Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt (July 20, 1878 in Tartu, Estonia, Russian Empire - February 19, 1968 in London, England) was an early 20th-century strongman and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Russian Lion", Hackenschmidt was actually an Estonian.
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 (1937), Consciousness and Character: True Definitions of Entity, Individuality, Personality, Nonentity (1937), The Way To Live In Health and Physical Fitness (1941), 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 and was cremated at West Norwood Cemetery, where his memorial plaque records him as George Hackenschmidt.
[edit] Profile
Weight: 104 kg (230 lb)
Height: 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
From: Dorpat, Estonia
Born: 20 July 1878
Died: 19 February 1968
Debut: September 1896
Trained by: Georg Lurich
Finishing move: Modified Bearhug
Nicknames: The Russian Lion
[edit] Championships
Hackenschmidt won the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship from Tom Cannon on September 4, 1902 in Liverpool, England. This title gave Hackenschmidt a legitimate claim as the World Champion of professional wrestling, a title that was cemented when Hackenschmidt defeated American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins on May 5, 1905 in New York City, New York, USA to become the first undisputedly recognised World Heavyweight Championship. Hackenschmidt would lose the World Title to Frank Gotch on April 3, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
[edit] External links
http://www.sandowmuseum.com/page28.html http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Hackenschmidt/hack-biog.htm University of Texas Private Papers of Georg Hackenschmidt
The Legends of Wrestling card game which George Hackenschmidt is a part of
