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'Stanislaus Zbyszko' (Polish: Stanisław Jan Cyganiewicz) (born April 1, 1879 - died September 23, 1967) was a professional wrestler popular in the United States during the 1920s. He was one of the most influential European grapplers of all-time, he was also among the sport’s great pioneer champions. The surname Zbyszko was only a nickname, which was given him by friends due to his bravery when he was a child - it was the name of a legendary medieval Polish knight. He was the brother of Wladek Zbyszko.

Contents

Early life

Wrestling career

Championship Controversy

Retirement

Championships and accomplishments

Trivia

Early life

Stanislaus Cyganiewicz was born on April 1, 1879 in Krakow, Poland. A noted intellectual, he studied music, philosophy, and law while growing up in Vienna, Austria. He also possessed gifted strength; and he joined the renowned Vindobona Athletic Club while in college, where he gradually developed an imposing physique. In addition, he also practiced the Sokol (“Falcon”) method of Bohemian gymnastics, which centered on the physical, mental, and cultural advancement of the nation’s citizens while instilling discipline and a love of country. Around the turn-of-the-century, Cyganiewicz first encountered the wrestling industry when he used his great power to successfully defeat an experienced grappler at a local circus in Poland. Standing just 5’8”, Cyganiewicz was built like a house, carrying 260 pounds of chiseled muscle; and he was soon recruited to Berlin by a local promoter. As fellow strongman Georg Hackenschmidt established himself as Europe’s premier grappling star, Cyganiewicz was thus attracted to a career in wrestling as well; and he was subsequently introduced to the professional game by well-known Polish grappler Ladislaus Pytlasinsky, who eventually became his mentor.

Wrestling career

Over the next few years, Cyganiewicz gradually established himself among Europe’s fastest-rising Greco-Roman wrestlers while competing in a number of tournaments; and by 1903, Health & Strength listed him among the continent’s leading heavyweights. He eventually took the ring name “Stanislaus Zbyszko;” and in 1906, he battled Russia’s famous “Cossack” Ivan Poddubny to a two-hour draw before then outlasting George Lurich and Constant le Marin to win a prestigious Paris tournament. He was next brought to England by Charles Cochrane, who was previously Hackenschmidt’s manager; and he engaged in a series of prominent encounters against Turkey’s "Champion of the Bosphorus" Kara Suliman while performing at the London Pavilion and the Gibbons music halls. However, he was soon embroiled in a major controversy when Suliman was revealed to be Bulgaria’s Ivan Offtharoff, who was actually employed by Zbyszko and Cochrane in one of the earliest public revelations of wrestling’s “theatrical hoaxes.”
As Zbyszko started to compete more often in England and the United States, he increasingly began to make the switch to catch-as-catch-can freestyle wrestling; and for several years, he alternated between grappling styles as he traveled between continents and countries. Already billed as Europe’s Greco-Roman champion, he was subsequently recognized among the world’s top catch wrestlers when he battled the fabled Frank Gotch to a one-hour draw in November 1909 in Buffalo, NY. The following year, he scored heralded victories over Dr. Ben Roller and “the Terrible Turk” Youssuf Mahmout, thus confirming his reputation among the world’s elite grapplers while also setting up a huge second encounter with Gotch at the Chicago Coliseum on June 1, 1910 for the undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. However, in the rematch, Gotch swindled Zbyszko, jumping him during the opening handsake, and pinning him in just 6.4 seconds. Zbyszko was infuriated and protested the result, yet the performance led many fans to believe the bout was a work (although Gotch would never again face Zbyszko during his career).
Despite the controversial loss, Zbyszko was now regarded among the premier wrestlers in the world; and he would then take on the mammoth challenge of India’s feared Great Gama, an undefeated champion who had been unsuccessful in his attempts to lure Frank Gotch into a match. And so, on September 10, 1910, Zbyszko faced the Great Gama in the finals of the John Bull World Championships in London. Crafting a defensive strategy of hugging the mat in order to nullify Gama’s greatest strengths, Zbyszko wrestled the Indian legend to a draw after nearly three hours of grappling, though Zbyszko’s lack of tenacity angered many of the fans in attendance. Nevertheless, Zbyszko still became one of the few wrestlers to ever meet the Great Gama without going down in defeat; and over the next decade, he competed in Europe while his younger brother, Wladek Zbyszko, established himself among the top stars in the United States.

Championship Controversy

By this time, the industry had begun a gradual shift towards “worked” programs; and Stanislaus Zbyszko was eventually recruited back to the U.S. by the “Gold Dust Trio” of Strangler Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt. Though now in his early 40’s, Zbyszko was booked to defeat Lewis for the World Title on May 6, 1921; but his reign was ultimately a bust at the box office, and he relinquished the title back to Lewis on March 3, 1922. Around this time, a disagreement caused Joe Stecher to split from the Gold Dust Trio promotion, thus forming a separate wrestling faction. Zbyszko remained with the Trio, who were promoting ex-football player Wayne Munn as a charismatic new champion. In order to build up Munn’s credibility, the Trio booked him to successfully defend the title against Zbyszko on April 15, 1925; however, Zbyszko had secretly accepted a payoff from Tony Stecher (Joe’s brother/manager) to switch to their company. Consequently, Zbyszko betrayed the Trio by turning the match with Munn into a legitimate shoot, pinning the non-wrestler again and again until the referee was forced to award the title to the 47-year old veteran, who then dropped the title to Stecher a month later to complete the ploy. This was one of the last times a World Title changed hands legitimately; and the legacy of this conspiracy was momentous, as it would be decades before promoters would ever feel comfortable putting their title on a non-wrestler again, thus fueling the support for expert “hooker” Lou Thesz to serve as a champion throughout the 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s.

Retirement

In 1928, Zbyszko received a lucrative offer to travel to India and wrestle the Great Gama in a rematch of their bout from 18 years earlier. Despite both men now being well past their primes, the match purportedly drew 60,000 fans, who watched Gama defeat Zbyszko in just 30 seconds, leading many to speculate that Zbyszko was paid to do the job for Gama. Zbyszko then retired and actively scouted wrestling talent in South America, where he discovered acrobatic gymnast Antonino Rocca, whom he developed into one of the sport’s biggest stars. From their Missouri farm, the Zbyszko brothers also trained future legends Johnny Valentine and Harley Race; and in 1950, Stanislaus had a prominent role in the movie, "Night and the City.” He often complained of the industry’s evolution into a form of showmanship; and then on September 23, 1967, Stanislaus Zbyszko died of a heart attack at age 89. He was cited by Strangler Lewis as one of the best legitimate wrestlers of all-time; and as a tribute, his surname was later adopted by contemporary star Larry Zbyszko.

Championships and accomplishments

★ 'World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

★ 'Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame'

★
★ Inducted in 2003

★ 'Wrestling Observer Newsletter

★
★ Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Trivia

★ Zbyszko appeared in the 1950 film ''Night and the City'' playing a famous wrestler. His performance was highly regarded by critics, but it was his only dramatic film appearance.

★ Zbyszko is referred to in the play ''The Hairy Ape'' by esteemed American playwright Eugene O'Neill, but is not its subject.

★ He is not related to former wrestler Larry Zbyszko.

★ Zbyszko's status as perhaps the Great Gama's most iconic rival received an unlikely tribute in the Hindi film ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' in the 1970s. A burly, brawny villain, who excels in fist fights and plays the lead female actor Parveen Babi's tormentor, was named Zbyszko by the script-writers.