Martin “Farmer” Burns Wins the American Title from Evan “Strangler” Lewis

Martin “Farmer” Burns defeated Evan “Strangler” Lewis to capture the American title. After Lewis won the first fall, Burns battled back to win two straight in  front of an angry crowd in Chicago, Illinois. The crowd turned angry believing that the match may have been fixed as Lewis controlled the action throughout. Lewis bullied Burns around the ring until Burns locked on a hammer lock, whereupon Lewis seemed to offer little actional fight. In the days after the match, local newspapers reported that the fight being advertised as a “winner take all,” Lewis, instead, was awarded a portion of the gate.