17.03.2010, 15:33
Der Historiker Gerhard Schäfer erstellte ab ca. 1981 eine große Serie mit dem Titel "Wrestling Archives". Die als Kampfrekorde erstellten Listen beinhalten auch Fotos und Zeitungsartikel. Ein Teil der insgesamt 37-teiligen Serie umfasst auch den Wrestler Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Durch seine Kontakte zu Verne Gagne, Karl Gotch und dem Sammler Philip Dedrick, erhielt Schäfer auch Materialien aus den USA. Die meisten amerikanischen Wrestling-Zeitschriften hatte er aus der Sammlung von Gustl Kaiser übernommen. Kaiser abonnierte die Magazine. Nach seinem Tod, am 02. Mai 1989, übergab seine Frau die Sammlung an Kaiser's langjährigen Freund Schäfer.
In einem Zeitungsartikel aus der Archives Reihe von Lewis, fand ich dieses Zitat:
"One day Bob (Ed) saw an advertisement for the book, How to Wrestle, by "Strangler" Evan Lewis. It cost 50 cents, but the description made it worth far more to Bob. He sent the money and waited. The Evan Lewis book was more than Bob had ever dreamed of getting. It had good clear text, but, most important, ist had illustrations - loads of them - picturing all the celebrated grips: the crotch and half-nelson of Tom Jenkins, the leg twist of Farmer Burns, Frank Gotch´s toehold and the favorite grips of all the other stars. "My first real look at that book was behind closed doors," Lewis said. "Mothers are sworn enemies of contact sports, and my beloved ma was no exception. And kid sisters can´t keep secrets, so I smuggled the book to my room and quickly went to work with a special system. I set the book on a homemade wire stand, opened to an illustration and stood before the mirror. My figure was reversed, so I took the position of my opponent. Then I compared the book picture with my reflection and saw how to grab "myself". I did that with each position for basic holds, hour after hour, day after day. Yes, month after month. For living models, I used some of the boys in my father´s tobacco fields. We didn´t wrestle. I just tried out holds and pressures, twining my legs for grapevines, measuring leverage and slipping wristlocks on moving arms. The book never left me. It was among my school books and in every order of groceries I delivered, though I never left it at a house. During my second summer at the store, I got a 50-cent raise to three dollars a week, four dollars in the third summer, and five a week in the fifth. In 30 or 40 years, I could have owned that grocery store."
In einem Zeitungsartikel aus der Archives Reihe von Lewis, fand ich dieses Zitat:
"One day Bob (Ed) saw an advertisement for the book, How to Wrestle, by "Strangler" Evan Lewis. It cost 50 cents, but the description made it worth far more to Bob. He sent the money and waited. The Evan Lewis book was more than Bob had ever dreamed of getting. It had good clear text, but, most important, ist had illustrations - loads of them - picturing all the celebrated grips: the crotch and half-nelson of Tom Jenkins, the leg twist of Farmer Burns, Frank Gotch´s toehold and the favorite grips of all the other stars. "My first real look at that book was behind closed doors," Lewis said. "Mothers are sworn enemies of contact sports, and my beloved ma was no exception. And kid sisters can´t keep secrets, so I smuggled the book to my room and quickly went to work with a special system. I set the book on a homemade wire stand, opened to an illustration and stood before the mirror. My figure was reversed, so I took the position of my opponent. Then I compared the book picture with my reflection and saw how to grab "myself". I did that with each position for basic holds, hour after hour, day after day. Yes, month after month. For living models, I used some of the boys in my father´s tobacco fields. We didn´t wrestle. I just tried out holds and pressures, twining my legs for grapevines, measuring leverage and slipping wristlocks on moving arms. The book never left me. It was among my school books and in every order of groceries I delivered, though I never left it at a house. During my second summer at the store, I got a 50-cent raise to three dollars a week, four dollars in the third summer, and five a week in the fifth. In 30 or 40 years, I could have owned that grocery store."