Carl Abs

Carl Abs in 1885

Carl Johann Theodor Abs (born September 12, 1851 in Groß Godems in Mecklenburg; † February 18, 1895 in Hamburg ), also known as "the Low German oak" or "German oak" , was the greatest German wrestler of the 19th century and is considered to be as the founder of modern wrestling in Germany. His combat weight was around 103 kg with a height of 1.84 m. At the end of the 19th century, his life and work aroused great public interest, at least in Germany. In 1891, for example, the book Carl Abs, the championship wrestler of the world: His life u. Work .

Life

Great Godems

Carl Abs grew up with his father Carl Abs and his mother Sophie Abs (née Jürgens) in Groß Godems . As the son of a carpenter, Carl Junior should learn and continue his father's craft. He had little interest in school. In the afternoons after school, he preferred to work as a groom. Over the years he developed a keen interest in discovering his environment and a few years later left his family and moved to Hamburg .

Hamburg

Abs enjoyed his new life and explored the possibilities open to him. He found his first job in the Langenstein factory. In 1873 he began his military service, which he served in the 76th Infantry Regiment until 1874. Due to his diligence and punctuality, his service was shortened by two years. After that he started working in a wine shop. When he got an offer to work as a stately coachman, he decided to change his employer. After his employer's business went so bad that Abs had to fire him again, he returned to Great Godems . His father was ill and a childhood friend had died. Finally, Abs returned to Hamburg and found a new job in the “Jagtmann & Koschinsky” timber shop. In 1877 he met Katharina Maria Augusta Warncke, the daughter of the citizen Warncke. In the same year he married her.

First appearance and successes in Germany

Drawing. Abs lifts a horse in a circus

In the middle of the 70s there was the first fight in the life of Carl Abs. He fought against the "Iron Wilhelm", whereby at the end of this fight it was a draw. Abs won the second fight. This awakened the ambition to win more fights in Abs. In Hamburg he opened his own Athletenkeller bar in 1881 , which was also used as an artist school. In 1882 he won the horseshoe medal at a sports exhibition in Berlin . Through his initial success, various circuses from Germany became aware of him. Under the direction of the ringmaster Renz, Abs traveled all over Germany. After the successful battles he returned to Hamburg. Mathias Sobien and Willy Heinrichs proved to be worthy opponents. In 1885 he achieved new successes in Karlsruhe through further fights in the Blumenthal circus .

America / New York

Since the wrestling scene in Germany at that time was only slightly developed and Abs was only considered an "artist" and attraction, he went to America, where his own competitive culture had already developed around wrestling. The representation of the Germans, however, was quite sparse and saw the other wrestlers as inferior. That is why Abs first had to prove himself within its own ranks. Abs defeated the best wrestler of the German gymnastics club in just three minutes and then threw Professor Höffler in a private match, who then became his coach and supporter.

From then on, Abs was taught the American style of wrestling in order to be able to achieve success against the Americans. In the land of opportunity, Abs won for the first time against a Japanese, Sorakichi Masuda, who used other fighting techniques. The fights against Edwin Bibby and William Muldoon Abs could also decide for themselves. Thereupon he was awarded the title of "strongest wrestler in the world" and a champion medal, worth 1200 marks at the time. When Abs finally returned to Hamburg , he had thrown a total of 10 wrestlers in America and defeated 27 opponents in weightlifting .

Leipzig and Lübeck

Back in Germany he took him to Leipzig with the Corty-Althoff circus . Among some lesser known opponents was Gustav Bachmann, a member of the Stötteritz gymnastics club. According to his own statement, this was passed over in the usual circus wrestling matches and therefore demanded a prize wrestling match. Abs, who was already engaged in Berlin at the time, traveled back to Leipzig especially to take on this challenge. After less than half a minute, Abs defeated Bachmann. After his engagement in Berlin , Abs came to Lübeck with the Circus Leonhard . There he defeated the Frenchman Pierre Rigal. After losing the first fight, Rigal demanded a revenge, which he also lost.

France and England

Carl Abs' illustration in a newspaper

The Circus d'hiver hired Abs, claiming he was a Dane, to prevent conflicts that generally existed between France and Germany. But the fraud did not last long. The whole of France was shocked by the wrestler from Germany. Abs broke off his stay in France and took the chance to look around for fighting in England. At the Drurylane Theater, he asked people to volunteer for a fight. Nobody accepted his offer, whereupon Abs soon started the journey home.

Brumbach brothers and Tom Cannon

In November 1890 there was a powerlifting tournament in Hamburg , as the Bavarian Brumbach brothers challenged Abs. However, when Abs asked them to do the feats he demonstrated with the weights, they declined. The brothers refused and the audience was all the more enthusiastic about Abs.

On July 25, 1891, Carl Abs won what was perhaps his most important fight in Berlin against the Anglo-American championship wrestler Tom Cannon. Cannon proved to be one of Abs' toughest opponents, but his fame rose when he finally defeated him. Ultimately, he was hailed by the Berlin masses as the “strongest man in the world” and “champion wrestler of the world”.
After the fights in Germany he traveled to Vienna to compete against the champion Cheri Robinet in the Schumann circus . In the first fight it was a draw, which is why there was a revenge. This won Abs. This was followed by more fights against the French wrestler Masson, whereby the victory was not recognized by the referees , but the audience celebrated Abs as the clear winner. After further successful fights against Viennese athletes, Abs returned to Hamburg .

