Manjiro "Matty" Matsuda Record Book
Created On: 12/14/2024 | This is a work in progress |
Matty Matsuda is an interesting case as he was an early wrestler who was able to break past the “Asian stereotype” and be considered one of the most dangerous wrestlers of the early 20th century. Not much is known about him and his Wikipedia page is a paragraph long that states that Matsuda was born in Yatsushiro City, Japan on an unknown date in 1887 (though the El Paso Times lists his birth year as 1889) and died on August 15, 1929. He was a former judoka that moved to America as a teenager, giving judo exhibitions on athletic cards in British Columbia and America. He took up training in pro wrestling after being inspired by a wrestling match between Frank Gotch and Dan McLeod in Vancouver. Two possible dates he attended were August 6th or October 10th, 1904, where he saw Gotch defeat McLeod and given his career started in 1905, this would make sense. According to a Troy Messenger article on May 30, 2024, Matsuda was trained by Frank Gotch himself. Wrestling Data lists his trainers as Raul Romero and Yaqui Joe. Several newspapers in the early 1900’s have stated that Matsuda first received recognition when he was a training partner for boxing legend Tom Sharkey (highly unlikely to be true and just to make Matsuda sound more dangerous or just mistaken identity. The timeline does not make sense to me as Matsuda would have been around 10-12 years old during the peak of Sharkey's career). They claimed Sharkey used Matsuda as “a combination sandbag and medicine ball” but that was where Matsuda learned to “receive grueling punishment.” According to The Indianapolis Star, Matsuda died after suffering injuries from a match against Basanta Sinzh in Cincinatti. Credit to sources has been given in this brief introduction.
Understanding Result Notes:
W = Win
L = Lose
D = Draw
DQ = Disqualified
COR = Count Out of Ring
KO = Knockout
DKO = Double Knockout
Curfew = Certain states at this time had a time all shows had to end, usually 11pm or midnight. If a match did not end prior, it was considered the same as a time limit draw.
(00:00) = Time of the match/fall or stipulation
Att: = Attendance
1905
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March 9, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. “Yato” - W (Best 3 out of 5, Matsuda won 3-1) Att: 700
- Matsuda was described as a man who "dallies with black diamonds in his private life" and a practitioner of Judo which he uses in professional wrestling. Winner of this match to face the winner of the Boris Boyd and Ahmed the Terrible Turk also taking place this evening.
March 9, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Ahmed the Terrible Turk - D (25:00)
March 24, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Kid Thompson - W (2-1; Matsuda 4:22, Thompson 14:07, Matsuda 58s)
March 25, Vancouver, BC, CAN vs. Ahmed the Terrible Turk - W (2-0; 1:45 and 2:50)
December 22, Vancouver, BC, CAN vs. Kid Thompson - W
- This took place as a special attraction during the “East End Smoker” that took place at City Hall.
1906
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January 25, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Jim McClelland - W (2-0)
February 24, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Sinclair Swanson - No Result
- The match was originally to take place but was moved to a later date. According to the Nanaimo Daily News, Matsuda cancelled the bout as the contract was signed without an interpreter and that a new contract and terms are needed. They further stated that according to “Japanese superstition” the new contract cannot be for the same date as the previous as it “brings bad luck.” The match is signed for March 1st.
March 1, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Sinclair Swanson - L (2-0; 1:03:00, 7:00)
- The result was contested as the match had two outside judges and the referee inside the ring. As the referee awarded both falls to Swanson, the two judges at ringside disagreed with the decisions and felt that the referee, J. Stewart was showing favoritism to Swanson as they were both from the same mining town.
April 24, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Sinclair Swanson - Cancelled.
- Matsuda suffered an injury while training with William Fengler. Dr. Benjamin Roller was to be brought in to act as special referee.
May 23, Vancouver BC, CAN: vs. Hector McKinnon - W
- Listed as Matsuda’s first match back from injury. It is also noted the match with Swanson that was cancelled in April is tentative to take place on June 9th.
June 19, Nanaimo, BC, CAN: vs. Sinclair Swanson - L (1-0; 1:48:00) Attn: 1000+
- Matsuda quit after losing the first fall claiming he suffered an ear injury during training and the pain became so unbearable, he was unable to continue.
