Abraham Lincoln, known for freeing slaves and leading the US through the Civil War, was also a tough wrestler in his youth, losing only once in about 19 matches. He talked trash after winning and was posthumously inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
In most history books, Abraham Lincoln is portrayed as a dignified statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln is known for helping to free slaves and lead the states United through the Civil War. However, as a young man in his teens and early 20s, Lincoln was known as one of the toughest dudes in rural 19th-century America: a tall, muscular wrestler who lost only once in about 19 wrestling matches. Honest Abe’s only wrestling loss came at the hands of Hank Thompson, during a championship bout for the Illinois Militia Regiment 300 title.
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The match against Thompson took place while the militiamen were enjoying some down time in the midst of the Black Hawk War.
Carl Sandburg’s biography of Lincoln also states that Lincoln liked to talk a little trashy. After beating a competitor, Abe was quoted as saying, “I’m the bulk of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come and pick your horns.”
In 1992, Lincoln was posthumously inducted into the Outstanding American Wing of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Other presidential candidates include George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
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