Carl Abs versus Antonio Pierri

In January 1893 Antonio Pierri Abs challenged Altona to fight in Hamburg . Abs' victory sparked protests from Pierri, who claimed to have simply slipped. The referees dismissed this throw-in and declared Abs the winner. Only by urging Pierri to restore his reputation did Abs agree to another fight. This took place on February 4, 1893 at the same place. With a surprising throw, Pierri saw himself as the winner early and ended the fight. All referees agreed on their protocol and stated that Pierri had wrongly ended the fight. So it came to the third fight between Pierri and Abs on February 9th. However, this had to be stopped because Abs Pierrie dislocated his shoulder. The fight was postponed to March 9, 1893. That day, Abs threw Pierri in just 16 minutes.

Last years of life

After beating Pierri, Abs gradually withdrew from wrestling and focused more on lifting weights . On December 26, 1894, Abs performed for the last time in Rendsburg . In January 1895 he fell ill with liver and kidney disease and dropsy.

Carl Abs died in Hamburg on February 18, 1895 after a month of fighting . He left behind his wife, a 17-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. On February 22, 1895 Abs was buried in the Ohlsdorf cemetery.

title

In Germany and among his supporters, his victory over William Muldoon on May 18, 1885 , made him the first German world champion in the Greco-Roman style , but this is not recognized in the USA.

Most famous defeated opponents

place	opponent	Period
Hamburg	"Iron Wilhelm" Mathias Sobien Willy Heinrichs	1875-1880
new York	William Höffler Sorakichi Matsuda Edwin Bibby William Muldoon	1885
Lübeck	Pierre Rigal	1886
Berlin	Tom Cannon	1890
Vienna	Cheri Robinet Masson	1892
Hamburg	Antonio Pierri	1893

Best measured strength performance

The services presented here were of public interest at the time and were published in the Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung on March 17, 1895.

One-armed

• Tearing up a long ball bar from the ground: 72.5 and 80 kg
• Lift a short dumbbell from the ground: 92 kg
• slow lifting of a long, vertically positioned ball bar, brought horizontally by a trick at shoulder height, from the ground: 100 kg
• In the basic military position, shoulder lifts 3 times: 50 kg
• Raise to the shoulder with both hands and slowly lift with the right hand, short dumbbell: 100, 107.5 and 110 kg
• Hold horizontally forwards, right: 40 kg
  • with the body leaning backwards: 50 kg

Two-armed

• 30 kg in each hand slowly, lifting vertically upwards, lowering down horizontally to the side and slowly moving horizontally forwards
• in each hand 50 kg of slow, even lifting in the military basic position for holding up
• Chisel long ball rod: 110 kg
• Lifting with a jerk to the shoulder and lifting three times: 130 kg
  • lifting once: 150 kg

reminiscence

In memory of Carl Abs, the community of Groß Godems named a street after him on April 11, 2002. From the freight route, a small street leads to a new development area, which now bears the name of the famous wrestler.

Since the spring of 2008 there has been the project “Diversity - ABSolut fair” in Parchim , which was initiated by the district youth council. Employees from different institutions B. volunteer trainers, youth workers, the youth migration service and prevention officers of the police offer a wide range of services for children and young people, regardless of their origin. The aim of the project is to give all children and young people the opportunity to participate in regular sports activities. So the children can learn about this project. a. Make contacts with clubs and coaches without having to pay the usual membership fees.

As part of this project, the Carl Abs Cup was awarded for the first time in 2008.

literature

• Hilmar Bürger: Trials of strength: strong men then and now. , Sportverlag Berlin 1985
• Heinrich Hasperg: A century of sport in Hamburg , Hamburg, Br. Sachse o. J.
• Helmut Graumann: 100 important people from Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania , Reinhard Thon, Schwerin 1999

Individual evidence

1. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, p. 1.
2. ↑ Hilmar Bürger: Trials of strength: Strong men then and now. 1985, p. 13.
3. ↑ Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus: German Biographical Encyclopedia. 1995, p. 14
4. ↑ Hilmar Bürger: Trials of strength: Strong men then and now. 1985, p. 13.
5. ↑ Paul v Ridelstein: Carl Abs, the championship wrestler in the world: His Life &. Work , A. Hein Verlag, 1891
6. ^ Church book Slate .
7. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 1-2.
8. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 2-3.
9. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 3-5.
10. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 5-8.
11. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 8-12.
12. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 12-13.
13. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 13-14.
14. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 14-17.
15. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 17-19.
16. ↑ According to the records of Carl Abs' and his wife: Carl Abs: The undefeated championship wrestler: His life and his deeds. 1895, pp. 19-20.
17. ↑ Hamburg church book
18. ^ Article in Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung. Vienna, March 17, 1895, pp. 234–235, edited by Professor Ferdinand Hüppe.
19. ↑ Schweriner People's Newspaper of April 11, 2002
20. ↑ amt-parchimer-umland.de: Groß Godems , here online (picture of the street) ; Last accessed on April 16, 2012
21. ↑ Uns Pütt, No. 12 of December 24, 2008 ( Memento of December 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Official announcements and information of the city of Parchim, p. 11. Retrieved on February 1, 2012