Henry Ordemann stood 5'10 3/4" and weighed around 208 pounds.

Ordemann was billed as a Minneapolis blacksmith.  He was managed by George Barton in
1912.


On February 22, 1912 in Duluth, Henry Ordemann was injured in a match against Jess
Pedersen.  He was thrown to the mat and hit his head, knocking him unconscious and
giving Pedersen the victory by default.  Because of the injury, Ordemann was forced to
pull out of a bout with Oscar Wasem in Lincoln, Nebraska later in the month.  Wasem was
billed as being from Omaha.

In the winter of 1912, Ordemann was said to have suffered a "sick spell" that affected his
wrestling ability.

After his January 7, 1913 loss to Jess Westergaard in Minneapolis, Ordemann remained
on the sidelines with an injury, but planned his comeback on February 21 by taking on five
wrestlers at the Gayety Theater in Minneapolis.  By that point, he was training and willing
to take on all comers.  The use of handicap matches in professional wrestling was a major
score for wrestlers and promoters because it allowed a major name to drop a match
without losing a fall, and then build up toward a rematch.  In Ordemann's case, he was
making his return to take on five wrestlers in a handicap bout, but after beating four of the
five, and having the fifth near topple him twice before the time-limit expired, wrestling fans
had much to talk about.

Was Ordemann permanently injured or was Julius Nelson of Montana, the man who'd
taken him to the limit, really that good?  Fans were then compelled by Nelson's confident
boasting, telling the newspaper that he could've beaten Ordemann had he had a few more
minutes to wrestle, and that he wanted a finish match.  Ordemann then came out in the
paper, saying that he needed more time to prepare for Nelson.  A few days later, though,
he agreed to a match, and it was staged that Friday at the Gayety Theater.  Ordemann
beat his opponent decisively, winning two-straight falls before a large crowd.

The handicap situation allowed the theater manager to prop up a journeyman wrestler,
give him some credibility, and build a nice house out of basically nothing.  It had the power
to turn a preliminary worker into a headliner with credibility overnight.  And the superstar
wrestler, Ordemann in this case, wasn't any worse off because Nelson never scored a fall
over him.  Gotch, Hackenschmidt, Zbyszko and all the other big names of the time period
also lost handicap matches for the same reason.

In fact, Zbyszko came into Minneapolis and dropped a handicap match to Ordemann on
March 14, 1913.  Shortly thereafter, Zbyszko challenged Ordemann and Westergaard to a
handicap bout, interested in building his reputation back up in the local ring.  If
Westergaard wasn't available, the Gayety Theater manager could pick a heavyweight to
join Ordemann in the match for $100.  Zbyszko claimed he'd beat both in an hour's time.












Copyright 2010 Tim Hornbaker
Henry Ordemann Wrestling History