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St. Louis Star-Chronicle - December 9, 1932 Reprinted in The WAWLI Papers, Volume 1, Number 74
Little John Pesek is the "Tiger Man" of wrestling. This uncrowned heavyweight champion of the world, as he is known to wrestlers and sports writers, has actually forgotten more about the science of the mat than many of the top-notchers of today will learn in the next ten years. He admits -- as has been charged -- that he is the former "policeman" for Ed (Strangler) Lewis and used to toss with ease the men "The Strangler" did not care to meet. He did such a thorough job as the Lewis "cop" that today Lewis, Jim Londos and other topnotchers have persistently refused to wrestle him. Pesek is not interested in money, for, in addition to his big farm at Ravenna, Neb., his farm equipment and his table of racing greyhounds (one of the finest in the world), he has a fortune of more than $300,000. But he is demanding an opportunity to win the title before he retires to his farm, his gymnasium and his dogs and he is bitter because Lewis, Londos and other challengers have refused to compete with him, and because they forced him to go to far away Australia to find first-class opponents. The "Tiger Man," a gentle, mild-mannered fellow, said to this writer: "I won the title fairly and squarely in 1926, but was robbed of it. I am the best wrestler in the world today and I do not boast. It's a fact. I can give wrestling lessons to most of the top-notchers and can toss any of the football tacklers, the butters and roughhouse specialists, in an hour or so without extending myself. St. Louis fans may recall how I toyed with George Zaharias, and made a monkey of him, before I pinned him." "Because I know I am a better man than Londos, Lewis, Ray Steele and the other leading contenders, I want to win the undisputed championship before I retire. I am not interested in the financial aspect of it; I have all the money I need for myself, my wife and three children. It is my reputation as an athlete, and my reputation only, in which I am interested." "For years I was the policeman for Lewis. That is a fact, and I'll tell you about it in a minute. Lewis, at his peak, probably was just a little bit better than I was, but only because of his great weight. He defeated me in the days when I was his 'cop' and defeated me honestly. He never was, and is not now, a great 'pinner,' but he can wear a man out with his eight and his strength. Since I broke with him I have been poison not only to Lewis, but to Londos. They have no appetite for getting in the same ring with me." It was an Omaha sports writer who first called Pesek "Tiger Man." It was a perfect characterization, for Pesek has the grace of movement, the cunning, the spring, the lithe muscles and the flexibility of the jungle beast. Few men who have battled Pesek have "ever seen his back" which means that "Little John" is always in back of or on top of his opponents. He is an offensive wrestler, and if his weight had half equalled his courage and ability he would have been world's champion many years ago. No athlete in the game today is half as quick, catlike, or fast on his feet as Pesek and he is, first and last, a finished, polished workman; his science is beautiful. There is no hold with which he is unfamiliar; no leverage of the ancients or moderns at which he is not adept. He is the great artist of his business. Pesek, while admitting the showmanship value of men like McMillen, Zaharias and Daviscourt, says he would stake a large sum that he could toss them as fast as they could climb through the ropes and enter the ring. There is but one thing of which Pesek is prouder than his ability to wrestle, and that is Jackie, his 9-year-old son. Pesek will talk about Jackie as long as there is a listener; he will tell of the boy's prowess with a shotgun and relate how Jackie, in competition in California with men, broke twenty-three birds out of a possible twenty-five at 16 yards and won a cup. Pesek likes to spin yarns concerning the difficult, but successful shots Jackie has made against pheasants, wolves, coyotes and big jackrabbits; he will yarn about his two little daughters (Elizabeth and Virginia), and the mere sight of a dog starts him off on dog stories. He owns a great stable of greyhounds, breeds, sells and races them, owns some of the finest imported racers in the world, and has won more than $50,000 in purses with his dogs. If he likes you he will insist upon giving you a dog, even though you have no use for a racing greyhound. "But they are great pets, too," he will insist. "You can teach them tricks, and make lap dogs out of them if you like." He tells how the dread distempter swept through his kennels but recently and took a tool of forty-two fine puppies. If you are interested in the great outdoors Pesek will spin yarns about catching timber wolves and taming them; of breeding wolves; of a black wolf that loved him, followed him everywhere, even on the streets of St. Louis, and finally ran away