The Brutal Story of America’s First Wrestling Champion: Colonel J.H. McLaughlin

from 10 Bell Pod · host 10 Bell Pod

I'm back with another off-season solo show and wrestling history deep cut.Colonel James Hiram McLaughlin was a Civil War officer, a traveling attraction, train conductor, Klondike gold miner and arguably the first true American professional wrestling champion.We're going all the way back to the 1800s again to uncover the brutal, chaotic, and often unbelievable origins of pro wrestling through the life of one of JH.McLaughlin was a force of nature. A legit grappler in both collar and elbow and catch as catch can and his matches were real, violent, and sometimes deadly. IMPORTANT LINKS:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/10bellpod⁠⁠⁠Reddit: ⁠⁠https://www.reddit.com/r/10BellPod⁠⁠Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/10BellPod⁠⁠⁠⁠ProWrestling Tees: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/related/10bellpod.html⁠⁠⁠⁠PayPal Donation - ⁠⁠9BHDW7Y2KMBTY⁠⁠Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/64GdAqEG⁠

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 1, 2026

Embed this episode

Attribution link and audio player

Ready to play

The Brutal Story of America’s First Wrestling Champion: Colonel J.H. McLaughlin

0:00 12:15

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

No similar episodes found.

Similar Podcasts

The Drop-In Pod dropinsportspod A group of fantasy league managers drop in to talk sports and leave as they please. Explicit The Cocky Top Podcast Studio 66 THE Cocky Top Podcast is a sports podcast by a divided friendship. Brian, an avid South Carolina Gamecock and Tyler, an ’All Vol’ Tennesseean have been friends for over 10 years, but the thing that has always divided them was college football. On this show, they will discuss their individual teams throughout the football season, as well as, other high profile games around The SEC; with other high profile games, as a bonus.Tune into Cocky Top every Monday and Friday. Follow along and let us know who your favorite team is and how their season is going by emailing us at [email protected]. You can also find more by searching @studio_66tld on Instagram and Studio 66 on Facebook. Explicit

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of 10 Bell Pod?

This episode is 12 minutes long.

When was this 10 Bell Pod episode published?

This episode was published on April 1, 2026.

Can I download this 10 Bell Pod episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.

URL copied to clipboard!