The Great Gama

Wrestler from British India (1878–1960)

For Stampede Wrestling professional wrestler of the 1970s to 2000s, see Gama Singh.

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The Great Gama

Birth name| Ghulam Mohammed Baksh Butt[1]
Born| (1878-05-22)22 May 1878
Jabbowal, Punjab, British India
(now in Punjab, India)[2][3][4]
Died| 23 May 1960(1960-05-23) (aged 82)[5]
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Family| Imam Baksh Pahalwan (brother)
Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif (granddaughter)
Maryam Nawaz (great-granddaughter)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name| Gama Pahalwan
Billed height| 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[6]
Billed weight| 250 lb (110 kg)[6]
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Notable men

Early 20th century (Before 1949)

* Bert Assirati
* Billy Riley
* Billy Sandow
* Ed "Strangler" Lewis
* Frank Gotch
* George Hackenschmidt
* The Great Gama
* Jack Pfefer
* Joe Stecher
* Jim Londos
* Lou Thesz
* Martin "Farmer" Burns
* Orville Brown
* Salvador Lutteroth
* Toots Mondt

Mid 20th century (1950−1969)

* Blue Demon
* Bruno Sammartino
* Buddy Rogers
* Danny Hodge
* Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer
* Édouard Carpentier
* El Santo
* Freddie Blassie
* Gene Kiniski
* Gorgeous George
* Karl Gotch
* Killer Kowalski
* Rikidōzan
* Sam Muchnick
* Stu Hart
* Verne Gagne

1970s

* Abdullah The Butcher
* Akira Maeda
* André the Giant
* Antonio Inoki
* Baron von Raschke
* Big Daddy
* Billy Robinson
* Carlos Colón
* Dory Funk Jr.
* Dusty Rhodes
* Ernie Ladd
* Giant Baba
* Gordon Solie
* Harley Race
* Jack Brisco
* Mil Máscaras
* Negro Navarro
* Nick Bockwinkel
* Terry Funk

1980s

* Bobby Heenan
* Dynamite Kid
* Genichiro Tenryu
* Hulk Hogan
* Jim Crockett Jr.
* Kerry Von Erich
* Randy Savage
* Ric Flair
* Ricky Steamboat
* Roddy Piper
* Satoru Sayama
* Stan Hansen
* Ted DiBiase
* Vince McMahon

1990s

* Akira Taue
* Antonio Peña
* Atsushi Onita
* Bret Hart
* Eric Bischoff
* Jim Ross
* Jushin Liger
* Keiji Muto
* Kenta Kobashi
* Kevin Nash
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* