Our American Stories: Abe Lincoln, the Wrestler

Wednesday, June 17th, 2020 | Books, Radio, Wrestling | No Comments

At just 22 years of age, Abraham Lincoln wrestled Jack Armstrong, older and considered the toughest man in the area. Many biographers of Lincoln have felt it was a turning point in the life of the man destined to become one of the greatest figures in history.

On the nationally-syndicated radio talk show “Our American Stories” (which has an estimated 2.5 million listeners each day), Mike spent 20 minutes discussing the match in 1831 between Lincoln and Armstrong, in the tiny frontier village of New Salem, Illinois.

Listen to the interview here: http://www.ouramericannetwork.org/story?title=The-Turning-Point-in-Abe-s-Life-A-Wrestling-Match

For more about this historic event, you can purchase the booklet “The Sport of Lincoln” which was written by Mike in 2003. It contains lots of artwork about the match. The booklet is $5 plus $4 for S&H.

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Jack Armstrong, New Salem, Wrestling

Iowa Hall of Pride – Iowa High School Wrestling Tournament Kick-Off

Tuesday, January 29th, 2019 | Wrestling | No Comments

From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.on Thursday, Feb. 14,  the Iowa Hall of Pride will be hosting Chris Cakes of Iowa to kick off the Iowa High School State Wrestling tournament. Wrestling historian/author Mike Chapman, Wartburg wrestling Coach Jim Miller, and IAwrestle will all be present to talk with fans and parents. 

The event is sponsored by Perficut, E.P. True Chiropractic, and IAwrestle.  Admission will be $5.00 per person, which will get fans all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, orange drink/coffee, and all-day admission into the Iowa Hall of Pride! 

The Iowa Hall of Pride is located on the Southeast corner of the Iowa Event Center on the lower level, right next to where wrestlers will be weighing in. Join us to “pin a pancake” and kickoff the 2019 Iowa State Wrestling Championships at the Iowa Hall of Pride! Event: “State Cakes” at the Iowa Hall of Pride

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019

Time: 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Location: Iowa Hall of Pride
330 Park Street
Des Moines, IA 50309

Tags: Chris Cakes, Iowa Hall of Pride, Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament

Midlands Hall of Fame Inductions

Tuesday, January 29th, 2019 | Awards, Wrestling | No Comments

On Dec. 30, Mike was inducted into the Midlands Wrestling Hall of Fame at the championships held at Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Standing with Mike and presenting the award are Dan Gable, Tim Cysewski (former Northwestern coach and the Midlands director the past 14 years) and Mike Allen (the nation’s top-ranked wrestling official). Gable and both Mikes are from Waterloo. After the meet, Mike also presented the Tournament of Champions Award to Northwestern’s Sebastian Rivera.

Curran “The Giant Slayer” Jacobs

Friday, August 17th, 2018 | Columns, Wrestling | No Comments

They are now calling him “the Giant Slayer”.

It is the result of a stunning performance on July 14, in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. The event was the Snake Pit USA World Catch Wrestling Championship and it featured a packed 8-man bracket, with some of the toughest combat-style wrestlers in America, all with long resumes.

Catch derives from the old catch-as-catch-can style that was popular in Europe and America in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

And the winner was a former Michigan State Spartan named Curran Jacobs, who earned the world championship belt by overcoming three very tough, much larger wrestlers who came with the expressed intent of defeating Jacobs.

What this young warrior accomplished was amazing. He entered weighing 193 pounds; by far the lightest wrestler in the competition.  Matches consisted of five minute rounds, with a one minute break in between. Chokes and submission holds are permissible in the Snake Pit version of catch wrestling. Curran is part of an organization called the Catch Wrestling Alliance, and the CWA does not allow chokes.

That conflict led to considerable tension between the two groups leading up to the event, with social media going wild. Supporters on each side wanted desperately to see their champion triumph.

› Continue reading