Omaha Wrestling Results

Omaha, Nebraska: Friday, February 27, 1925
(Auditorium) … John Pesek b. Charley Hansen (2-0) (Pesek won the first fall in 26:25 and
then the second in 37:00) (Pesek used his “deadly” scissors” to win the falls) … Stanley
Buresh vs. Ad Santell … Gus Kallio vs. Billy Meyers … (promoter: Jake Isaacson,
matchmaker of the Omaha Post of the American Legion) … (referee: Paul Leidy) …
(auditorium manager: Charles A. Franke) … (4,500 fans)
Notes: Hansen was called a “trustbuster.” He reportedly had been trying for years to
wrestle Joe Stecher, Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Stanislaus Zbyszko. This match was winner-
take-all. The winner would take a purse of 60 per cent of the gate receipts. The two men
were also going to “donate” $2,500 each to the purse, which would have been illegal if it
was a straight side-bet. The “donation” was a way to bend around the law. Hansen was
managed by J.W. Elwood of Omaha and Pesek was managed by Maxwell Bauman of
Kansas City. Forfeits of $1,000 each were posted by the wrestler. The Omaha World
Herald stated that Hansen had “sacrificed thousands of dollars because of his stand
against the trust.” Since Hansen’s three-hour draw with Zbyszko, he’d only been able to
get a bout with Pat McGill, and he beat him. Pesek was said to be a member of the
wrestling trust. Prior to this match, because of the renewed interest in the sport, Ernie
Holmes of the Holmes Billiard parlor planned to stage moving picture shows of the
Caddock-Stecher bout from 1920. He “controls the rights for the pictures for Nebraska
and Iowa,” and the newspaper stated that there were three reels from the match. Stanley
Buresh was a protégé of the Stecher Brothers. Gus Kallio was the World Welterweight
Champion and Myers was a welterweight from Oklahoma. Thinking that there may be
rough tactics used in this match, Nebraska State Athletic Commissioner John Kilmartin
planned to be liberal with suspensions based on any illegal actions in the ring. Pesek was
reportedly known for “alleged foul tactics in matches against other attempted
‘trustbusters.’” Kilmartin also stated that there would be a decision in the Hansen-Pesek
bout, no draws would be accepted. Pesek was a 7 to 5 favorite to win. The paper stated
that “Throughout the country, the Pesek-Hansen match is regarded as an epochal event
in wrestling history because it marks the attempt of one of the leading ‘independents’ to
bring down one of the outstanding stars of the alleged ‘wrestling trust.’” Hansen was
preparing for the bout at the Omaha Athletic Club “under the watchful eye of his trainer,
Farmer Burns,” and trained with Stanley Buresh and Billy Myers. Pesek trained at the
YMCA with Ad Santel and Gus Kallio. Pesek weighed 196 and stood 6” tall. Hansen stood
5’10” and weighed 190 pounds. Pat McGill, through his brother Jimmy, who was a
middleweight wrestler, challenged the winner of the main event. Fans from throughout the
region traveled to Omaha for this bout. The paper said that the match was a “thriller of
thrillers,” and Pesek had to “exert himself to triumph.” The outcome, however, was just a
matter of time.

*There were no other wrestling events in Omaha between January 1, 1925 and April 30,
1925.

Research by Tim Hornbaker
December 2, 2007

Omaha Wrestling Results - 1925