Lincoln the Wrestler

There are some passages in Team of Rivals that mention young Lincoln being known for his wrestling skills.  A historian on Reddit gives some details of the wrestling style, and links to a photo of the costume of the time. Very strange to think of Lincoln wrestling men in longjohns!

Lincoln was most definitely a wrestler. In fact, in 1992, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Wrestlers in Lincoln’s time predominantly would have worn longjohns. You can see something similar in this image.

Source: I’ve heard that Abraham Lincoln was a successful wrestler in his youth. What style of wrestling would he have participated in? How popular was wrestling in frontier America during his youth? : AskHistorians

Leave a Reply