William Muldoon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since December 2006.

William Muldoon was a professional wrestler. Long before Georg Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch, he was the dominant figure in heavyweight professional wrestling, making him the first major star in American pro wrestling. He was also a well-known physical culture proponent, boxing trainer, stage actor and one of the first chairmen of the New York State Athletic Commission and served on the commission panel until his death. Muldoon was unflatteringly profiled in "Twelve Men" by Theodore Dreiser, under the pseudonym Culhane. Muldoon was of Irish descent.

Muldoon's most famous boxing client was John L. Sullivan whom he trained in Belfast, New York in the spring on 1889 in preparation for his 75-round bout with Jake Kilrain, a match that has retroactively been called a world championship.

[edit] Profile

Birthday: May 25, 1852. Muldoon later claimed 1845 as his birthyear, in conjunction with a false claim to have served in the American Civil War, according to his American National Biography entry.
Date of death: June 3, 1933 (cancer)
Hometown: Caneadea, New York. Also lived in Manhattan (ca. 1870-1881), Belfast, New York (ca. 1881-1900), and Purchase, New York (1901-1933).
Nicknames: The Iron Duke, The Solid Man