The 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time by Larry Matysik

Author:Larry Matysik
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2012-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Special Collections of the University Libraries of Notre Dame

#30 JOE STECHER

Thesz called Stecher "a wrestling god"

Probably the most difficult opponent Joe Stecher faced was himself. The inner demons seem to have spelled an end to a most impressive career, while his reserved nature kept Stecher from being accepted in a bigger-than-life category with outgoing, colorful personalities like “Strangler” Lewis and Frank Gotch.

Yet denying Stecher’s wrestling ability is impossible. That ability alone, along with some famous bouts, puts Stecher among the 50 greatest pro wrestlers in history. Some who have researched the time period felt that Stecher struggled to keep the sport as legitimate as possible, while accepting that the industry was changing to more of a performance style.

To whom would he compare in later times? Maybe someone like Karl Gotch in the 1960s, or Billy Robinson in the 1970s. Robinson and Gotch were both workers, and each had a cantankerous streak about being shooters (they were both seriously skilled) but lacked some visible personality elements that would have made them stronger characters. Thus, neither made the cut to be included in the fabulous 50. Perhaps Stecher was a more skilled Wilbur Snyder, who also lacked that bombastic personality that draws attention.

Understanding that Stecher was dealing with wrestling culture in the 1910s and 1920s, and also noting that he was involved in some truly historic confrontations, Joe Stecher logically belongs with the greatest of all time. With or without title recognition, Stecher also was a consistent box-office draw in many different geographical areas.

So what if he lacked a little in what today are called “mic skills”?

After Frank Gotch retired while still in control of the championship, the wrestling business fell into a recession of sorts as promoters eagerly sought “the next Gotch.” A sensation even as a teenager, when he reputedly took the measure of a hooker sent by Farmer Burns to “put the kid in his place,” Stecher had all the athletic tools necessary to fill the bill. At the tender age of 22, he jumped into national fame by winning the world championship from Charlie Cutler on July 5, 1915, in Omaha, which was a leading wrestling metropolis. Gotch was actually in attendance at the crowning and gave his blessing to the new titleholder.

Stecher introduced the leg scissors to professional wrestling, as the naturally strong farm boy had powerful legs. Stecher often won by squeezing either the head or midsection of an opponent. He had mastered many of the basics of shooting too. Stecher often trained by using the leg scissors to squeeze 100-pound sacks of grain until they burst open.

About 60 years later Kevin Von Erich started doing the same trick to demonstrate the power in his legs as he became a major star, along with his brother David. Of course, Kevin mainly used the Iron Claw his father Fritz had invented, but the sack-crushing gimmick got Kevin some good attention early in his run — decades after Joe Stecher debuted the idea.

What’s more, Sam Muchnick was the person who gave the idea to Fritz to pass on to Kevin.

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