Frank Gotch
| Frank Gotch | |
|---|---|
Gotch in 1917
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| Birth name | Frank Alvin Gotch |
| Born |
April 27, 1877 Humboldt, Iowa |
| Died | December 16, 1917 (aged 40) Humboldt, Iowa |
| Cause of death | Uremia poisoning |
| Spouse(s) | Gladys Oestrich (m. 1911; his death 1917) |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Frank Gotch Frank Kennedy |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Trained by | Martin Burns |
| Debut | 1899 |
| Retired | 1913 |
Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1877 – December 16, 1917) was an American professional wrestler.
Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States. He competed back when the contests were largely legit (see catch wrestling), and his reign as World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion (from 1908 to 1913) is one of the ten longest in the history of professional wrestling. He became one of the most popular athletes in America from the 1900s to the 1910s. Pro Wrestling Illustrated described Gotch as "arguably the best North American professional wrestler of the 20th century".
The son of Frederick Rudolph and Amelia Gotch, and of German ancestry, he was born and raised on a small farm three miles south of Humboldt, Iowa. He took up wrestling in his teens, earning a reputation by beating locals. He adopted the toe hold as his signature finishing move.
Gotch wrestled and won his first match against Marshall Green in Humboldt on April 2, 1899, but his first important match was in Lu Verne, Iowa on June 16, 1899, against a man claiming to be a furniture dealer from a neighboring town. Gotch held his own for nearly two hours, but lost the hard-fought contest. Only later when he received the impressed man's visiting card, he did learn that his opponent had actually been reigning American Heavyweight Champion Dan McLeod. On December 18, 1899, Gotch challenged another former American Heavyweight Champion, "Farmer" Martin Burns, losing in 11 minutes, but impressing Burns as well, who offered to train Gotch. Under the guidance of Burns, Gotch won a series of matches in Iowa and later Yukon. While in the Yukon, Gotch wrestled under the name Frank Kennedy and won the title of "Champion of the Klondike". During his time in the Yukon, Gotch tried his hand at boxing, but failed miserably against the heavyweight Frank "Paddy" Slavin.
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