Yusuf İsmail (1857 – July 4, 1898), also known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
professional wrestler who competed in
Europe and the
United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During his lifetime, native Turks knew him as ''Şumnulu Yusuf
Pehlivan Pehlivan or Pahlevan derives from Iranian language word meaning ''noble'', ''wrestler'', ''hero'' or ''champion'' and it is a loan word in many Asiatic languages as well as middle eastern languages including Turkey, Turkish surname originally given ...
''. However, writer
Rıza Tevfik
Reza is a Persian name, originating from the Arabic word , ''Riḍā'', which literally means "the fact of being pleased or contented; contentment, approval". In religious context, this name is interpreted as ''satisfaction'' or "''perfect content ...
posthumously awarded him the honorific ''Koca'' ("Great"), and thus he was later remembered as Koca Yusuf.
Known for his massive size and brute strength, he was recognized as one of the top three strongmen in the world by
Alan Calvert
Alan Calvert (1875 – June 24, 1944) was an American weightlifter, businessman, magazine publisher, and the author of several books. He was the founder of one of the first barbell companies in the world and one of the first strength-training magaz ...
, a pioneer of American
weight training, and photographer
Edmond Desbonnet during the turn of the century. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he remained undefeated in his near four-year career and successfully challenged
Evan "Strangler" Lewis for the
American Heavyweight Championship in 1898. Yusuf Ismail was the original wrestler to be known as "the Terrible Turk", but several others, including
Kızılcıklı Mahmut
Kızılcıklı Mahmut Pehlivan (b. 1878 or 1880 in Kızılcık village near Silistra, Principality of Bulgaria (a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire) – d. February 3, 1931 in Eskişehir, Turkey) was a Turkish wrestler fo ...
(promoted as his son)
[Kızılcıklı Mahmut Pehlivan](_blank)
/ref> and Armenian-American Robert Manoogian, also used the name throughout the first half of the 20th century.
Biography
Early career and the "Turkish Invasion"
Little is known of his early life prior to his first wrestling appearance in 1894, however, according to Scottish wrestling historian William Baxter, Yusuf Ismail was born Youssuf Ishmaelo in Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in 1857 to a Muslim Turkish family. Ismail first came to prominence when he won the Kırkpınar Tournament in 1887. Edmond Desbonnet claimed in his book ''Les Rois de la Lutte'' (1910) that the Turkish invasion began in 1894 after a wrestler named Joseph Doublier was defeated by a rival, Sabès. In search of someone who could defeat Sabès, Doublier visited Turkey and brought back three wrestlers: Kara Osman, Nurullah Hasan
Ali Nurullah Hasan was a Turkish wrestler. He was known with his nickname as Filiz Nurullah Pehlivan to the Turkish public whereas he used the alias Hassan Nurullah for his professional wrestling career in Western Europe. He stood 7'2" (218 cm) t ...
, and the 6'2", 250-pound Yusuf Ismail. Doublier had also brought Katrancı Mehmet Pehlivan and Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan to Paris a while before. In his Paris debut, Ismail defeated Sabès in four seconds. Sabès had attempted to use a front belt hold, but Ismail withstood the hold and pinned him using a chokehold.
Ismail spent the next three years in France, where he dominated opponents. A colorful figure, he was also known for his fierce pride. When rivals Antonio Pierri and Tom Cannon threatened to bring in a wrestler to defeat him, Ismail reportedly said he would cut his own throat if he was ever beaten. His match against another fellow Turk, Ibrahim Mahmut, was said to be one of the "''most brutal bouts ever seen on the mat''" at the Cirque d'Hiver
The Cirque d'Hiver ("Winter Circus"), located at 110 rue Amelot (at the juncture of the rue des Filles Calvaires and rue Amelot, Paris 11ème), has been a prominent venue for circuses, exhibitions of dressage, musical concerts, and other events, i ...
in Paris. Ismail became so enraged during the match that he tore at Mahmut's nostrils, broke his ribs, and twisted his arms. Although referee Tom Cannon had attempted to stop the match, only the intervention of a police inspector and six officers along with several spectators were able to separate the two. Kara Osman had been originally scheduled to face Ismail but had fallen ill, and Mahmut had taken his place. According to a rumor heard by French promoter Joseph Doublier, Osman had actually withdrawn from the match because he feared for his life because of an unspecified grudge between Ismail and himself.
Tour of the United States
He continued to be managed by Doublier until 1898, when Antonio Pierri took him to New York. Taken on by promoter William A. Brady
William Aloysius Brady (June 19, 1863 – January 6, 1950) was an American theater actor, producer, and sports promoter.
