Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1917-12-17

local cemetery.
Today Humboldt and the sur
! rounding district is in mourning
over the loss OF the man who has
! made the little town known over
| the United States and Europe.
The flag flying over the big con-
| solidated school is at half-mast
On Wednesday all business will be
suspended in memory of Gotch.
Humboldt, Ia, Dec. 17.-Frank A.
Gotch, retired champion heavyweight
wrestler of the world, died at his home
here Sunday at noon.
Death was caused after a lingering
illness of several weeks of uremic
poisoning, and was not unexpected, as
relatives and intimate friends of the
great athlete had known for more
than month that Gotch could not live
and that he might be taken at any
| time.
Gotch was Al years old. The record
books, detailing the events of his life
give his age as 80 years but these are
inaccurate. He was born on April e.,
1876, on a farm three miles south Of
Humboldt.
He is survived by his widow, A.
year-old son, Robert Gotch; brother,
Fred Gotch; sister, Mrs. Charlie
Kurth of Humboldt, and his mother,
Mrs. Amelia Gotch, also resident of
this town.
His wife and son were at his bed
side when death came. 1t is said that
the famous athlete was conscious al
most up to the time of his death,
despite the rumors that have been in
circulation during the past two months
that he was irrational part Of the
time.
Fights Hard for His Health.
The first intimation that his health
was not as good as it should be came
to him in the summer of 1916 when he
was making tour of the country with
we'll known circus as test to see
whether he should sign articles for a
match with Joe Stecher of Dodge, Neb.,
who had won the title from Charlie
Cutler of Chicago. Gotch had declar-
ed Cutler the American champion up
on his retirement.
Gotch had been with the circus,
wrestling with Bob Managoff, Earl
Caddock and others only short time,
when he was compelled to return to
his home because OF stomach trouble.
He never regained his health fully, al
though he later rejoined the circus,
being compelled to leave it again when
he injured his ankle.
Travels for His Health.
The discoveries the champion made
regarding his condition that summer
caused him to abandon all plans of a
match with Stecher, and the follow
ing spring Earl Caddock won the title
from the Nebraskan at Omaha, when
he was substituted at Gotch's behest
for the Humboldt man.
Makes Fortune Wrestling.
Gotch built up a fortune in wrestling
and by investing his earnings in Iowa
farm lands. His estate is variously
estimated at between 100000 and
100000, all of which represents |
money made through his ability as a
grappler.
No wrestler, in the opinion of the |
best experts, ever equaled Gotch. The
latter had stated many times that he
considered Earl Caddock, the present
champion, the best man he had seen |
during his wrestling career and he
took a great interest in the young
Iowan's work, being his chief adviser
when he won the title from Stecher in
Omaha last spring. He often stated
that if Caddock weighed fifteen pounds
more no wrestler-not even himself
would be able to throw him.
Wins American Title in 1904.
Gotch won the American champion
ship Jan q, 1904, from Tom Jenkins
after one of the toughest matches ever
seen in this country. The bout. was
staged at Bellingham, Wash. Gotch
won the first fall and was awarded the
second after jenkins had fouled him
by applying the strange
lold and by striking him.
Four years later the Humboldt man
won the undisputed wrestling cham
of the world by defeating
George Hackenschmidt, ''the Russian
lion." at the Dexter Park pavilion,