July 9th: Matsuda announces that he has hired an English-speaking manager to handle all his affairs while in the area. W. Murdock of Nanaimo will take care of all future arrangements regarding Matsuda’s career. This article from the Nanaimo Daily News also stated that Matsuda had not had the year he was intending by “not being on the canvas that much” due to several injuries. The final note was that Andrew Miller of New York City had arrived in Vancouver and was looking to have a contest with Matsuda while in the area.
July 11th: The Vancouver Province announced that the initial terms of engagement were signed by Matty Matsuda and Andrew Miller and the match will take place “within the next three weeks.”
July 19, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Andrew Miller - W (2-1; Matsuda 29:25, Miller 35:10, UTC)
- Matsuda did not make the 143 lbs weight limit and therefore had to forfeit $50 for the match to take place. Miller was unable to continue for the third fall due to a strained leg. The referee, Fred Lynch awarded the decision to Matsuda.
September 5th: Dr. William Murdock announced via the Vancouver Daily News that a potential rematch between Sinclair Swanson and Matty Matsuda is to take place on September 21st and will have three falls with a 90-minute time limit. There was a hang-up on the location as Dr. Murdock wanted the location to be in Vancouver however Swanson’s manager, his brother Bob, stated the match must take place in Nanaimo.
October 6th: The Vancouver Province noted that the disagreement has still not been cleared up and the long-awaited rematch has not taken place yet. Once again Dr. Roller was listed as a potential special referee to ensure impartiality.
October 21st: According to the Vancouver Daily World, the match between Sinclair Swanson and Matty Matsuda will take place on October 23rd at the Vancouver Opera House. Both sides agreed to a ruling committee to decide the referee the night before the match that would be neutral to both wrestlers.
Matty Matsuda circa 1905-1906. Image clipped from Vancouver Daily News Advertiser, 1907.
Sinclair Swanson, the bane of Matt Matsuda's existence for most of 1906. Image is from the October 24th, 1906, edition of the Vancouver Province.
New Yorker Andrew Miller, who made the excursion out on July 19th, 1906, to Vancouver to meet Matty Matsuda. Picture was found in the July 11th Vancouver Province.
Promotional shot of Matty Matsuda from 1910.
October 23, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Sinclair Swanson - L (2-0; 15:00, 2:00)
- The Vancouver Daily World noted that earlier during the day for weigh-ins, Matsuda showed up with his hand heavily bandaged. Sinclair’s manager, Bob Swanson, checked the bandage over and stated that it could not be worn during the fight. The Daily World said that the effort of Matty Matsuda was abysmal and made no effort. After the match, Matsuda claimed that because the match was such a high profile, he felt he couldn’t cancel due to injury.
November 7th: In the Vancouver Daily Province, Joe Heinrich of Portland, Oregon placed an advertisement claiming he could beat both Sinclair Swanson and Matty Matsuda on the same night. He would fight them one after the other, agreeing to defeat both within a two-hour time limit.
November 24th: The “Unique Three-Cornered Match” was made official where Joe Heinrich will face both Sinclair Swanson and Matty Matsuda where the conditions were he would defeat both within a 90-minute time limit. The match is scheduled for December 5th.
December 3rd: The Vancouver Province announced that Westminster Fire Chief J.H. Watson has been assigned as the referee for the match.
December 5, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Joe Heinrich - W
- Heinrich was able to pin Matsuda in a half hour but was unable to defeat Sinclair Swanson in the last hour therefore both Swanson and Matsuda were declared the winners. The Vancouver Daily News Advertiser declared Joe Heinrich as “clearly overrated.”
December 20th: In the Vancouver Province, Sandy Swanson, welterweight boxer and younger brother of Sinclair Swanson said that they offered, and the challenge was accepted by Matty Matsuda to meet on December 22nd. Matsuda will need to pin Swanson twice in an hour while Swanson will only need to pin Matsuda once to secure victory.
December 22, Vancouver, BC, CAN: vs. Sandy Swanson - L
- Matsuda was unable to score a single pinfall against Swanson in the one-hour time limit.