1900-1933 european wrestlers

Question
I am trying to find any information on my ancestors that were wrestlers in Europe. I found an article on a family member from 1933 that mentions an uncle that was a champion wrestler in Poland in 1900 and another uncle that was a topnotcher (I presume also in Poland). It also mentions a cousin (Roman Komosinski)a heavy weight wrestling champion in Warsaw, Poland, my guess would be between 1928-1933. He visited family in New York in 1929 and 1932 so he could have wrestled here as well. I don't know the names of the other wrestlers but they would be Polish with possible last names Komosinski, Majewski, Kwiatkowski, Danowski but I am not sure. The article only mentions they are uncles of John Piekarski. Thanks for any help you may have to offer. John

Answer
Hi John, I don't specialize in this period. But what I can tell you to do is research through Ancestory.com and places of that nature. Narrow down the name, then look them up in databases within the areas they were said to be champions. Knowing the promotion they were with would be a massive help.

Newspapers and other outlets kept records of Pro-Wrestling then because it was treated as a sport like MMA is now. So there should be records of any champion from that era. Poland was, and always has been a lesser known wrestling area. People went through there a lot, but wrestled in better areas like England and other parts of the UK where the money was better. So, I'd research the UK. If anyone was a champion, they would be asked to join other areas and wrestle too. It seems as if most of the family was based in the Polish area, so he may have never left. But, it's worth a look to the UK or surrounding areas in Poland.

If anyone came over from New York, they are obviously in the records there. I'm sure you know an area in New York where everyone used to sign in within that era. If not, ask a History buff. It's near the Statue of Liberty and ports. ;)

Once you find him there, you'll know if he came with anyone else. At that point, you can look into anyone who could be linked to them. I would really recommend getting the promotion name he was champ for. The promotion is real key.