*The March 25, 1898 edition of the Brooklyn Eagle talked about Yousouf the Terrible
Turk's training habits.  He reportedly did not work out in a gymnasium.  Instead, he eats,
walks, wrestles, and sleeps - as simple as that.  He was managed by Antonio Pierri, who
stated that the wrestler had a "very fine appetite." At dinner, he ate four pounds of "juicy
steak, two loaves of French bread and washes it down with a quart of beer." He was also
prone to getting upwards of 12 hours of sleep a night.  He trained on the mat with Pierri
and Tom Cannon.

Manhattan, New York:  March 26, 1898
(Madison Square Garden) ... Ernest Roeber b. The Terrible Turk (DQ) (less than
two-minutes) ... (referee:  Hugh Leonard)
Notes:  The Brooklyn Eagle stated that the Roeber-Terrible Turk match was a "farce," and
that 10,000 fans "demonstrated their title to being the most easily gulled on earth by
paying their money into the coffers of the Brady, Kennedy, Julian, etc., combination" to
see this match.  Roeber was said to have run from his opponent, backwards, the entire
match.  As Turk tried to grab him, Roeber jumped away and fell off the platform.  Roeber
was unable to continue because of reported injuries, although his "injuries" were disputed.
The crowd displayed their anger at the finish.  The Turk was reportedly disqualified for a
foul.  Roeber was affiliated to Martin Julian and Turk was tied into W.A. Brady.  The
Brooklyn Eagle stated that it was clear that Roeber should have been awarded the first
fall, but the match continue for the second and third "at some other time." This show,
going in, had big prospects, but was a fiasco, according to the Eagle.  Roeber was carried
from the ring and Leonard determined he was unable to continue.  The newspaper
claimed that Muldoon and Fitzsimmons both "made big bets on Roeber." Yousouf (Terrible
Turk) was said to have pushed Roeber off the stage.  A rematch was beckoned for.



Manhattan, New York:  April 30, 1898
(Metropolitan Opera House) ... Ernest Roeber and Yousouf the Terrible Turk went to a no
contest (match ended up in a free for all with both using their fists) ... (4,000 fans)
Notes:  On the stage, it wasn't only Roeber and Yousouf mixing it up.  There was boxing
champion Bob Fitzsimmons, W.A. Brady, Martin Julian, Charley White, and a bunch of
others.  Brady was the backer of boxer Jim Corbett and Julian was Fitzsimmons' trainer.  
White was a former boxer himself.  Police calmed a potential riot from breaking out.  The
Brooklyn Eagle stated that this "was the most disgraceful scene that has ever visited the
stage of any New York theater."



Manhattan, New York:  June 11, 1898
(Madison Square Garden) ... Yousouf the Terrible Turk b. Heraklides (2-0) (first fall in 45
seconds and second in four minutes) ... preliminary matches ... (referee:  Jimmy Carroll)
Notes:  The Brooklyn Eagle stated that Heraklides was the "Horrible Greek" and the "Turk
is more terrible than ever." The Greek "is about as horrible an excuse for a wrestler as has
ever been seen in public." According to the paper, "cries of 'fake' were yelled from the
crowd.

*A short time later, on July 4, 1898, Yousouf the Terrible Turk was killed in the sinking of
the liner La Bourgogne.

*Before the end of the year, another "Terrible Turk" was on the horizon.  This one was
Halil Adali and according to press reports, he was the only man ever to beat Yousouf.

Brooklyn, New York:  Monday, September 26, 1898
(Unique Theater) ... Caspar Muller vs. Ernest Roeber (twenty minute match)
Notes:  This was said to be Muller's first American match and he was billed as the
champion of South Africa.  He claimed to not be the man Roeber "failed to throw" recently
in Troy, New York even though Roeber "announced him as 'Muller', the South African,"
according to Muller's letter printed in the Brooklyn Eagle (9/23/98).














Research by Tim Hornbaker
February 10, 2011
New York City Wrestling Results - 1898