Viro Small (born c. 1854 ) was a collar-and-elbow wrestler and boxer of African descent who was active in the late 19th century. He is notable for being one of the first professionals of African descent in these fields in the United States.
9-453: Viro may refer to: People Viro Small , African American wrestler Oleg Viro (born 1948), Russian mathematician Catholicos Viro (d. 630), the leader of Caucasian Albanian Church in the early 7th century Places Estonia ( Viro in the Finnish language) Porto Viro , an Italian municipality Viro, Estonia ,
18-467: A village in Setomaa Parish , Võru County, Estonia Other uses Viro (company) , a Croatian sugar company Viro ( Elemental Gelade ) , fictional character the manga series Elemental Gelade Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Viro . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
27-520: The end of the American Civil War and moved north. Viro Small's career as a boxer began in 1870. There is debate over whether his wrestling career started at this point or later in 1881. The match in 1881 was a collar-and-elbow match against Mike Horogan as a substitute for another wrestler. While he lost, Horogan was very impressed with Small's ability and agreed to train him. Viro Small's career began to take off after this. Wrestling under
36-528: The fairs, Small and Horogan would team up for various shows. Horogan would challenge members of the audience to get into the ring with Small and the volunteer could win money if he lasted a certain amount of time in the ring. Small moved to New York City and wrestled in some of the toughest parts of the city, including at a tavern named Bastille of the Bowery, owned by former boxer Owney Geoghegan . The bar contained two rings for boxing and wrestling contests, and
45-505: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Viro&oldid=1065259826 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Viro Small Viro Small was born into slavery in Buford, South Carolina in 1854. He gained his freedom at
54-614: The name Black Sam , out of St. Albans and Rutland, Vermont , Small won 63 matches between 1882 and 1892 and the Vermont Collar and Elbow Championship twice. These wins made him possibly the first champion of African descent in the United States, but there are conflicting accounts and competing claims to this distinction. These titles also gave Small the chance to travel in the county fair circuits in New England . At
63-481: Was a professional boxer , nicknamed The Black Diamond , who was active during the 19th century in the Cincinnati area. Due to the political reality of the time Woodson mostly fought other black boxers, but he was good enough that he fought occasional matches with white men as well. Having earned enough money Woodson would begin to operate his own gymnasium , but he was shot to death in an argument. The source of
72-455: Was notorious for crooked management, rowdy patrons and an overall seedy atmosphere. Geoghegan reportedly won a decision over an opponent in the Bowery by having his henchmen aim a gun at the referee 's head after the fight. On September 3, 1882, at Bowery, Small had a match with Billy McCallum that ended in a no-contest after a major argument started between them. Upset by the fight, McCallum attempted to murder Small later that evening while he
81-570: Was sleeping, shooting Small in the neck, but Small survived. Other frequent opponents in New York included Captain James C. Daley, Harry Woodson , and Joe Ryan. Small's last recorded match took place in 1885. A documentary Black Sam's Statue on Viro Small's life was made by Elliott Marquis and released in February 2015. Harry Woodson Harry Woodson (c. 1852 – October 15, 1887)
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