lightweight

Found a reference to Peter Gotz in the following of the history of commonwealth wrestling: In 1904 the USA held the Olympic Games in St. Louis and had included wrestling but only Free-style. The problems of distance, expense and the lack of Greco-Roman meant that no European wrestlers travelled to the USA, so the competition was in effect a re-run of the American Championships. The decisive year for Catch-as-catch-can in the drive to establish it as a world sport was1908; three major events took place that year in London, which confirmed the sport’s international status. The Alhambra Tournament which finished on February 1st, the Hengler’s Circus Tournament, which commenced in May 6th and lasted eight weeks and a couple of weeks later the Olympic Games. The National Sporting Club, England’s most influential sporting body, had decided to put some order into the often farcical newspaper claims of ‘world’ or ‘British’ or ‘Empire’ champion by organising a strictly enforced and legitimate professional World Championship in three weight categories. Lord Lonsdale the fifth Earl of Lonsdale (1857/1944) was the President of the National Sporting Club and all the officials in the tournament were amateur; among them was A.H. Sutherland, Chairman of the National Amateur Wrestling Association. The event was to be held annually in the Alhambra Theatre in London and was the most important professional tournament in the drive to establish legitimate international Catch-as-catch-can championships, in the face of European pressure for Greco-Roman only. It was publicised as widely as the technology of the period would permit; Hackenschmidt, Yokio Tani (1881/1950) of Japan, Cherpillod of Switzerland and several other famous stars were invited but declined; basically because defeat would affect their lucrative music hall contracts. As always happens in big tournaments there were some unexpected results, Peter Gotz (1887/1944) of Germany failed to make the weight at lightweight but placed second in the middleweights. Yamato Maida (1874/1944) from Hirosaki City in Japan, the best of the Japanese in Europe, and who was the man most responsible for the world wide spread of Judo was easily beaten by Henry Irslinger of Austria in the first round of the middleweight class. Despite his defeat he entered the heavyweight class and placed 2nd. This was the first legitimate international championship tournament in Catch-as-catch-can; wrestlers from eight countries competed, England, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Japan

i am related to this man, he is my great great grandfarther, from what i have been told he was a very nasty man, he beat his children and every thing else. luckily i dont have any of those tendencies.

I am proud to say Peter Gotz was my Great Grandfather! My father was proud to have him as his Grandfather and my Grandfather, his son, was proud of him as well! It is only the folly of youth and inexperience of life that could lead someone to fail to understand the hardships and psycological damage caused by the hand that life dealt Peter! he was a remarkable man far from home, persecuted for his country of origin, a widower left with 4 small children in the slums of London's East End. He may have been German but in both WW's he tried to serve his country (England!) unfortunately the powers that be would not have it! although a true Brit he was stoned out of a Bakery in the East End in WW1 and a Pub in WW2, makes you wonder why he stayed so loyal? I believe his genes are what make his descendants so resilient! and by God we are!

Peter Gotz was my Great Grandfather I am proud to say so, My father was proud to have him as a Grandfather and my Grandfather, his son, was also proud of him! Only the folly of youth could fail to understand the psycological damage caused by the hard life of being an immigrant in Londons East End at the turn of the 20th century. A widower who's wife Annie died in childbirth, left with 4 young children, persecuted for his country of origin, who tried to serve his country (England) in both WW's and was rejected purely because of his nationality, stoned out of a Bakery in WW1 and Pub in WW2 it is amazing he remained loyal to his adopted country. I truely believe that it is his genes running through our veins that make my family so resilient. We can be knocked down but we WILL NOT stay down! Thanks Peter x

Julia Woodrow, Good morning Julia, I’m currently researching my family tree. Peter Gotz (Junior) who would have been my 1st cousin 2x Removed. I found this thread where you asked if anyone had any information a few years ago. Were you successful? If so, you you be able to share your information with me please on ancestry.co.uk so I can add this branch of the tree? I’ve done quite a bit of research into the fights he was in & added them all to his profile on my tree. I look forward to hearing from you. Best Wishes Jade

More about one of Bostonian D. Deshler's boxing bouts here: query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9900E3D71731E233A...

And more about one of Brooklyn's M. Baldwin's boxing bouts here: query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C00EFD61539E433A...

I like how a hundred years ago they were able to tag their photos with so much information. And you didn't need $1500 worth of computer gear to see it.

Well, these were "news" photos, so the photos were taken by photo journalists who understood the importance of documentation.

Great documentation.

This might be an early photograph of a Joe Rivers who enjoyed some celebrity as an American boxer. www.jamd.com/image/g/3432710

"Mexican" Joe Rivers (1892-1957) was born Jose Ybarra, in Los Angeles, California. Despite his nickname, he was not a Mexican national but a fourth generation Californian. He was a lightweight boxer whose ring career lasted from 1910 to 1923. In 1912, he fought Ad Wolgast for the lightweight title. At the beginning of the thirteenth round, he and Wolgast both landed punches that sent the other down. Wolgast fell on top of Rivers, and referee Jack Welch helped Wolgast to his feet and began the count on Rivers. Welch declared Wolgast the winner by a technical knockout, in one of the most controversial decisions in the history of boxing. A video of the last thirty seconds of the famous "double knockdown" fight can be seen at this web page. Rivers had another shot at the lightweight title the next year when he fought Willie Ritchie, who had taken the title from Wolgast in November, 1912, but Ritchie knocked him out in the eleventh round. Here's the New York Times article about the 1913 Rivers-Ritchie fight. Following his ring career, Joe Rivers played bit parts in a few movies, and was technical adviser on one of them. Here's his IMDb page. Despite having made what was, for the time, a considerable fortune in the ring, Rivers' money eventually began to run out, and late in his life he was living in a windowless room in downtown Los Angeles. That's where L.A. Times reporter Frank Finch interviewed him in 1955, as told in this Times article from 1999, on the 42nd anniversary of Joe Rivers' death. Joe Rivers is buried at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.

I added the above biography to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Joe_Rivers