Georg Hackenschmidt

We get a tease of frontal nudity in this shot of Georg Hackenschmidt.

 

Hackenschmidt

Here we see Georg Hackenschmidt in early middle age.  He continued 

to wrestle, operate a gym, and maintain his physique well into his 50s.

 

Strong Men (and a few wrestlers) Day

It's time for another group of late 19th and early 20th Century strong men and wrestlers.

We start with Georg Hackenschmidt, who's showing something through his trunks.

 

George Hackenschmidt

George Hackenschmidt was one of the pre-eminent strong men and wrestlers of his era.  He was born in Estonia which was part of the Russian Empire at the time.  Despite being called the Russian Lion most of his careeer, he was German/Swedish/Estonian, and he lived in London most of his life.  He was robust into his 60s and lived to be almost 90.  This autographed photo is a favorite.

 

Georg Hackenschmidt . . . with some bulk on

While he lost some of his leanness later in his career,

Georg Hackenschmidt looked impressinve even into his 50s.

 

Georg Hackenschimdt

When we think of someone who was transformational in the early 20th Century world of strong men and wresting, Georg Hackenschmidt comes immediately to the fore.  A Baltic-German-Estonian-Swedish hybrid, he had success as a strong man, world champion wrestler, author, sports philospher, and trainer.  He was a close friend of both Harry Houdini and George Bernard Shaw, and posed for impressive beefcake photos into his 50s.  Mr. Hackenschmidt was quite a guy!

 

Hackenschmidt

We close out the popup with what may be the most revealing 

Georg Hackenschmidt photo in my rather large collection.

 

Wrestling Day, Part 2 - 1900 Era Fig Leaf

Part Two of our wrestling day features some big name Eastern European wrestlers from the early 20th Century in fig leaf photos.  We start with Georg Hackenschmidt (1877-1968) who is one 

of three Estonians featured in this group.  He was the first recognized world 

professional wrestling champion and eventually settled in London where he became

 a close friend of author George Bernard Shaw, of all people.

We finish with F. Gruhn and Georg Hackenschmidt in a position that makes my evil mind think,  "Well, that's one way to get some."  Hackenschmidt was a world champion level wrestler who deserves a series of his own here on the blog the next time I get on a wrestling kick.

Of all of today's featured men, Georg Hackenschmidt is the best known.  An Estonian of German heritage, he was a strong man for years before becoming a world champion level wrestler.