Athletics: Professional and Amateur Sports

Total articles: 14

George Heraklides: Model Titan
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Beginning in the middle 1880’s, Greek strongmen began to perform at circuses, music halls and arenas all across the United States of America. Massive strongmen such as Heracles Koutalianos, Theodoros George Costakis, Nicholas Protopapas, Antonio Pierri and numerous others toured the nation performing feats of strength which, up to that time, had only existed in the imagination. These Greek athletes were known not simply in the major urban centers but literally all across the country.

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Greeks Left Their Mark on Pro Wrestling
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
From the early 1900’s until the 1930’s, Greeks dominated the sport of wrestling in North America. When wrestling was a legitimate sport, Jim Londos was the undefeated champion who was as recognized a national figure as Jack Dempsey. No one knows how many Greek immigrants became professional wrestlers, but it is clearly documented that they quickly became a recognized and widely feared contingent.

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Time of the Titans: Greek Athletes in New York City
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
The history of amateur Greek athletics in New York City is still a matter of debate. This is especially curious since, from 1901 to the present, published accounts on the Greek amateur athletes of New York City abound. Many Greek immigrants joined local athletic clubs and gyms throughout the five boroughs.

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A Brief Survey of Greek Amateur Athletics in New York City
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
It must have been two years ago or so. I was sorting through the sports documentation at Notre Dame when George Rugg, the special archivist in charge of the collection, came into the research area with a xerox in his hand.

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“Stratusfaction Guaranteed!” The Career of Pro Wrestler Trish Stratus
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Trish Stratus is without question the most popular woman in the world of professional wrestling. She first entered the World Wrestling Entertainment organization in early 2000 and, since climbing through the ropes, has won a record six titles.

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Joseph Hubertus Pilates: The Man and His Method
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Among Greek athletes, Joseph Hubertus Pilates, remains a figure yet to receive the recognition he unquestionably deserves. Often called a "brilliant extrovert," Pilates proudly claimed to have combined the philosophy of Naturopathic Medicine (or Natural Healing) with the Classical Greek ideal of the whole man.

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Extreme Sports Champ And All-American 'Grrrl'
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Tara Dakides is part of that new generation of Greek American women not often discussed in the general community, but the type of woman who is very well known. A driven over-achiever, Dakides is never given to stereotypic expectations. She is much like the unmarried daughter who is a trial lawyer, engineer or chemist.

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The Magnificent Mimi Lesseos
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
This is truly an entirely new era for Greek women. Nostalgia and a real need to learn about the roles, experiences and actions of Greek women of the past have led to a growing desire to discover more about our feminine forebears.

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Reclaiming A Greek Lion: The Story of Gus Kervaras
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
In the late 1880’s and very early 1900’s, a generation of Greek immigrants came forward and soon dominated the sport of wrestling in North America. Konstantinos Tsamopoulos’ life and career readily fits into the legion of nationally acclaimed Greek strongmen and wrestlers. Long before the fakery and clownish breaking of chairs across an opponent’s back was standard fare, real athletes met in earnest combat for hard won-prizes.

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Grecian Strongmen and Wrestlers: Men of Honor Who Drew Big Crowds
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Now that the dust of world attention on the 2004 Olympic Games has settled, it is time we paid tribute to the Greeks who have achieved lasting greatness in North American sports.
For nearly 100 years, Greeks – as athletes, trainers and promoters – have helped to establish what is today recognized as the very traditions of American sportsmanship.

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The Grecian Gladiators: One Of Vaudeville’s Greatest Acts
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Little is recalled today of the various Greek immigrants who worked in American vaudeville. Chance references in archival sources and rumors within the Greek American community about these Greek performers abound.

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Harry Agganis: The Golden Greek
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
It’s Christmas time, but looking ahead to the new year, June 27, 2005 will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Greek American sports legend Harry Agganis.

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The Famous Chicken
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Round Lakes, IL.-Ted Giannoulas, born in 1953, recently retired from professional sports. After a thirty year career, Mr. Giannoulas was named by Sporting News as one of the 100 most powerful people in American sports during the 20th century.

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Dandolos: The King of Gamblers
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
ROUND LAKES, Ill.-Nicholas Andrea Dandolos is one of the few Greek immigrants to American shores who became a living legend in his lifetime. From 1928 until well into the 1950s, Nick Dandolos was the most famous gambler in North America. Not a shadowy figure of the underworld, Mr. Dandolos was quite literally a media figure known for his high-stakes games.

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