The Kings of Wrestling

People have been wrestling since ancient times, but it was not until Edmond Desbonnet (1867-1953) produced his groundbreaking work The Kings of Wrestling in 1910 that its history was set down in book-length form. Originally written in French, Desbonnet’s work is translated here for the first time.

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People have been wrestling since ancient times, but it was not until Edmond Desbonnet (1867-1953) produced his groundbreaking work The Kings of Wrestling in 1910 that its history was set down in book-length form. His work consists of nearly 150 biographies and accompanying photos of the men who pioneered professional wrestling. Although he begins in the murky, mythological past, the principal focus of the book is wrestling in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He explains how Greco-Roman wrestling emerged in France around 1845 and then evolved into a big business during its golden age of 1890 to 1910. During that time, men were drawn to the squared circle from all over Europe, and the sport also attracted fighters from the far corners of the world: Africans, Turks, East Indians, Russians, Americans, and others. This makes wrestling the first truly international sport the world had ever known. Desbonnet originally wrote his history in French, and it is translated here for the first time. This richly illustrated edition has an introduction and extensive annotations, along with many contemporary newspaper articles, book excerpts and magazine pieces from French, Italian and German sources. This presents the most complete and accurate history of European wrestling that has yet been published.