Col. James H. McLaughin (1844-1905)

Real Name - James Hiram McLaughlin

Lifespan - 6/8/1844 - 9/11/1905

6’1” 215 lbs. - Oriskany, NY

Athletic Background - n/a

Teacher(s) - n/a

Aliases - J.H. McLaughlin

Peak Years - 1860s

Place in History - The formative days of professional wrestling were an incredible moment where the sport went from Civil War camps and an assortment of different styles to a money-making business of sidebets and fixes.  There are plenty of men from that transitional period, but none were quite like Colonel James McLaughlin.  A giant in his day with tremendous strength and a fierce competitiveness, McLaughlin was a dominant wrestler.  He served in the Civil War as a teenager and excelled in the collar-and-elbow style that was taught to him by his fellow soldiers.  By 1867, McLaughlin was calling himself the “American Collar-and-Elbow Champion” and through 1871, he met and defeated a variety of opponents.  After retiring for several years, McLaughlin came back and was just as physically imposing on his competition.  Just as he had in the 1860s, Colonel McLaughlin left several men crippled or dead.  The sport was still in its early stages and competitors relied heavily on sidebets.  McLaughlin likely made more money than any wrestler had up to that point with some reports of earnings that would make him a very wealthy man.  Perhaps that is why McLaughlin had so many layoffs over the years, where he would work as a train conductor and put on weight.  He was repeatedly lured back to the mat, be it against John McMahon (who he went 2-0-1 against), H.M. Dufur (who he exchanged wins with), Duncan Ross (who he also exchanged wins with) and William Muldoon (who he, yet again, exchanged wins with).  By that point, McLaughlin was in his forties and he dropped out of the seen and men like Muldoon, Tom Jenkins, Dan McLeod and others took over the sport.  In 1901, accounts of the mythical James McLaughlin show up as a challenger to the up-and-coming Frank Gotch in matches throughout the Yukon.  Their rivalry served to make a little money from the prospectors that had sought their fortunes there.  McLaughlin’s name still carried some weight all these years later.  He died several years later in Alaska. Colonel James McLaughlin is one of the most significant figures of the so-called "pioneer era" of pro-wrestling who helped bring the sport out of the war camps and turn it into a real moneymaking venture.