Henri Deglane (22 June 1902 – 7 July 1975) was a French

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

. He was an Olympic Champion in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

and AWA World Champion. In May 1931, Deglane faced

Ed "Strangler" Lewis Robert Herman Julius Friedrich (June 30, 1891 – August 8, 1966), better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-ti ...

for the

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

in Montreal in a two-out-of-three falls match. After two falls, Deglane had feigned being bitten by Lewis, when in reality he had been bitten in the locker room. This led to Deglane being awarded the title via disqualification and a dispute over who was actually acknowledged as champion over the next two years. In July 1937 in Paris, France, Deglane lost his

European Heavyweight Championship The European Heavyweight Championship is a name used for various top titles competed for throughout the European professional wrestling circuit. The title was recognised as official by UK national TV network ITV for the purposes of their coverage ...

title to American

Al Pereira Alfred Pereira (August 8, 1906 to January 15, 1990) was an American professional wrestler, known as Al "Power House" Pereira. He held the European Heavyweight Championship twice. Early life Pereira was born in Half Moon Bay, California, the so ...

. He was inducted into the

Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of ...

in 2013 for his accomplishments in professional wrestling.

Olympics

Deglane competed at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

in Paris and won a gold medal in

, the heavyweight class.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Association ''(Boston)'' **

(1 time) *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

** Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deglane, Henri 1902 births 1975 deaths Sportspeople from Limoges Olympic wrestlers of France Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics French male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics French male professional wrestlers