Clarence Whistler (February 24, 1856 - November 6, 1885) was a

professional athlete In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...

and champion

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

of the 1880s. As the main rival to

William Muldoon William Muldoon (May 25, 1852 – June 3, 1933) was an American Greco-Roman Wrestling champion, a physical culturist, and the first chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. He once wrestled a match that lasted over seven hours. Nick ...

in wrestling of the early 1880s, he was best remembered for his unusual strength, indifference to pain and early death. He wrestled three famous bouts with Muldoon, totaling over 14 hours.

Early life

Whistler was born in 1856 (possibly February 24, 1856) in

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, US, to C. C. Whistler and Leah Catharine Snyder and was the oldest of eight children. By 1878 he had moved to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

where he worked as a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

man and was known for his strength.

Career

While working at the foundry his friends, who had been impressed with his strength, such as carrying a iron bar for , arranged a match in February 1879 (or January 1878) with Louis Marc (or Lucien Marc). The match, which lasted for an hour, was won by Whistler in two straight falls. Whistler went on to fight Andre Christol in a four-hour match that ended in a draw. This was followed by a tour of the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

with Christol, who taught Whistler the fundamentals of wrestling. In 1881 Whistler's financial backers brought him into

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to challenge

, who had won his championship in Graeco-Roman wrestling from Theodore Bauer the year before. The bout, which lasted seven hours and 15 minutes, ended in a draw without either wrestler getting a fall. Muldoon claimed that Whistler had worn

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

in his hair, which caused Muldoon's eyes to burn, and Whistler wore his fingernails long purposely to injure Muldoon. Clarence Whistler wrestles William Muldoon

Clarence Whistler wrestles William Muldoon

Because of the public interest in the match, the two men formed an athletic combination and toured the country for a time, Muldoon billed as Graeco-Roman champion and Whistler billed as catch-as-catch-can champion. Personal differences and a fight over a woman bought an acrimonious end to their business agreement. Muldoon got the girl. Enmity was so great that Whistler swore he would beat Muldoon on the mat or in the street. He spent the rest of the year slandering Muldoon in the press in order to corner him into a rematch. But he would have to wait two years to get his chance. After being injured against a ringer in Cincinnati who later turned out to be English wrestler Tom Cannon, Whistler stopped touring for a time and returned to Kansas City. There he met his future wife Minnie and toyed with the idea of entering the prize ring to meet champion

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer. He is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved ...

at the behest of friend Robert Ricketts. He continued to slight Muldoon in the newspapers. Finally returning to the mat, Whistler linked up with Cannon, who saw great natural ability in Whistler. The two toured with limited success. Whistler's assault on Muldoon in the press continued. He issued a challenge to his old foe to wrestle him at MSG which went unheeded by Muldoon, who was already headed West on tour with Madame Modjeska. In the meantime, an old foe of Cannon who claimed the catch-as-catch-can championship of the world,

Joe Acton Joseph Acton (8 March 1852 – 26 June 1917), known by his ringname "Little Joe" or "Limey Joe", was a British professional wrestler and world champion who competed in England and America during the late 19th century. Acton is one of a handful ...

, followed him to America and beat him. Whistler then put his own title claim up against Acton at MSG. The highly anticipated match went two hours to a draw but Whistler was roundly outclassed by the smaller man, losing his already-waning claim to that championship in the process, and a great deal of his public acclaim. Whistler won a wrestling tournament in 1883 in St. Louis, Graeco-Roman style, and placed second (to Edwin Bibby) in the catch-as-catch-can category. This quickly re-established his claim to the Graeco-Roman title, but it didn't translate into public interest. The tournament featured a number of noted wrestlers but was a financial disaster. Meanwhile, Muldoon was wrestling in San Francisco and creating a boom there. Cannon and Whistler acquiesced and lit to the Pacific Coast at the insistence of Muldoon. Whistler's rematch with Muldoon finally took place in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

toward the end of 1883. It was remembered as the most exciting of the three contests. In the term of the day, the two bitter rivals "wrestled for blood". The match began at 8:30 pm and lasted nearly four hours. Whistler's left

collarbone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...

was broken when he was slammed harshly by Muldoon to the mat. He was visibly maimed. Whistler refused to quit the match, but the doctor disallowed him to continue, thus stopped it. Muldoon claimed the victory. The injury had a temporary healing effect on the friendship of the two. After Whistler physically healed up, he challenged Muldoon again. In their third and final match in March 1884, the two men wrestled to a defensive standstill and agreed to a draw after three hours and 10 minutes of wrestling. When the question of who initiated the draw of their third match arose, the two men again split, as business partners, bitterly never to rejoin. Muldoon left for the East as interest in the sport waned in California. Whistler stayed West and languished in bouts that generated limited public interest. In a bid to rejuvenate his career, he finally entered boxing and was soundly trounced. Headlining at the old Wigwam Theater in January 1885 in San Francisco, Whistler was knocked out by a local pro in the first round. Despite the disastrous results, Whistler indicated an interest in pursuing boxing further.

Death

Shortly after the boxing fiasco, "all round athlete" and longtime claimant to the Greco-Roman wrestling championship "Professor" William Miller invited Whistler to tour

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

as an athlete and wrestler, and meet Miller at the end of the tour to settle the championship question between them. Whistler accepted. After a string of victories Down Under, Whistler defeated Miller in September 1885 at the Theatre Royal on

Bourke Street Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, for the Graeco-Roman championship. In celebration of his championship victory, he engaged in a reckless, month-long celebration and contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. By November 6, he was dead.
Sources referring to the nature of his early death are conflicting. Some suggest that the illness was caused by excess alcohol consumption during celebration. Other sources purport that Whistler's condition was complicated by him either biting the tops off champagne bottles for side bets or eating a whole champagne glass. Whistler was buried in

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of five Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other ...

with Miller as one of his

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

s. He was memorialized by fellow athletes, including Muldoon, and the sports world at large as the most courageous athlete of his time.

Notable opponents

* "Professor" William Miller *

Donald Dinnie Donald Dinnie (10 July 1837 – 2 April 1916) was a Scottish strongman, wrestler, and multi-sport athlete, born at Balnacraig, Birse, near Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Sometimes regarded as "The Nineteenth Century's greates ...

Edwin Bibby Edwin Bibby (15 November 1848 – 5 May 1905) was an English wrestling champion during the 1870s and 1880s. He was a popular Catch wrestling, catch-as-catch-can style wrestler in his generation. He became the first American Heavyweight Champion ...

Championships and accomplishments

* American/World Mixed Style Championship * Australian Heavyweight Championship * St. Louis International Wrestling Tournament winner, Graeco-Roman * Catch-as-catch-can Heavyweight Championship * World Heavyweight Championship

References

External links

* (enter 119.1976.3581 in the search box) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whistler, Clarence 1856 births 1885 deaths 19th-century American sportsmen American male professional wrestlers American catch wrestlers People associated with physical culture People from Delphi, Indiana American expatriate sportspeople in Australia Alcohol-related deaths in Australia Professional wrestlers from Indiana 19th-century American male actors 19th-century professional wrestlers Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery Deaths from pneumonia in Victoria (state)