in Chicago and disappeared. If he could write stories he could make a small fortune narrating his experiences with rod and gun. Born of Bohemian partents on a ranch near Ravenna, Neb., Pesek spent his boyhood on his father's farm, quit school in the eighth grade, started out as a boxer and quit to take up wrestling. He trains in his gymnasium on his Ravenna farm, which gym is reputed to be one of the finest in the country, and is without an ounce of surplus fat, his weight being 185 pounds. He has the waistline of a boy of 16. His eyes are blue and he is mild-mannered. "It would take a book to describe all my experiences as a wrestler, so I am going to confine myself to the highlights," said Pesek. "I have had some 3,000 matches and lost only a few. Lewis beat men, Joe Stecher beat me, Londos defeated me and Paul Jones won a decision over me. I never won over Lewis, but have beaten Londos, Stecher and Jones. In my opinion the greatest youngsters in the business today is Everett Marshall. I believe he is the coming champion. He is a great wrestler and unusually fast for a big man. I beat him, but had a tough time doing it. Watch Marshall." "My first big match was in 1914 against Wladek Zbyszko at Gordon, Neb. I weighed only 175 pounds, but had been beating a lot of heavies and a rancher at Gordon put up a purse of $10,000 for Zibby to meet me. I beat him in two hours and five minutes and was paid $2,500 for my end. The rancher thought I was good and bet and won thousands of dollars on me. I met and defeated a number of good men and set out on the trail of my neighbor, Joe Stecher, the champion, who resided at Dodge, Neb., only 80 miles away." "Stecher refused to meet me, and I continued winning every bout in which I engaged until Lewis beat me. After that I became the 'policeman' for Lewis. Every time a challenger demanded a match with Lewis the champion, if he thought the challenger had a chance against him, he would say, 'Go out and get a reputation. Beat John Pesek.' Then I would be matched with the challenger and, with regularity, beat all contenders." "The first man who really scared Lewis was Moss Latinen, a gigantic Finn, and a great wrestler. Latinen virtually chased Lewis out of New York. My manager was Max Bauman, brother of Billy Sandow, the manager of Lewis. Sandow told his brother I had to beat Latinen. I did. Then there was Nat Pendleton, who is now doing well in motion pictures. Lewis left Boston rather than meet him. I was matched against Pendleton and beat him. Next was Marin Plestina. Bernard MacFadden, the publisher, put up $10,000, saying Plestina could beat Lewis. MacFadden made life miserable for Lewis and I was called into action. Lewis told the world, 'If Plestina can beat Pesek I'll wrestle him.' I met Plestina, who weighed 232 pounds, whereas I tipped the scales at 184. I wrestled him for forty minutes, during which time he never saw my back, and I made him jump out of the ring and won the match." "Charlie Hanson was another who tormented Lewis. I tossed Hanson twice in forty-two minutes in Omaha. I figured I had been the Lewis 'cop' long enough and finally demanded a match with the champion, who refused to meet me. In the meantime, Stecher won the championship. I had been chasing him for years and it was Tom Packs of St. Louis who finally promoted my chance with Stecher. We wrestled in St. Louis in January, 1926, and I won the first fall in three hours and five minutes and would have won from Stecher that night save for one thing: I dived at his legs, went through the ropes, hit the concrete and was unconscious for five hours." "I met Stecher again in Los Angeles in the summer of 1926. He was the champion and had been matched to meet Lewis for a $20,000 side bet. Lewis ran out of that match and I was elected to take his place. There were 17,000 spectators at the arena, and I knew that 17,000 persons would see a new champion. I won the first fall and we returned to the mat. I went after him and pinned him again, but the referee failed to recognize the fall. I pinned him again -- and again. Then I said to myself, 'the only way you can win is to make Stecher quit.' As we rolled over on the mat I said: 'Listen, Joe, I'm going to bust your arm.' Then I tried for an arm lock and finally obtained it -- a bone-breaking hold. I put it on good. Stecher writhed in agony. I added pressure and said: 'Joe, you give up for I'll break your damned arm.' Stecher gave up. The referee held up my hand. I was the new world's champion -- but the next day the referee said I strangled Stecher, and reversed his decision." "Since 1927, Lewis, Londos and the other top-notchers have avoided me as though I had smallpox. I could not get a good match in America, and went to Australia, where I won forty-seven bouts in a row, and never lost one. I love to wrestle, but do not care to meet the little preliminary boys because I have plenty of money and can get exercise in my own gymnasium. What I want is a chance at Lewis or Londos." |
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