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Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - 1837

The following is taken from Author and Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Historian Karl Stern’s book DragonKingKarl’s Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus.

1837

01-28-1837: Donald Walker publishes a book called British Manly Exercises in the United States which contains various wrestling references and exercises.

Wrestling, in many diverse styles, is very popular in Europe and, especially, in England. Those styles would eventually make their way to the United States by way of immigration and be taught to others in the Civil War camps, as well as variations on those styles which would ultimately become the mixed Catch-as-Catch-Can style of wrestling.

DragonKingKarl Note: Catch-as-Catch-Can wrestling (in the modern era simply called Catch wrestling) is a hybrid wrestling style. It was popularized by wrestlers of the pioneer era who developed their own submission holds, (or hooks as was often called), into their wrestling. Catch is an amalgamation of various different styles of wrestling with elements of Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, Devonshire, Cornish, and Collar-and-Elbow wrestling. Generally speaking, Catch-as-Catch-Can wrestling was a more dangerous style of wrestling than the other popular styles of the era yet it also branched off into the performance style of modern entertainment professional wrestling.

It appears that the origin of the name and genesis of the idea of Catch-as-Catch-Can wrestling was in 1871 when John Graham Chambers, editor of Land and Water, introduced a new system of wrestling at Little Bridge Grounds, West Brompton, London, England which he called, "the catch-as-catch-can style; first down to lose". However, the new style originally met with little support.

02-28-1837: The famous Native American, Oseola, from Florida is written about in widely distributed news wires around the United States. Among his many achievements it is said that he is an exceptional wrestler. Oseola is about thirty years old at this point and would die in about a year. At the time of his death, newspapers called him the “Indian Wrestling Champion''.

03-08-1837: Several letters are sent to the editors in the New Orleans, LA newspapers complaining about wrestling matches. These seem to be mostly among racial lines with whites in the city writing to complain about blacks wrestling and gambling for money and demanding that police do something about it.

05-25-1837: Witness this article from the Baltimore Sun: “A disgraceful scene took place at Harvestraw on Sunday afternoon. All the loafers of the mountains after a drunken riot at the tavern were assembled to witness a wrestling match between Thomas McElroy, an infamous vagabond who insults females in the street and William Henry. The match was so loud apparently it interrupted a nearby church service and McElroy began shouting loudly at any passing females. After a complaint on Monday, the duo was fined. No word on the winner.”

06-05-1837: The Ravel Family in New York City, NY - at the Bowery Theatre put on a production featuring wrestling, postering, attitudinizing feats, tricks, dancing and more.

07-10-1837: Donald Dinnie was born in Dirse, Scotland. Dinnie was often billed as the greatest athlete of the Nineteenth century and as “World Champion Wrestler”.

DragonKingKarl Note: Donald Dinnie was a celebrity during his life with his fame spanning numerous countries. Besides being billed as "World Champion Wrestler", and "The Strong Man of the Age", he was so famous that large artillery shells in World War I were nicknamed 'Donald Dinnies'. Among his achievements were supposedly: 2,000 hammer throwing contests, over 2,000 wrestling matches, 200 weightlifting contests, and about 500 running and hurdle events. Dinnie had a significant wrestling career in both the United States and Australia.

09-20-1837: The New York Evening Post states that a coroner's inquest ruled a death accidental in the case of Edward J. Kearns (other newspapers named him Edward J. Kearness) who hit a flower barrel after being thrown in a wrestling match and died.