History
Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat with references to it as early as the Iliad, in which Homer recounts the Trojan War in the 13th or 12th century BC. The origins of wrestling can be traced back 15,000 years through cave drawings in France. Babylonian and Egyptian relief's show wrestlers using most of the holds known to the present-day sport. In ancient Greece, wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature; wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, was the number one sport of the Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality.
During the Middle Ages (fifth century to fifteenth century) wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of France, Japan and England.
Early Americans brought a strong wrestling tradition with them when they came from England. The settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the early years of the country and served as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises. The 1st organized national wrestling tournament was held in New York City in 1888, while the 1st wrestling competition in the modern Olympic Games was held in 1904 in Saint Louis, Missouri. FILA was founded in 1912, in Antwerp, Belgium. The 1st NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, Iowa. USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, became the national governing body of amateur wrestling in 1983. It conducts competitions for all age levels.
Read more about this topic: Wrestling
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It gives me the greatest pleasure to say, as I do from the bottom of my heart, that never in the history of the country, in any crisis and under any conditions, have our Jewish fellow citizens failed to live up to the highest standards of citizenship and patriotism.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today.”
—Henry Ford (1863–1947)
“The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)