02.06.2004, 13:30
Wednesday, February 17, 1960
The Sheboygan Press
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Strangler Lewis Was Best of Mat Mashers, Former World’s Champion States
By Oscar Fraley
New York (UPI) – Rassling has grown to gigantic proportions under the omnipotent eye of the TV camera but only a handful of the moderns match the mat masters of the past.
That’s the word from Ed Don George. And don’t think this is an old guy living in the past.
Sure, Ed has bloomed to an overly robust 270 pounds, yet at 54 his black hair is full and bushy and his face – and ears – bear no telltale marks of the beef and cauliflower trade he practiced so long and successfully.
For Ed Don, who went all the way to the Olympic wrestling finals 32 years ago – and was one of those few undisputed world professional champions we know no more – still gives the accolade to such as Antonino Rocca.
Say Strangler Best
“He could go in any league, any time,” says George, “But he’s one of the few around today who could.”
Who was the greatest of them all?
“Well, I’d have to take Strangler Lewis,” Ed pondered. “He had size at 260 pounds; he had endurance and he had knowledge of the game. Jim Londos was the most clever of them all, but overall I’d take the Strangler against any of them.”
Modest prevents the big quiet man from including himself, but Ed Don was one of the great ones, too. He came out of Michigan as a civil engineer and tried his hand at it for six months. That was enough. George turned professional wrestler early in 1930 and before the end of the year was out had won the undisputed world heavyweight title from Gus Sonnenberg.
One-Time Promoter
In 13 years he piled up the bodies and the scratch which permits him to be happily retired today. Then came Pearl Harbor and one month later he was in the Navy, from which in 1946, he emerged as a commander.
Since then, Ed Don has been a promoter twice – and twice retired. His last venture, in Cuba, was knocked out by Fidel Castro’s revolution.
“Maybe I’ll be back again sometime,” he laughs. “But right now, I’m happy being retired. The last time, though, I got sick of watching those Pacific sunsets and finally went back into action out of sheer boredom.”
The Sheboygan Press
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Strangler Lewis Was Best of Mat Mashers, Former World’s Champion States
By Oscar Fraley
New York (UPI) – Rassling has grown to gigantic proportions under the omnipotent eye of the TV camera but only a handful of the moderns match the mat masters of the past.
That’s the word from Ed Don George. And don’t think this is an old guy living in the past.
Sure, Ed has bloomed to an overly robust 270 pounds, yet at 54 his black hair is full and bushy and his face – and ears – bear no telltale marks of the beef and cauliflower trade he practiced so long and successfully.
For Ed Don, who went all the way to the Olympic wrestling finals 32 years ago – and was one of those few undisputed world professional champions we know no more – still gives the accolade to such as Antonino Rocca.
Say Strangler Best
“He could go in any league, any time,” says George, “But he’s one of the few around today who could.”
Who was the greatest of them all?
“Well, I’d have to take Strangler Lewis,” Ed pondered. “He had size at 260 pounds; he had endurance and he had knowledge of the game. Jim Londos was the most clever of them all, but overall I’d take the Strangler against any of them.”
Modest prevents the big quiet man from including himself, but Ed Don was one of the great ones, too. He came out of Michigan as a civil engineer and tried his hand at it for six months. That was enough. George turned professional wrestler early in 1930 and before the end of the year was out had won the undisputed world heavyweight title from Gus Sonnenberg.
One-Time Promoter
In 13 years he piled up the bodies and the scratch which permits him to be happily retired today. Then came Pearl Harbor and one month later he was in the Navy, from which in 1946, he emerged as a commander.
Since then, Ed Don has been a promoter twice – and twice retired. His last venture, in Cuba, was knocked out by Fidel Castro’s revolution.
“Maybe I’ll be back again sometime,” he laughs. “But right now, I’m happy being retired. The last time, though, I got sick of watching those Pacific sunsets and finally went back into action out of sheer boredom.”