The name of Ivan Poddubny occupies a special place in the history of world sports. He is a symbol of strength, endurance and invincibility, one of the most famous wrestlers of the early 20th century. Poddubny's Ukrainian origin is a historically proven fact, despite many years of attempts by Russian propaganda to appropriate his figure. In Ukraine, hundreds of publications have been written about Poddubny's life and sports career, books have been published, documentaries have been made, scientific conferences and public discussions have been held.
This was reported by Oleksiy Lyakh-Porodko.
At the same time, one of the important pages of his biography remained little known for a long time - Ivan Poddubny's trip to the United States of America in the mid-1920s. During Soviet times, this topic was actually under an unspoken ban, and information about Poddubny's stay in the United States was not popularized. The very fact that the Soviet authorities allowed the athlete to travel overseas still raises questions. The answers to this still require thorough research.
Arrival in America
The Ukrainian community learned about the arrival of the "great Ukrainian strongman" to the United States from the columns of the magazine "Svoboda" on December 7, 1925. It was reported that on November 29, 1925, the world-famous wrestler Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny arrived in New York on the ship Deitsch from Berlin. During his performances in Germany, he met the American wrestling manager Jack Pfeffer, who invited him to the United States. Poddubny's response was laconic: "I agree."
Immediately after arriving in New York, Poddubny, through his manager, declared his readiness to fight the strongest athletes in America. The American and Ukrainian press actively covered this visit, emphasizing the Ukrainian origin of the wrestler - a descendant of a Cossack family from the Poltava region. At the same time, some publications erroneously indicated his age - 43 years, while in fact in 1925 Poddubny was 54.
Competitions and triumphs
During about a year and a half of his stay in the USA, Ivan Poddubny held almost 160 fights in various cities of the country. Already on December 14, 1925, in New York, he twice defeated the Bulgarian wrestler Koloff. Later, dozens of fights took place in New York, Newark, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago and other cities.
The American press called Poddubny the "undefeated champion", and the halls often gathered up to 14-15 thousand spectators. His duel on January 18, 1926 in New York against the Polish athlete Vladko Zbyszko, which ended in a convincing victory for the Ukrainian after almost 45 minutes of fighting, had a special resonance.
Anniversary in New York
On January 24, 1926, a solemn celebration of the 20th anniversary of Ivan Poddubny's sports career was held in New York - from the time he won the title of "undefeated world champion" at an international tournament in Paris. The initiator of the event was manager Jack Pfeffer, who organized a large-scale celebration with the participation of famous singers, artists and cultural figures.
Among the guests were Fedor Chaliapin, Maria Lysenkova, Mykola Karlash and other famous figures. At the same time, it is worth noting that manager Pfeffer presented Poddubny as a “Russian athlete,” which contradicted the clear position of Ivan Maksimovich himself, who repeatedly emphasized his Ukrainian origin.
Decline in interest and controversial defeats
On February 1, 1926, Poddubny was defeated by American wrestler Joe Stecher. This result caused a loud resonance and even led to a kind of “public trial” in New York, where a possible conspiracy or deliberate defeat for the purpose of commercial sensation was discussed.
Over time, the public’s interest in Poddubny’s performances gradually decreased. If at the beginning of the tour the halls were full, then at the end of 1926 the number of spectators decreased several times – a consequence of the excessive number of fights and the public’s habituation to the victories of the Ukrainian strongman.
A Possible Second Visit and Soviet Repression
Despite the lack of confirmation in contemporary sources, the magazine Svoboda reported in 1932 about planned competitions with the participation of Ivan Poddubny in New York. This gives rise to speculation about a possible second visit of the athlete to the USA.
It is known that in the early 1930s the USSR was forced to register the population. In Poddubny's passport, his surname was Russified, and his nationality was recorded as "Russian". The athlete categorically disagreed with this, demanded corrections and even made changes to the document himself. For this, he was persecuted by the NKVD, which probably made it impossible for him to travel abroad again.
Photo: ukrainianpeople.us
Author: Danylo Pievchev