 McLeod in 1909 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Stewart McLeod[3] 14 June 1861[3] Scotland |
| Died | 20 June 1958(1958-06-20) (aged 97)[3] Los Angeles, California[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 168 lb (76 kg)[2] |
| Debut | 1889[3] |
| Retired | 1913[3] |
Daniel Stewart McLeod (14 June 1861[3] – 20 June 1958) was aScottishcatch wrestler of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, who held theAmerican Heavyweight Championship twice. He worked as aminer inNanaimo,British Columbia[1] and wrestled his first match in 1889,[2] winning the Pacific Coast heavyweight championship that same year.[4]
On 26 October 1897, McLeod defeatedMartin Burns to win theAmerican Heavyweight Championship, which he would retain for four years. The most notable incident during his reign as champion came far away from the media spotlight when on 18 June 1899, McLeod met and defeated a youngFrank Gotch in a hard-fought impromptu match on a cinder track.[5] It was Gotch's first professional match and he later recounted that McLeod hadhustled all involved by pretending to be a simple furniture dealer from a neighboring town, but was sufficiently impressed by Gotch's talent to leave him avisiting card revealing his true identity.[6] Gotch would go on to defeat McLeod on multiple occasions after much training under Martin "Farmer" Burns.[7] McLeod occasionally used the "catch name" alias George Little.
McLeod's reign as champion came to an end on 7 November 1901, when he was defeated byTom Jenkins. Amid a series of rematches between the two men, McLeod recaptured the title on Christmas Day 1902[8] but lost it to Jenkins the following April atBroadway Arsenal.[1]
After retirement, McLeod worked as a wrestling instructor at theLos Angeles Athletic Club.[4]
