The Black Diamond Wrestling Grudge
A boastful challenge leads to a bizarre wrestling match in the Black Diamond mining camp, resolved in mere seconds.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
An event which created much amusement took place in the Black Diamond mine Saturday evening. Harry Pann, a champion wrestler, and one who claims to be the champion of all miners, engaged in a match with Cumberland. The match was started between the contestants after a boasting of his powers and ended by Pann saying he could throw Cumberland in one hour. Cumberland did so. A purse of $15 was collected from the many spectators and the known champion Pann handled Cumberland in a manner that created a roar of laughter. Cumberland won the five falls: First fall, two seconds; second fall, three seconds; third fall, ten seconds; fourth fall, two seconds; fifth fall, two seconds. Pann weighs 195 pounds and Cumberland 130.
“Pann said he could throw Cumberland in one hour. Cumberland did so.”
Mining camps like Black Diamond were centers of intense, often rowdy social life where physical challenges were a common outlet for labor stress. Today, the town is a quiet bedroom community, but the echoes of its industrial roots and the competitive spirit of its immigrant workforce still define the regional history.
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