16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln once pinned a rival gang leader with his IMPRESSIVE wrestling skills
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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps best known as the 16th President of the United States or the person who broke the shackles of slavery throughout the USA. But what history books have never taught us about his wrestling prowess?
It’s true that wrestling in the 1800s was largely an exhibition of strength and wasn’t very organized. Young Lincoln began wrestling when the shopkeeper of the store where he worked began to advertise his skills to draw customers to his establishment. His biggest fight was perhaps against Jack Armstrong, the local champion of New Salem and leader of a local gang. As the locals looked on, Armstrong and Lincoln locked their horns. However, after a few minutes, Armstrong started using dirty tricks since as no one of the two could get the upper hand. Infuriated by this Lincoln lifted Armstrong by one hand and slammed him to knock him out.
Armstrong’s boys began to round up Lincoln to beat him after Lincoln had won, but Armstrong stopped them. Armstrong accepted the loss and declared Lincoln the new local champion. Armstrong and Lincoln ended up becoming friends for life after the incident. It is believed Lincoln fought over 300 fights and lost just once in his 12 years of wrestling career.
When Abraham Lincoln threw a man 12 feet up in the air
Because of his lengthy reach, Abe had a distinctive wrestling style. He was 6’4″ tall, therefore he had a significant height advantage over his opponents. Even when he began to run for politics, Lincoln’s strength and skills didn’t deteriorate.
During a speech at Pappsville, Lincoln witnessed a friend going to be assaulted. A brawl broke out in the audience. Lincoln reportedly jumped off the platform. He then went to seize the man and hurled him 12 feet before returning to the podium and continuing to address the Public. Lincoln had a great wrestling career that reputation helped him during the presidential campaign. Many of his wrestling admirers turned into his most ardent supporters.
His significance is still felt in the modern wrestling community, since Lincoln, Nebraska was given that name after him to honor him after his assassination. Abraham Lincoln was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992 as an outstanding wrestler because he merits recognition as one of the greatest wrestlers the world has ever seen. However, Abraham Lincoln was not the only president to have a wrestling background. Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Johnson, and William Howard Taft were the few other residents to have a history with the sport of wrestling.
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)