pete Loch in a wrestling bout at Lincoln, Nebraska. Sullivan was the former captain of the Omaha police department and Loch was a pro wrestler. They were both 150 pounds and competing for $100 side bet. Sullivan took two-of-three-falls. On Wednesday, August 11, 1909 at Bryner's Opera House in Callaway, Nebraska, Frank DuCray was set to wrestle George Gion for the Nebraska state championship - under Police Gazette rules. DuCray was considered the state titleholder. Ed Pollard of Kearney was the referee with O.W. Barnard and E.C. Hoskin as the timekeepers. DuCray and Gion had a long rivalry. DuCray beat Gion in "the fastest and roughest wrestling match ever pulled off in Kearney" on March 18, 1910. DuCray of Lincoln won in two-straight falls. Gion was from Aurora. It was said that DuCray might meet Farmer Burns in Kearney. In Omaha on March 18, 1911, Frank Gotch defeated William Demetral in two-straight falls to retain his World Heavyweight Title. On June 24, 1911 in Omaha, Jess Reimer (also known as Jess Westergaard) married Anna Tramberg of Des Moines. Tramberg was said to be a "laundry girl." In Lincoln on Thursday, June 4, 1914, Owen Daily beat Johnny Billiter of Toledo to capture the World Lightweight championship. Frank Gotch served as the referee. Daily was trained for the bout by Frank Coleman, who also accompanied him. Billiter was accompanied by Sam Jordan. Ed Wood was teh announcer. Daily weighed 133 and Billiter was 130 pounds. 2,000 fans were in attendance. Daily won in two-straight falls, the first in 4:56 and the second in 51:43. Daily's toe hold combined with a leglock did the trick. George Gion claimed to have discovered Joe Stecher, according to the December 12, 1915 edition of the Lincoln Daily Star. Gion, three-years earlier, invaded Stecher's hometown of Dodge, and was defeated by the young athlete. After the loss, Gion went to Lincoln, where he touted Stecher as a future world heavyweight champion. In 1916-'17, A.A. Hastings was a wrestling promoter and manager in Silver Creek, Merrick County, Nebraska. He was the guiding force behind young Jim Londos at the time. A.A. Hastings was likely Albert A. Hastings, a local real estate dealer, who was born on March 12, 1882 and married to Lena May Hastings. While touring the Pacific Northwest, Owen Daily lost a controversial match against Milton Harnden in Bellingham on Wednesday, February 14, 1917, thus, lost his World Lightweight Title. The referee claimed Daily fouled his opponent after Harndon won the initial fall and Daily won the second. Daily reportedly tore ligaments in Harnden's leg with his toehold after the referee called the second fall, and then the referee disqualified Daily, awarding the title to Harnden. According to one report, the local sheriff threatened to arrest Daily for purposely injurying his opponent. All bets were called off. Over 2,000 fans witnessed the match. Daily was then arrested. There were many different perspectives on the situation. The Lincoln Daily Star (2/18/1917) reported that the issues began a year earlier when Daily went to Bellingham and beat Harnden, the local favorite. The latter got Daily to return to the city with a solid financial offer, leading up to their February 14 bout. Daily locked in his famed toehold, and put Harnden out of commission. A referee then stepped in to say that the injuries were caused after he'd called for the fall, which was a foul, and the end of their match - with Harnden being given the victory. The newspaper stated that Daily was arrested the next day, charged with "maliciously and wilfully maiming" his opponent. Daily refused to put up the bail and remained in jail. Harnden and promoter Crews got Daily to sign a statement saying that Harnden was the new world champion. "This statement was signed before a plan to obtain his freedom would be launched by the friends of Harnden," according to a telegram printed in the LIncoln Daily Star. Only a few hours later, the charge against Daily was dropped. Daily had entered an extremely hostile environment and was double-crossed in the ring, and then persecuted by the local police. His freedom was only secured after he agreed to recognize Harnden as the new titleholder. It appears that it was easier to win the title this way than to actually defeat Daily in the ring. Despite the result, some areas of the country refused to acknowledge the title switch. There were reports that Daily had been "jipped," and that he was still the rightful claimant. Daily was booked to match up with the younger brother of John Pesek, Charles Pesek of Shelton, Nebraska on March 28, 1917 in Minden at the Auditorium. Pesek was a welterweight and had a good showing against Daily in Kearney earlier in the year. Promoter Ernie Holmes