Wrestler
|
Times
|
Date won
|
Location
|
Notes
|
Edwin Bibby
|
1
|
January 19, 1881
|
New York, New York
|
Defeats Duncan C. Ross in a catch-as-catch-can match for "the championship of America".[2][3]
|
Joe Acton
|
1
|
August 7, 1882
|
New York, New York
|
Has defeated Tom Cannon on December 9, 1881, in London, England, for the Catch-as-Catch-Can Title; Bibby is billed as champion for a match against World Greco-Roman champion William Muldoon on September 3, 1882, in Elmira, NY.
|
Evan "Strangler" Lewis
|
1
|
April 11, 1887
|
Chicago, IL
|
Lewis unified the and the American Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship by defeating Ernest Roeber on March 2, 1893, in a 3 out of 5 falls match with alternating Greco-Roman match and Catch-as-Catch can matches. The two titles became known as the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.
|
Martin "Farmer" Burns
|
1
|
April 20, 1895
|
Chicago, IL
|
|
Dan McLeod
|
1
|
October 26, 1897
|
Indianapolis, IN
|
|
Yusuf İsmail
|
1
|
June 20, 1898
|
Chicago, IL
|
Ismail defeated Evan "Strangler" Lewis for the American Heavyweight Championship in Chicago, Illinois. Lewis was neither able to overcome Ismail's massive size and strength nor manage to use his sleeper hold during the match. Ismail had the $5,000 prize money converted to gold and carried it in a money belt along with the title.
|
Tom Jenkins
|
1
|
November 7, 1901
|
Cleveland, OH
|
|
Dan McLeod
|
2
|
December 25, 1902
|
Worcester, Mass.
|
Jenkins forfeited the title to McLeod after having blood poisoning in his leg during their match.
|
Tom Jenkins
|
2
|
April 3, 1903
|
Buffalo, N.Y.
|
[4]
|
Frank Gotch
|
1
|
January 27, 1904
|
Bellingham, Wash.
|
|
Tom Jenkins
|
3
|
March 15, 1905
|
New York, New York
|
|
Frank Gotch
|
2
|
May 23, 1906
|
Kansas City, Missouri
|
[5]
|
Fred Beell
|
1
|
December 1, 1906
|
New Orleans, LA
|
[6]
|
Frank Gotch
|
3
|
December 17, 1906
|
Kansas City, Missouri
|
[6]
|
Vacant
|
|
1910
|
|
Gotch vacates the title after two years as a double crown champion to concentrate on the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship he won from Georg Hackenschmidt on April 3, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois.[4]
|
|
1
|
October 25, 1910
|
Minneapolis, MN
|
Defeats Charlie Cutler and awarded the title by special referee Frank Gotch.
|
Charlie Cutler
|
1
|
February 1, 1911
|
Minneapolis, MN
|
|
Dr. Benjamin Roller
|
1
|
March 6, 1911
|
Chicago, IL
|
|
Charlie Cutler
|
2
|
March 25, 1911
|
Buffalo, N.Y.
|
|
|
1
|
November 7, 1911
|
Des Moines, Iowa
|
|
|
2
|
December 14, 1911
|
Minneapolis, MN
|
|
Charlie Cutler
|
3
|
March 25, 1912
|
Chicago, IL
|
Jess Westergaard (Reimer) defeats Ordemann on January 7, 1913, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to claim a title but loses to Cutler on January 22, 1913, in Dallas, Texas.
|
Dr. Benjamin Roller
|
2
|
July 4, 1913
|
Benton Harbor, Mich.
|
|
Ed "Strangler" Lewis
|
1
|
September 18, 1913
|
Lexington, Ky.
|
|
|
1
|
October 21, 1913
|
Lexington, Ky.
|
|
Dr. Benjamin Roller
|
3
|
July 10, 1914
|
Rock Island, Ill.
|
Ed "Strangler" Lewis defeats Roller during an international tournament on January 15, 1916, in New York City (title may not be on line).
|
Wladek Zbyszko
|
1
|
January 8, 1917
|
Wilkes-Barre, Penn.
|
Still/again champion as of September 22, 1922 (or a different reign, possibly by winning a tournament which has started on February 21, 1922).
|