For the better part of 100 years, professional wrestling in New York City has thrived.  The sport has had its highs and lows, and a gauge of the overall popularity of the sport can usually be tested by looking at the audiences in the “Big Apple.” Beginning even as early as 1850, wrestlers Louis Ainsworth, James McLaughlin, Homer Lane, John McMahon, James E. Owens, Thiebaud Bauer, William Miller, Ernest Treber, Edwin Bibby, Joe Acton, Clarence Whistler, Ernest Roeber, and, of course, William Muldoon, have enthralled local crowds with their skill.

Slowly, wrestling evolved from casual shows at city assembly rooms or music halls to the adaptation of Madison Square Garden as the center of the sport’s focus.  It also saw promoters ruthlessly compete, trying everything possible to edge their competitors out of the business.  After unions were destroyed by double-crosses, common backstabbing, and wrestlers doing everything possible to shine, promoters had only one thing to focus on, and that was the thing they always focused on: money.  The most shrewd businessmen in wrestling somehow made their way to New York, and on the grandest stage, they either survived or didn’t.

There were many different styles of wrestling from a variety of international points, each with its own, individual rules, and many competitors were limited to only one style.  Among them were Greco-Roman, Cornish, side hold, Jiu-jitsu, Cumberland, and catch-as-catch-can.  With championships for each style, and for numerous countries, champions began to appear with some regularity in the United States, all claiming to be the best.  Even back then, the bombastic attitudes of wrestlers often outshadowed their talents.  It soon became more favorable for “mixed” matches to be held, with a different style for each specific fall, and matches often ran with the best three-of-five falls rules.

William Muldoon was a respected leader of wrestling in New York, and certainly one of the most popular grapplers of the 19^th Century.  Born in Allegany County to Irish parents, Patrick and Maria, William had eight siblings.  His date of birth is often accounted to be May 25, but the year is in dispute between 1845 and 1853.  The New York Times reported that he was born in 1845 at Belfast in his June 4, 1933 obituary.  The 1845 birth year seems more plausible for Muldoon since it has been said that he was a member of the Union Army, as a drummer in a marching unit, during the Civil War (1861-’65) at the age of 16.  While in the military, he engaged in combat bouts with his peers, both boxing and wrestling.  After the war, William returned to the town of Caneadea and continued to help his father on the family farm.

By the late 1870s, Muldoon had relocated to New York City and worked as a police officer, although that too has been drawn into question.  He was divorced and had furthered his pursuit of athletics, competing often against other policemen.  He beat veteran John Gaffney in the Greco-Roman style match for the Police Championship.  When he took World Greco-Roman Heavyweight Champion Professor William Miller as his mentor, Muldoon’s abilities soared.  With his great strength and skill, he was quickly becoming the most talked about grappler around.

In 1879, there were several men claiming the World Greco-Roman Title, including Professor Miller, Thiebaud Bauer and even Muldoon himself, stemming from an 1877 victory over Christol.  On January 19, 1880, Muldoon beat Bauer at Madison Square Garden and unified the two claims.  He won the first and third falls of their match, also winning a $200 trophy.  After the surprising finish, Muldoon was carried from the carpet on the shoulders of his friends as an estimated 4,000 people in attendance applauded.

Over the next decade, Muldoon wrestled John Hiram McLaughlin, Edwin Bibby, Clarence Whistler, Duncan Ross, Matsada K. Sorakichi, Evan “Strangler” Lewis, and Dennis Gallagher, many of the best grapplers in the sport.  His career was winding down by 1887, and after befriending the famous bare-knuckle boxer and champion, “Boston Strong Boy” John L. Sullivan, Muldoon became one of his trainers.  In preparation for his fight with Jake Kilrain in Richburg, Mississippi, Sullivan trained at William’s gym in Belfast, New York.  The legendary and controversial fight went 75 rounds, with Sullivan finally winning by knockout.

Muldoon and Sullivan even engaged each other in several wrestling exhibitions, once on May 28, 1889 in Cincinnati, which saw 10 rounds split ending in a draw, and again on August 2, 1889 in New York City.  William also trained Kid McCoy, Jack Dempsey and Ernest Roeber, owned a saloon in New York City and, in 1921, became the first ever chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.  He would remain a member of the commission until his death on June 3, 1933.  He passed away at the age of 88 at his home in Purchase, New York.  “Iron Duke,” Muldoon’s nickname, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, the George Tragos/ Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum on June 16, 2001 in Newton, Iowa, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.

Jack Curley, who would reign as the leading New York promoter between 1915-’37, said the following about Muldoon after his death: “Mr. Muldoon was the greatest sports representative that ever lived.  He was always an authority and always the boss.  He lived a fine, useful life and his death will be a great loss to sports.”

Rocca, Antonino:

Around February 21, 1951, Antonino was forced to remain in Havana, Cuba and cancel some of his wrestling events due to visa problems.

In late 1952, Rocca's wife gave birth to a baby girl.

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