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Famed wrestler began journey locally

Posted: Feb 21st 2016 By: Beth Dippel

In the years following the Civil War, folk wrestling traditions in the U.S. morphed into what became the spectacle of pro wrestling.

As the country recovered from four years of carnage and depression, wrestling created cheap entertainment at carnivals. College wrestlers looking for fast money challenged gullible spectators to ?just stay in the ring.?

By the turn of the 20th century, wrestling had grown to rival boxing and baseball in popularity. The Midwest was the epicenter of the sport. Ethnic groups - German, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Greek and Scandinavian - had long and deep connections to the sport of grappling.

Even with the devotion of its fans, a dramatic decline in popularity occurred from 1915-1920, caused by widespread doubt of wrestling?s legitimacy and its status as a competitive sport. Lack of new and exciting blood also caused a drop in enthusiasm.

Just when it seemed bleakest, new blood arrived to save the sport in the characters of Billy Sandow, Toots Mondt and our very own, Ed Lewis. These three went on to be called the Goldust Trio. They created a future for the sport.

The man we know as Ed ?The Strangler? Lewis was born Robert Friedrich in Nekoosa in 1890 as a robust 15-pound baby. He frequently joked that the doctor who delivered him was afraid to administer a smack to his behind, fearing the baby might strike back.

Lewis was two when the family moved to Sheboygan Falls. They lived west of town on old Highway 23 on what was once the Denison farm, now the River Oaks subdivision. By 13, he was a hefty 190 pounds.

At 14 he turned pro and changed his name to Ed Lewis so as not to worry his mother, yet locally he always remained Bobby Friedrich. At 16 - when fighting in Chicago - two sportswriters referred to him as ?The Strangler? for his trademark headlock hold. The name stuck for the remainder of his life.

In 1910, Lewis entered the University of Kentucky where he lettered in five sports, including wrestling.

Newspapers reported in 1913 Lewis wrestled at the old Woodman opera house in Sheboygan Falls. He also stopped to visit relatives in the area. The Fredericks were relatives of the Hering and Blust families, of Sheboygan Falls.
Robert Friedrich as a young man, already the picture

A remarkable 1916 match between Lewis and Joe Stecher was held at the Omaha, Nebraska, fairground. Lasting five hours, it finally finished in front of the headlamps of cars - 18,000 spectators witnessed the marathon event that was declared a draw.

In April 1919, Strangler won an exhibition match held at the Opera House in Sheboygan.

Lewis was a barrel-chested man whose neck was larger than the circumference of most men?s thighs. He ruled the heavyweight division from 1920-1932, when he was finally defeated by Dartmouth football player Gus Sonnenburg. He rose to fame at the same time as other greats Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones and Red Grange, a time known as the Golden Age of Sport.

Lewis once quipped, ?I always liked to wrestle, even as a kid. I was always coming home with my clothes torn. Even the farmers took me on when I was 13.?

He became devoutly religious when he temporarily lost his eyesight due to trachoma during the height of his career - his type of trachoma was caused by dust kicked up from the very mats used to soften blows and falls for wrestlers. While recovering a friend read the Bible to the big man and he never failed to credit the return of his vision to divine intervention.

A child once asked Lewis if he ever wrestled Jesus. ?No?, remarked Lewis, ?but I have been wrestling on his team for years.?

Wrestling into the 1940s, he was past 50 when he retired. Lewis was elected to the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame in 1951. Earning more than $3 million during a career that spanned more than 44 years, he appeared in 6,200 matches and lost only 33.
Two-year old Robert Friedrich with his father, a Nekoosa

Two-year old Robert Friedrich with his father, a Nekoosa police chief. (Photo: Courtesy of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center)

Charlie Broughton, editor of the Sheboygan Press, once wrote, ?One noticeable change in modern wrestling is the adding of a few more contortion numbers complete with biting and hair pulling. ... A typical night at Eagles Auditorium had 600 some frenzied fans that went wild as the two main gladiators performed in the arena. ... Not all wrestling was in the ring. Men and women stood up and became part of a mass of struggling humanity. They yelled and surged forward. Fans love wrestling in Sheboygan because they can be a part of the show. ... Each week when the show ended, the crowd was loathe to depart. They always wanted more. ... Wrestling is brute strength and science - science in footwork, acrobatic stunts and overhead action in slamming the opponent to the mat. The more action the more excitement and the more excitement the greater the interest on the part of the fans. Each week when the new match starts the fans drop everything but their chewing gum.?

In 1966, at the age of 76, Lewis died at a VA hospital in Oklahoma. His showmanship and athletic ability helped resurrect a dying sport.

Bobby Friedrich - turned Ed ?The Strangler? Lewis - will always be a high point in the sport for Sheboygan County.