| Dan McLeod | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Daniel Stewart McLeod |
| Born | 14 June 1861 Scotland |
| Died | 20 June 1958(1958-06-20) (aged 97) Los Angeles, California |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m) |
| Billed weight | 168 lb (76 kg) |
| Debut | 1889 |
| Retired | 1913 |
Daniel Stewart McLeod (14 June 1861 – 20 June 1958) was a Scottish catch wrestler of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, who held the American Heavyweight Championship twice. He worked as a miner in Nanaimo, British Columbia and wrestled his first match in 1889, winning the Pacific Coast heavyweight championship that same year.
On 26 October 1897, McLeod defeated Martin Burns to win the American Heavyweight Championship, which he would retain for four years. The most notable incident during his reign as champion came far away from the media spotlight when on 18 June 1899, McLeod met and defeated a young Frank Gotch in a hard-fought impromptu match on a cinder track. It was Gotch's first professional match and he later recounted that McLeod had hustled all involved by pretending to be a simple furniture dealer from a neighboring town, but was sufficiently impressed by Gotch's talent to leave him a visiting card revealing his true identity. Gotch would go on to defeat McLeod on multiple occasions after much training under Martin "Farmer" Burns. McLeod occasionally used the "catch name" alias George Little.
McLeod's reign as champion came to an end on 7 November 1901, when he was defeated by Tom Jenkins. Amid a series of rematches between the two men, McLeod recaptured the title on Christmas Day 1902 but lost it to Jenkins the following April at Broadway Arsenal.
After retirement, McLeod worked as a wrestling instructor at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
See also
Championships and accomplishments
Catch wrestling
- Independent
- World Catch-as-Catch-Can Championship (1 time)
- American Catch-as-Catch-can Championship (1 time)
Professional Wrestling
- Independent
- American Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
References
- ^ Hornbaker, Tim (2016). "McLeod, Dan". Legends of Pro Wrestling - 150 years of headlocks, body slams, and piledrivers (Revised ed.). New York, New York: Sports Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-61321-808-2.
- ^ SLAM! Sports. "Dan McLeod". Canoe Inc. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Sports and Pastimes" (PDF). British Colonist. 21 October 1897. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ Larkin, Mark (18 November 1916). "Former Champ in Wrestling an Instructor". Pittsburgh Press. p. 8. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- "When Gotch and McLeod Wrestled at a Picnic". Classic Wrestling Articles. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- Gotch, Frank (28 February 1907). "Sporting Comment" (PDF). Auburn Citizen. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- "Gotch Wins in Two Straight". Classic Wrestling Articles. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- "Injury Makes Tom Jenkins Quit". Classic Wrestling Articles. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- Oliver, Greg (16 March 2023). "IPWHF Class of 2023 both 'Great' and 'Gorgeous'". Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
