Jack Carkeek

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Jack Carkeek, (1861 - 1924) was an American Cornish wrestling Champion, from Rockland, Michigan United States. His parents were from Cornwall, United Kingdom. He met many wrestlers in his career. He died March 12 1924 in Havana, Cuba.^[1]

He made his first appearance at Michigamme, Michigan, on July 5, 1877, at age sixteen. There he won the fourth prize in a tournament of sixty-four entries. Jack Carkeek and John Pearce (the Cornish champion from Cornwall for five years, aged 27, 5fts 9in, 183 lbs.) met for the world championship of Cornish wrestling in Redruth, Cornwall.

[edit] Wrestling Career

Up until 1882 he wrestled just in Michigan, and then afterwards in Wisconsin, Iowa, Montana. At the beginning he wrestled only in ordinary tournaments, with a dozen or so other wrestlers, while later only wrestling in challenge matches for side money.^[2]

December 10, 1884, Carkeek defeated James Pascoe, the champion Cornish wrestler of the Pacific Coast, for a purse of $500, in Butte City, Montana.

January 10, 1885, at the same place, Carkeek defeated D.A. McMillan of Bodie, California, in a mixed match of five styles, for $250 a side.

February 28, 1885, he defeated H. C. Bell in Darlington, Wisconsin, for $500 a side, in the Cornish style.

April 26, 1885, in San Francisco, Carkeek was defeated by Tom Canon, the great champion, in mixed matches comprising of six styles.

June 20, 1885, he defeated O. H. Ingraham in Antioch, California, in the catch-as-catch-can style for $100 a side.

July 4, 1885, he won first prize in Grass Valley, Nevada, in a tournament against thirty-four competitors.

July 14, 1886, in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Carkeek wrestled Sorakichi Matsuda, the Japanese, for $500 a side (in both Greco-Roman and catch-as-catch-can) and won in 54 minutes.