Strangler Lewis "Shoot" Promotion - Milwaukee, November 1941
Ed Strangler- Lewis's pro wrestling career went back as far as 1901. He was a multi-time world heavyweight champion and unquestionably ranks as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
After over three decades on the mat in 1939 he was dividing his time between managing Ed Strangler- White and working with Hugh Nichols in the Hollywood Legion Stadium promotion. He garnered some publicity the following year when he issued a challenge to former boxing champ Jack Dempsey to meet in a mixed match for charity. This was a repeat of Lewis' early defi to Dempsey back in the early 1920s. 1941 found the old Strangler both actively touring as a referee and operating his restaurant/lounge in Glendale, CA. By the end of the year, he announced he was ready to don his trunks and do some grappling. The Strangler was 51 years old. He agreed to wrestle Ole Olson in Chicago on November 11th, as part of the under card of a French Angel versus Jumping Joe Savoldi main event. Lewis withdrew due to an ankle injury, but agreed to officiate the Angel/Savoldi bout. However, the Illinois State Athletic Commission stepped in and forbid him from serving as the ref, citing that he was not a resident of the state. Nevertheless, the Strangler appeared at ringside.
The following night he took on and defeated Ambrose Andy- Rasch in Milwaukee. It was about this time that Lewis began talking about reviving legitimate wrestling.- The idea aroused some interest in both Milwaukee and Chicago. Chicago promoter Walter Gettson announced that his next card, November 25th, would entail real wrestling.- Gettson planned to reintroduce the once popular catch-as-catch-can wrestling.- (Chicago Tribune, 11/25/1941) Gettson's program saw George Macricistos defeat Minneapolis Athletic Club wrestling instructor Alfred Johnson, Steve Savage beat Art Von Saxon, Billy Bartush draw with Rudy Strongberg, Dr. John Bonica draw against Al Krause, and Joe Banek win over Einar Olson.
With interest in such an event picking up, Strangler Lewis planned his first shoot- card for Milwaukee and enlisted wrestler and referee Harry Dick- Stoll as the matchmaker. Karl Pojello, who had a reputation as one of the old-time shooters,- was also involved in the endeavor. They would bring in some veteran pros with legit wrestling skills as well as recruit local amateurs. His main event was arranged as George Macricistos versus Rudy Strongberg.
Einar Olson held a card in Racine on November 27th. It was ballyhooed that Racine wrestling fans will get a chance to preview in action two of the principals of Strangler Lewis' mat card in Milwaukee Friday night, in which Lewis will attempt to revive legitimate wrestling.- (Racine Journal-Times, 11/27/41) Olson's main event found Macricostas defeating Bartush by decision. Each grappler had managed to take one fall. In the supporting matches Strongberg won against Johnson, also by decision, and Pojello gained a victory over Joe Dvorak.
For Lewis' Milwaukee show, Stoll enlisted former amateur wrestler and jiu-jitsu expert- Reupert Hawkinson to supply the local talent. Hawkinson boasted that, A lot of stuff the pros do is outmoded. Speed and science are the main features now and condition is important. When a couple wrestlers ride each other and keep up the tension, they have to be in good shape. A lot of these fat pros couldn't go five minutes with a good amateur...If Lewis wants to revive wrestling, we'll help him.- Hawkinson went further and declared that a good collegiate grappler could easily give away 10-15 pounds against a pro without any problem. (Milwaukee Journal, 11/20/41). Stoll quickly seized on his braggadocio and stated that he'd pit Hawkinson against a professional.
Local amateur stalwarts Larry Lederman and John Anderson were also matched up. There was a rivalry between these two former college stars. Lederman and Anderson were considered the two best wrestlers produced by the University of Wisconsin in recent years. (Milwaukee Journal, 11/21/41) Lederman was a Midwest and Big Ten welterweight champion, and in 1939 he was hailed as the best amateur wrestler in the world.- Anderson, currently a YMCA coach, was the only man who eclipsed his record at the University of Wisconsin,- winning all but three out of 33 college matches. (Milwaukee Journal, 11/27/41)
The Lederman/Anderson match was publicized as a grudge- battle and generated considerable local interest. Milwaukee Journal sports writer R.G. Lynch stated, Anderson banks on speed and specializes in a leg dive. He feints his opponent erect and takes the legs out from under the man. This creates opportunities for quick pins with some leg or crotch hold.- Lynch described his opponent's tactics, writing, Lederman uses the strength of his arms and the power of his upper body, specializing in wrist locks and head twists. He purposely works into a position in which he seems to be on the defensive, with his opponent behind him, then applies a head twist. He works at better advantage on the mat than erect.- The journalist added, Both of these men are willing to go down on the mat, so they should provide quick action.- (Milwaukee Journal, 11/21/41)
Rounding out the card would be Billy Bartush versus Alfred Johnson, Hawkinson versus Dr. John Bonica, and Don Casey versus Leo Malewicki. Former Cornel University wrestler and YMCA official Bill Bell would referee all the matches. Casey had been a star wrestler at Rufus King High School. Malewicki was a local YMCA mat champ. Hawkinson, 160 pounds, was given the opportunity to test his mettle against 180-pound pro Bonica. In addition to wrestling professionally, Bonica was serving an internship at a Milwaukee hospital. Bonica had worked his way through medical school in Long Island taking on all comers in carnival athletic shows. In all there would be five seasoned pros and five talented amateurs making their pro debuts. Lewis' honest wrestling- card was set.
