masked marvel to the rescue: the gimmick that saved the 1915 new york wrestling tournament

The Gimmick That Saved the 1915 International Wrestling Tournament

When Frank Gotch retired as World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in 1913, it left a void that many promoters tried to fill with their hand-picked successors. One of the more interesting attempts was Samuel Rachmann staging the 1915 New York International Wrestling Tournament.

Rachmann’s Spring Tournament was a big success but attendance fell off badly in the Fall Tournament. Rachmann was forced to employ a gimmick to save his tournament. The gimmick was a huge success but was it worth it, if it hurt his contender and exposed professional wrestling at the same time.

The First Known Masked Wrestler in the United States