38 Facts About Frank Gotch

Frank Alvin Gotch was an American professional wrestler.

Frank Gotch competed back when the contests at championship level were largely legit, and his reign as World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion is one of the ten longest in the history of professional wrestling.

Frank Gotch became one of the most popular athletes in America from the 1900s to the 1910s.

The son of Frederick Rudolph and Amelia Frank Gotch, of German ancestry, he was born and raised on a small farm three miles south of Humboldt, Iowa.

Frank Gotch took up wrestling in his teens, earning a reputation by beating locals.

Frank Gotch adopted the toe hold as his signature finishing move.

Frank 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.

Frank Gotch held his own for nearly two hours, but lost the hard-fought contest.

On December 18,1899, Frank Gotch challenged another former American Heavyweight Champion, "Farmer" Martin Burns, losing in 11 minutes, but impressing Burns as well, who offered to train Frank Gotch.

Under the guidance of Burns, Frank Gotch won a series of matches in Iowa and later Yukon.

Frank Gotch returned to Iowa and instantly challenged the reigning American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins.

Frank Gotch lost his first match in 1903, before defeating Jenkins in a rematch on January 27,1904, to take the championship.

In 1905 Frank Gotch beat Jack Carkeek in a Cornish wrestling match, while Jack claimed to be world Cornish wrestling champion.

The wrestlers stood on their feet for two full hours before Frank Gotch was able to get behind Hackenschmidt and take him down.

Frank Gotch bullied him around the ring, and his thumbing and butting left Hackenschmidt covered in blood.

Frank Gotch tore him off the ropes, threw Hackenschmidt down and rode him hard for three minutes, working for his dreaded toe hold.

The victory over Zbyszko was particularly spectacular, as Frank Gotch took both falls in slightly less than half an hour, and thoroughly dominated Zbyszko.

Frank Gotch took the first fall in just six seconds with a surprise move and quick pin, and won the second fall in only 27 minutes.

Frank Gotch outmaneuvered and outclassed Zbyszko every second of the match.

Frank Gotch became a national sensation, and he was in demand everywhere for public appearances.

Frank Gotch starred in a play called All About A Bout, and whenever he walked on stage he was greeted by a standing ovation.

Frank Gotch was invited to the White House by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, and wrestled a Japanese ju-jitsu expert in the East Hall, making his opponent submit.

When he traveled overseas with his play, Frank Gotch was a huge hit, as it seemed that everywhere he went, fans wanted to see him.

Frank Gotch met Hackenschmidt again on September 4,1911, at the newly opened Comiskey Park in Chicago, which drew a crowd of nearly 30,000 spectators and a record gate of $87,000.

Frank Gotch clinched the match with his feared toe hold, which forced Hackenschmidt to quit.

Frank Gotch reigned as the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion from his first victory over Hackenschmidt in 1908 until he retired in 1913 after defeating Estonian Georg Lurich April 1,1913, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Frank Gotch engaged in only 160, finishing with a record of 154 wins and only 6 losses.

Frank Gotch defeated Beell in seven rematches and never lost again by the time of his retirement in 1913.

Frank Gotch was, by all accounts, a superior professional wrestler possessing tremendous strength, lightning quickness, genuine agility, cat-like reflexes, impeccable technique, superb ring generalship, a mastery of the use of leverage, and a full knowledge of professional wrestling holds, counterholds and strategy.

Frank Gotch was always in the best of condition and possessed both enormous courage and an indomitable will to win, ever ready to match his heart, his gameness, against any man in the world.

Frank Gotch was highly aggressive, but always kept his cool.

For years one of America's most eligible bachelors, Frank Gotch married Gladys Oestrich was born on 1891 and on February 11,1911.

Frank Gotch grew tired of touring and moved back to Humboldt.

Frank Gotch left behind his wife Gladys and their son, Frank Robert.

Frank Gotch was a major sports superstar, often called the Hulk Hogan of his day, who lifted professional wrestling to new heights of popularity.

When Frank Gotch defeated Hackenschmidt, the domination of professional wrestling passed to the Americans.

Frank Gotch achieved a level of popularity similar to that formerly held by boxer John L Sullivan and harness racehorse Dan Patch, and enjoyed later by such sports heroes of the Golden Age of Sports as boxing's Jack Dempsey, baseball's Babe Ruth, tennis's Bill Tilden and golf's Bobby Jones.

On July 4,2012, an eight-foot tall bronze statue of Frank Gotch was unveiled in Bicknell Park in Humboldt, the site of his outdoor training camp where as many as 1,000 people watched him train before his second Hackenschmidt match.