was the man behind a hugely important wrestling match on January 16, 1920 in Omaha between Dodge's Joe Stecher and Ravenna's John Pesek. In promotions, it was spun that it wasn't only a match between local farmers, but a battle between a representative of the Navy (Stecher) and the Army (Pesek). Holmes reportedly was not claiming the bout was for a claim to the world's championship. Unfortunately, indicative that wrestling in Omaha had suffered dearly for the past mistakes of promoters, managers, and the wrestlers themselves, only 5,700 fans turned out for the heralded Stecher-Pesek bout. Had the match taken place in 1915 or 1916, the attendance would've been double or triple that. The gate was less than $20,000, whereas it has been predicted to be over $30,000. Pesek disputed the finish called by referee Ed Smith of Chicago. The Omaha World Herald (1/25/20) reported that wrestler Joe Stangl joined the Greater Omaha basketball league with the Highland Parks. By March 1920, there was talk of Omaha acquiring a match between Stecher and Ed "Strangler" Lewis for the world title. Des Moines (Oscar Thorson) and New York City (Jack Curley) also wanted the bout. As of 1925, Jake Isaacson was the matchmaker for the Omaha Post of the American Legion. He wanted to schedule the important Stecher-Pesek rematch, and was working toward that goal in March 1925. A meeting was scheduled and Pesek's manager, Max Bauman was present, however, neither Joe or Tony Stecher appeared to discuss potential terms. Bauman posted $1,000 with Isaacson to secure the bout, also noting that Pesek would agree to face Wayne Munn, the heavyweight champion, and Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Patrick "Pat" McGill was one of the well known wrestling stars to come out of Omaha, Nebraska, born on July 25, 1896. He was married to Elizabeth McGill and had three children as of the 1930 U.S. Federal Census. McGill passed away in December 1969. Another Nebraska star was Joseph Zikmund, whose last name was butchered by scores of newspapers throughout the early part of the 20th Century. He was born in Bohemia (Czechoslavakia) around 1888 and came to the United States in 1899. In 1920, he was living with his family in Oak Cree, Butler County, Nebraska, with his wife Anna and two daughters, Mildred and Viola Mae. Zikmund was a tractor mechanic and moonlighted as a professional wrestler. In 1926, he was elected the Mayor of Brainard (population 400). On February 16, 1933, the Associated Press reported that Farmer Burns of Omaha celebrated his 72nd birthday on February 15 and was "still spry." He "hasn't eaten a breakfast in fifty years," and didn't use tobacco, coffee, or liquor. He was said to have wrestled 6,000 matches and was world champion from 1894 to 1897. John Pesek was said to have lost his first fall in ten years in May 1934 to Abe Kashey in Omaha. Kashey punched Pesek out in the opening fall of their scheduled three-fall bout, then pinned him. Pesek came back with fire, pummelling Kashey around the ring, then tied him in a knot. Kashey, needless to say, lost the second fall and was unable to continue. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Pesek, incidentally, had lost falls during the last ten years - proving the gist of this report inaccurate. Geza Tako was a wrestler who appeared on a handful or so Omaha wrestling shows in 1943. The November 20, 1943 edition of the Omaha World Herald announced that the 36 year old Tako had received his United States citizenship the day before at a special hearing before Federal Judge James A. Donohoe. Geza Walter Tako was in the military and working as a physical instructor at Harvard Air Base. A little more digging shows that Tako was born on May 21, 1907 and passed away on March 10, 1985 in Dade County, Florida. In 1950, professional wrestling in Omaha (and throughout the wrestling world) received a huge boost from a large number of former amateur wrestlers turning pro. Omaha saw local appearances from Verne Gagne, Mike DiBiase, Joe Scarpello, Leo Nomellini, and Bob Geigel, and also had appearances from young Jack Pesek, The Sharpe Brothers, and Wladek Kowalski. The future of wrestling was definitely bright. On Wednesday, January 16, 1957, Gene Melady passed away at the age of 84. Melady promoted professional wrestling and boxing in Omaha in the 1910s and '20s. According to his obituary in the Nevada State Journal (Reno, January 18, 1957), Melady "managed heavyweight wrestling champion Joe Stecher and discovered Earl Caddock, who was to take the crown from Stecher." Melady reportedly captained the "initial" Notre Dame football team when he was 16 years old in 1887. Research by Tim Hornbaker |
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