Benjamin Franklin Roller (July 1, 1876 – April 19, 1933) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, a professional

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...

and a football player.

Biography

Early life

Roller was born in Newman, Illinois. where he grew up on his family's farm. As a boy on the farm, Roller dreamed of becoming a doctor. His mother encouraged him to attend college, while his father felt that every man should make his own way, picking up his education by experience. He attended college at De Pauw University, after his mother, a former school teacher, helped him prepare for the entrance examination. Due to the family's lack of money, Ben worked at a dry goods store, pulling nails for 15 cents an hour. He used the money to buy new clothes for attending school. Upon arriving at De Pauw, Roller started a gym class, that began his athletic career in football and wrestling. He was the

runt In a group of animals (usually a litter of animals born in multiple births), a runt is a member which is significantly smaller or weaker than the others. Owing to its small size, a runt in a litter faces obvious disadvantage, including difficulti ...

in his family of six, at 6'0 and 200 pounds. He soon became the captain of the school's football and track teams. Ben Roller sketch

Upon graduation from De Pauw, Roller attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

. With a lack of money for college, he soon began to play football at the professional ranks.

Professional football career

He played pro football for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, Philadelphia Athletic Club and was later a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

of the first National Football League. In December 1902, he played for the "

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

" team during the World Series of Football. In 1903, he played with the Franklin Athletic Club and won his return trip to the World Series of Football with that team. He began the 1903 season with

Syracuse Athletic Club A nameless professional American football team, based in Syracuse, New York and generically known as the Syracuse Pros or Syracuse Eleven, was once thought to have joined the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football L ...

. He also played on several of the Penn college teams and won the "university championship" in his second and fourth years, however he never played for the varsity because of a four-year rule.

Post-college

After graduating from Penn, Roller assisted Dr. Barton Cooke, a professor at the medical school, in writing a textbook. He decided to accept a position as professor of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

. He also served as the supervisor to the school's athletics and as an advisor to the Seattle Athletic Club. After two years with the school, he decided to open an office. He also worked as a land speculator and acquired wealth up until the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from ...

Wrestling career

He later resigned that position in 1906 to become a full-time wrestler. Roller’s first professional match was against Jack Carkeek. Roller won two falls in a period of 17 minutes and received $1,600. After that, he started having matches around the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

, under the names Dr. Roller, Dr. Benjamin Roller, Dr. B.F. Roller, and Doc Roller. He next wrestled

Frank Gotch Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1877 – December 17, 1917) was an American professional wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and he is credited for popularizing profess ...

in an exhibition match, for which he received $4,000. After the bout with Gotch, Roller decided to use wrestling as tool for traveling the world and studying under the noted professors in both the United States and Europe. Over the span of his career, Roller defeated many of the top wrestlers of his day. These wrestlers included Farmer Burns,

Fred Beell Fred A. Beell (January 17, 1876 – August 5, 1933) was a German-born American professional wrestler and police officer. Early life Fred Beell was born in West Prussia, Province of Prussia on January 17, 1876. When he was three years old, his f ...

Ed Lewis Edward Lewis may refer to: Politicians *Edward Lewis (Devizes MP) (1650–1674), British MP for Devizes, 1669–1674 *Edward Lewis (Radnor MP), British MP for Radnor, 1761–1768, 1769–1774 and 1775–1790 *Edward Parke Custis Lewis (1837–1892 ...

, and

Joe Stecher Joe Stecher (April 4, 1893 – March 29, 1974), sometimes spelled Joe Stetcher, was an American professional wrestler and three-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Known for his ferocity, tremendous leg strength and extensive knowledge ...

, who was managed by Gotch. From 1906–1918, Roller posted a record of 39 wins, 26 losses, and 4 draws in 69 matches.

Death

Benjamin Franklin Roller (1876 - April 19, 1933) was a physician, a professional wrestler and a football player

Roller died of pneumonia on April 19, 1933, at the age of 56.

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

American Heavyweight Championship The American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was the first heavyweight professional wrestling championship in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, ...

( 3 times)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roller, Ben 1876 births 1933 deaths Players of American football from Illinois DePauw University alumni American catch wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Philadelphia Athletic Club players Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football) players Philadelphia Phillies (NFL) players People associated with physical culture Franklin Athletic Club players New York (World Series of Football) players Syracuse Athletic Association players 19th-century players of American football 20th-century professional wrestlers Duquesne Country and Athletic Club players