Bell was given full authority to stop any match and rule it a no contest- if he detected anything less than competitive grappling. He would award points throughout the bouts, in case there wasn't a pinfall. Matches were to be held under the Australian round system.- In a contest utilizing the round system, a wrestler could be saved by the bell. It was explained, A man who knows that his opponent has finishing holds which might pin him in a time limit match will take greater risks under the round system, for the hold will be broken if he can withstand it until the end of the round...Rounds give the fast, clever wrestler a chance against the fall expert, as the clever boxer has a chance against a knockout puncher.- (Milwaukee Journal, 11/28/41)
Strongberg, Macricostas, Bartush and Johnson would square off in three 10-minute rounds. Lederman and Anderson would go six 3-minute rounds, and the remaining contests would be five 3-minute rounds. A local newspaper reported that Lewis' card would display Professional wrestling in a new guise with real contests...replacing exhibition matches will make its first appearance at the Auditorium.- (Milwaukee Journal, 11/28/41)
The program took place November 28that the Auditorium in Milwaukee. Lewis was not able to appear, but Pojello was on the scene to oversee the proceedings. It was repeatedly stated that all the bouts would be genuine legit contests-shoots.- A scoreboard was put up to post the points as awarded by the referee and an announcer explained what was transpiring on the mat.
R.G. Lynch summed up the proceedings, saying, The unusual sight of wrestlers actually trying to beat each other rewarded a fair crowd which turned out at the Auditorium...to see Ed (Strangler) Lewis' first effort to revive real competitive wrestling in Milwaukee...For the first time in years, wrestlers earned spontaneous outbursts of applause for their efforts. Every match on the card of five looked like a real contest except the main event.- (Milwaukee Journal, 11/29/41)
The show opened with former high school wrestler Casey pinning the YMCA man Malewicki in two minutes of the second round, making use of a half Nelson to accomplish the task. Next up was the tough professional wrestling medic John Bonica taking on the talented grappler Hawkinson. The latter made a good effort but the combination of Bonica's weight advantage and seasoned techniques were too much for him to overcome. Hawkinson was doubled up with a combination front headlock and leg hold and pinned, thirty seconds into the 2nd round.
The third match of the night saw two pros battling it out. Bartush, a Pojello protégé from Chicago defeated Johnson right at the end of the second round. It was a lively tussle with the men sticking to the rules and trying desperately to pin one another. Johnson took the first round on points, controlling Bartush with first a stepover toehold and then a double wristlock. The crowd cheered them on throughout the bout. Down on the mat in the second round, both pros used body scissors on one another, but neither man was able to secure a fall. Back on their feet, Bartush latched on a front headlock, took Johnson down, chained into a half Nelson and body scissors, followed with a crotch hold and body scissors and then leveraged his opponent's shoulders to the mat for the win.
The most-anticipated contest of the night was next, as far as the hometown fans were concerned. The two former University of Wisconsin mat champions Anderson and Lederman entered the ring to settle the question of mat superiority. They wrestled at 152 pounds. Their action-packed bout was largely a takedown battle. Anderson dominated the opening three-minute round. He scored three takedowns and led in points 10-6. Lederman came on strong through the second, ending with a lead of 13-12. Anderson tied things up in the third, 18 points apiece. Anderson regained the lead during the next round, scoring two takedowns, ending at 24-20.
The 5th round saw Lederman quickly make a clever takedown with an underarm spin. The period ended with Lederman holding a 31-19 point lead. Anderson made a quick offense at the opening of the sixth and final round. He effected a fast takedown and followed it up with a go-behind. His opponent quickly broke free, but the score was now tied 32-32. During the remaining time, both men grappled furiously, but to no avail. No further points were gained. The six rounds were over. The two former Wisconsin college stars had proved to be evenly matched.
So far everything had appeared to be on the up and up and the crowd enjoyed the proceedings and heartedly cheered the contestants. Then came the main event with Macricostas and Strongberg. The veteran professionals apparently just couldn't refrain from performing like they were used to. On a typical pro card of the time, it would have been a sensational and exciting bout. But this show had been highly touted as a bonafide grappling event and so far the fans had been satisfied that they'd been watching the real thing. As the mat men wildly tossed each other around the ring, referee Bell didn't bother to award or tally points. The spectators, for their part, reacted by booing the histrionics. At 3:10 of the second round Bell tapped Macricostas on the back as he held his adversary down on the mat and awarded him the match. Both wrestlers looked bewildered at the ref's call. It was speculated that Bell went ahead and ended the match rather than let it continue and force him to rule it a no contest.-
The Milwaukee show marked the one and only card of Strangler Lewis' real wrestling- promotion. They had drawn a decent crowd and received favorable press coverage. Following this card, Lewis wrestled in Norfolk, DC, Charlotte and Columbia, SC, and refereed a match in Roanoke. He was back in Wisconsin visiting his parents and relatives for the holidays and even told a reporter that he had not given up the idea of making Milwaukee the scene of an effort to restore professional wrestling's prestige in sports.- (Milwaukee Journal, 1/4/42) However he set his sights on getting the army to train soldiers in the art of wrestling as the primary system of self-defense. To prove wrestling's superiority over boxing he offered to take on five heavyweight fighters one after the other in a demonstration. Lewis said he had a meeting coming up in Washington DC with military officials. Lewis' former manager and partner Billy Sandow had done the same thing with the World War One-era military.
Lewis continued to wrestle into early 1948. After that he stuck to the role of referee and touring as the manager of both Lou Thesz and Dick Hutton. The grand old man of the mat passed away in 1966 at the age of 76. Strangler Lewis' 1941 shoot- promotion was short-lived but it served as an interesting and important footnote in the annals of combat sports history.
Research by the late J Michael Kenyon and Don Luce, Steve Yohe, and Kasper Christiansen has been used in this article. For online match listings of many of the wrestlers mentioned see wrestlingdata.com. Yohe's Lewis bio Ed Strangler- Lewis Facts within a Myth remains highly recommended.
Mark S. Hewitt/Combat Sports Research 2023