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3000 BCE
how it started
Egyptian slabs, dating back to perhaps 3000 BC, depict wrestlers using many of the same holds that wrestlers use today. In the Iliad, Homer wrote of a great wrestling match in which Odysseus defeated Ajax for the shield of the slain Achilles. -
Period: 3000 BCE to
wrestling
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wrestling coming to USA
In the United States, the first professional to win national recognition as catch-as-catch-can champion was a heavyweight, Tom Jenkins, of Cleveland, Ohio. He ruled as king of his division from the 1890s until 1908, when he lost to Frank Gotch of Iowa. -
first league
Amateur wrestling has had an honorable and dignified growth since its organization by the AAU in 1888. -
becoming famous
Wrestling was featured in the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. -
getting big
Wrestling teams representing colleges began to arrange matches with one another in about 1900. -
team wrestling
The first formal competition between schools grew out of the Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, formed by Eastern colleges in 1903. -
Era ends
After Gotch retired in 1913, professional wrestling began to lose favor with the public. Many bouts were faked, with the winner picked in advance.