Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt was an early 20th-century strongman and
professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Russian Lion", Hackenschmidt was actually an
Estonian born to German and Estonian-Swedish parents.
Hackenschmidt became a professional wrestler in September 1896, being trained by fellow countryman, the notable wrestler
Georg Lurich. He was the first widely-recognized
World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion after his 1905 win over Tom Jenkins. Hackenschmidt held the title and remained undefeated until his 1908 match with
Frank Gotch at
Chicago's Dexter Park Pavilion, in which he lost after 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Encyclopedia
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt was an early 20th-century strongman and
professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Russian Lion", Hackenschmidt was actually an
Estonian born to German and Estonian-Swedish parents.
Hackenschmidt became a professional wrestler in September 1896, being trained by fellow countryman, the notable wrestler
Georg Lurich. He was the first widely-recognized
World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion after his 1905 win over Tom Jenkins. Hackenschmidt held the title and remained undefeated until his 1908 match with
Frank Gotch at
Chicago's Dexter Park Pavilion, in which he lost after 2 hours and 3 minutes. A rematch on September 4, 1911 at the newly opened
Comiskey Park resulted in another win for Gotch.
Georg Hackenschmidt is widely considered the creator of what is now called the bear hug, a professional wrestling hold which looks like it sounds. The attacker wraps their arms around the torso of the opponent and squeezes the air out of them.
Hackenschmidt was also a pioneer in the field of weight lifting. He invented the exercise known as the hack squat, whose name is a reference to his own, and he helped to popularize many other types of lifts common within the modern training regimen, such as the
bench press. During his career, he held numerous weight lifting records, all of which have since been broken.
Hackenschmidt retired from professional wrestling in 1911 due to recurring injuries, and went on to write several books, including
Fitness and Your Self ,
Consciousness and Character: True Definitions of Entity, Individuality, Personality, Nonentity ,
The Way To Live In Health and Physical Fitness , and
The Three Memories and Forgetfulness: What They Are and What Their True Significance is in Human Life. He died in
London in 1968 at the age of 89.
Profile
Championships
- European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship
Won from Tom Cannon on September 4 1902 in
Liverpool,
EnglandTitle unified with World Heavyweight Championship on May 5 1905 in
New York City, New York,
USADefeated American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins on May 5 1905 in New York City, New York, USA
Hackenschmidt was already recognized as World Champion outside of the United States. This victory gave him undisputed recognition as the World Champion.Lost to
Frank Gotch on April 3 1908 in
Chicago, Illinois, USA
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