Jack Carkeek
Jack Carkeek, (January 22, 1861 – March 12, 1924) was an American Cornish champion wrestler, from Rockland, Michigan. His parents were from Cornwall, United Kingdom. He met many wrestlers in his career. He died March 12, 1924 in Havana, Cuba.[1]
| Jack Carkeek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 22, 1861 Rockland, Michigan, US |
| Died | March 12, 1924 (aged 63) Havana, Cuba |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Debut | July 5, 1877 |
He made his first appearance at Michigamme, Michigan, on July 5, 1877, at age 16. There he won the fourth prize in a tournament of 64 entries. Jack Carkeek and John Pearce (the Cornish champion from Cornwall for five years, aged 27, 5fts 9in, 183 lbs.) met for the World Championship of Cornish Wrestling in Redruth, Cornwall.
Wrestling career
Up until 1882 he wrestled just in Michigan, and then afterwards in Wisconsin, Iowa, Montana. At the beginning he wrestled only in ordinary tournaments, with a dozen or so other wrestlers, while later only wrestling in challenge matches for side money.[2]
- December 10, 1884, Carkeek defeated James Pascoe, the champion Cornish wrestler of the Pacific Coast, for a purse of $500, in Butte, Montana.
- January 10, 1885, at the same place, Carkeek defeated D A McMillan of Bodie, California, in a mixed match of five styles, for $250 a side.[3]
- February 28, 1885, he defeated H C Bell in Darlington, Wisconsin, for $500 a side, in the Cornish style.
- April 26, 1885, in San Francisco, California, Carkeek was defeated by Tom Cannon, the great champion, in mixed matches consisting of six styles.
- June 20, 1885, he defeated O H Ingraham in Antioch, California, in the "catch-as-catch-can" style for $100 a side.
- July 4, 1885, he won first prize in Grass Valley, California, in a tournament against 34 competitors.
- July 14, 1886, in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Carkeek wrestled Sorakichi Matsuda, the Japanese, for $500 a side (in both Greco-Roman wrestling and catch-as-catch-can wrestling) and won in 54 minutes.
Arrest for match fixing
Carkeek was a member of the swindling crew known as the Mabray gang. [4] In 1910 he was arrested for participation in the fixing of wrestling matches. [5] Carkeek spent two years in prison before the case was ultimately dismissed. [6]
Championships and accomplishments
- Catch wrestling
- American Catch-as-Catch-Can Championship (1 time)
- European Catch-as-Catch-Can Championship (1 time)
- World Catch-as-Catch-Can Championship (1 time)
References
- "Encyclopedia of Chicago".
- The West Briton newspaper- 1887
- "A Successful Cornish Wrestler". The Cornishman (342). 5 February 1885. p. 7.
- https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4704&context=palimpsest
- Stevens Point WI Journal, September 3, 1910
- Cox, Sarah Elizabeth (2019-09-23). ""Wannop walked on his head in a most extraordinary manner"". Grappling With History. Retrieved 2020-09-16.