Johan Fredrik "John" Olin (30 June 1883 – 3 December 1928) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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 ...

who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. He won the silver medal in the heavyweight class. In 1916, Olin captured a claim to the World Heavyweight championship after a controversial bout with

Joe Stecher Joe Stecher (April 4, 1893 – March 29, 1974), sometimes spelled Joe Stetcher, was an American professional wrestler and three-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Known for his ferocity, tremendous leg strength and extensive knowledge o ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. On 12 December 1916, in one of the great forgotten matches and upsets in wrestling history, he defeated Stecher. After 2 hrs and 40 min., both wrestlers ended up outside the ring brawling. Olin wanted to continue but Stecher declined to return to the ring. Olin was awarded the bout by the referee. Stecher injured his shoulder during the match and was out of the ring for over 1 months. In newspaper reports no mention of the title is made. Why the public continued to support Stecher is unclear. John Olin's promoters claimed the World Title but Olin was mild mannered and didn't make much noise about being the champion. It may be that the press refused to accept Olin as champion because his win was fluke due to injury and no one believe Olin could truly defeat Stecher. Also

Frank Gotch Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1877 – December 17, 1917) was an American professional wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and he is credited for popularizing professi ...

was still alive at the time and many still saw him as the "real" world champion. As Stecher didn't consider himself defeated, the idea of Olin as champ had much going against it. This claim to the title, called the Olin Line by historians, did continue. Olin lost his claim "world title" to

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 ...

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on 2 May 1917. After 2 hours and 37 minutes, John Olin concedes match due to a shoulder injury. Referee was Frank Gotch and he praised Lewis as the best. The Strangler would not be as mild manner as Olin, and actively claimed the title. Olin resided in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

during his stay in the United States, and wrestled as a professional for several years. He died in

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References

External links

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The World Title and Contenders of 1915 to 1920 by Steve Yohe
* * * 1883 births 1928 deaths Wrestlers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Finnish male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of Finland Olympic silver medalists for Finland Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Finnish male professional wrestlers 19th-century Finnish people 20th-century Finnish people {{Finland-wrestling-bio-stub