Frank Alvin Gotch
Champion of the Klondike
A “small-town guy who made it big” is the easiest way to describe this son of Humboldt, Iowa. Also known as “Champion of the Klondike” and the “world’s most eligible bachelor”, his name was Frank Alvin Gotch.
Frank was born on a farm three miles south of Humboldt in 1878, the son of Frederick and Amelia Gotch. He wrestled other locals as a teenager, but his first important match took place in June 1899, when he was 21 years old, in Luverne, Iowa. Frank figured it would be an easy match, since the man said he was a furniture dealer. Gotch lost, but only after two hours of hard wrestling. When the man handed him his business card, Frank realized that he had just wrestled the reigning American Heavyweight Champion, Dan McLeod.
Six months later, Gotch took on “Farmer” Martin Burns, who beat him in only 11 minutes. Even though he lost, Burns offered to be the young man’s trainer. Under his guidance, Gotch won a series of matches in Iowa and then wrestled in the Yukon under the name “Champion of the Klondike.” He eventually won the title of World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion from George Hackenschmidt on April 3, 1908, an honor he held for five years, until his retirement on April 1, 1913. This made him the sixth longest reigning World Heavyweight Wrestling champion in history, behind Bruno Sammartino, Jim Londos, Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne and Bob Backlund.
In 1911, he gave up his status as one of America’s most eligible bachelors to marry Gladys Oestrich. Even though his health had started to decline before he retired, he never gave up wrestling. He joined the Sells-Floto Circus, offering to pay $250 dollars to anyone who could last 15 minutes against him. Unsurprisingly, he never had to pay anyone!
Frank died in 1917 in Humboldt, where he is buried in Union Cemetery next to Gladys and his only child, a son. If you want to revisit the stomping grounds of a small-town Iowa guy who made it big, take a drive to Bicknell Park in Humboldt. A legacy worth revisiting!
