Pioneers of Professional Wrestling: 1860–1899 is a wrestling anthropology focused on wrestlers of the northern east coast area of the United States.
Content[]
The opening chapter focuses on the distinctions between the various 19th century wrestling styles (Greco-Roman, Catch-as-Catch-can, and Collar-and-Elbow among other more minor regional styles. Author Tim Corvin describes the evolution of professional wrestling popularity.
The book then has several chapters detailing what is known about the careers of late 19th century wrestlers. The wrestlers covered include:
- Colonel James H. McLaughlin
- John McMahon
- Donald Dinnie
- Professor William Miller
- Edwin Bibby
- Theobaud Bauer
- Henry Moses Dufur
- James Owens
- Andre Christol
- Clarence Whistler
- Captain James C. Daly
- Duncan C. Ross
- Jack Carkeep
- Karl Abs
- Joe Acton
- Martin "Farmer" Burns
- William Muldoon
- Tom Connors
- Evan "Strangler" Lewis
- Sorakichi Matsuda
- George Mehling
- Tom Cannon
- Ernest Roeber
- Yusuf Ismail
- Bernarr Macfadden
- Tom Jenkins
- Fred Beell
- Daniel McLeod
The book also features many early trading cards and a pieced together history of early championships. It also features a list of wrestling-related news from newspapers from 1860 to 1899.