Biography
Brady was born to a newspaperman in 1863. His father kidnapped him from San Francisco and brought him to New Yo ...
, the two appeared at the London Theatre in New York, offering $100 to anyone who could stay in the ring with him for 15 minutes. George Bothner, a well known lightweight wrestler, was the only one to accept the challenge. Although outweighed by Ismail by at least 100 pounds, Bothner claimed that "there wasn't a man alive who could pin him on his back in 15 minutes" and accused Ismail of being an impostor "like so many other so-called terrors". Despite his bravado, Bothner was defeated by Ismail several days later and suffered a neck injury during the match. He described their encounter years later to Nat Fleischer in his book ''From Milo to Londos'' (1937):
He was undefeated prior to his arrival in New York until his disqualification in a match against World Greco-Roman Heavyweight Champion Ernest Roeber
Ernest Roeber (September 1861 – April 30, 1944) was a German-American professional wrestler who held the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship from 1894 to 1900 and from 1900 to 1901. Roeber also held the American Greco-Roman Heavyweigh ...
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
on March 26, 1898.[Sprechman, Jordan and Bill Shannon. ''This Day in New York Sports''. Champaigne, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 1998. (pg. 86, 121) ] Ismail, who may have intentionally fouled himself, caused the crowd to riot when he pushed Roeber out of the ring, a raised platform, and caused him to fall headfirst onto the ground five feet below. Roeber was unconscious for several minutes, and many in the crowd believed he had been killed, causing spectators to charge into the ring. Only a small police guard under Chief of Police John H. McCullagh
John H. McCullagh (1842 – March 6, 1893) was an American law enforcement officer and police captain in the New York City Police Department. Popularly known as "Farmer John", he was a protégé of Captains Jeremiah Petty and George W. Walli ...
were able to block the crowd from entering.
Roeber was revived after a few minutes and examined by physicians for injuries. Having landed on his shoulder, it was announced that he had suffered a back injury and it was decided that he would not be able to continue. Referee Hugh Leonard awarded the match to Roeber and, with calls to "Kill the Turk" and threats of lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
from those in attendance, Ismail was escorted by police to his dressing room. Ismail's manager, William Brady, offered to stage an exhibition bout between Ismail and Tom Cannon, but McCullagh refused to allow the event to continue due to concerns of rioting. The match was described in the 1907 novel ''The Substitute: A Football Story'' by sports writer Walter Camp.
A rematch between Ismail and Roeber was held at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 30. During the bout, the two began a shoving match, which caused their managers, William Brady and Martin Julian, to enter the ring. Brady and Julian, who also managed rival heavyweight boxing champions Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons, began arguing over the management of their respective men. When Fitzsimmons attempted to intervene, several fans stormed the ring and referee Herman Wolff declared the match a no-contest before the event could once again end in a near-riot. Opera House management closed the venue to wrestling events soon after.
Months later, Ismail defeated Evan "Strangler" Lewis for the American Heavyweight Championship in Chicago, Illinois. Lewis was neither able to overcome Ismail's massive size and strength nor manage to use his sleeper hold during the match. Ismail had the $5,000 prize money converted to gold and carried it in a money belt along with the title.
Death
Shortly after his victory over Lewis, Ismail took the first ship back to Europe, where he reportedly planned to open a coffee or bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
in his native village near Shumen
Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province.
Etymology
The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...
. It was on the ill-fated '' SS La Bourgogne'' that he was one of the 600 passengers who drowned when the ship sank on the morning of July 4, 1898. According to colorful accounts from the New York press, Ismail fell overboard while passengers were being evacuated to the lifeboats. Dragged underwater by the weight of his money belt, supposedly containing between $8,000 and $10,000 in gold coins, he drowned before the crew could get to him. Other journalists and surviving passengers claim to have seen "the Terrible Turk" throw women and children overboard trying to reach the lifeboats; however no mention of this was included in the official report and is generally assumed to have originated by Ismail's manager and promoter William Brady, who went on to become a successful Broadway producer.
See also
* List of people who disappeared at sea
Championships and accomplishments
* Professional wrestling
** American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
**Class of 2021
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
CageMatch.de - The Terrible Turk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Yusuf
1857 births
1890s missing person cases
1898 deaths
19th-century professional wrestlers
Bulgarian male professional wrestlers
Bulgarian Turks
Deaths due to shipwreck at sea
People associated with physical culture
People from Shumen Province
People who died at sea
Turkish professional wrestlers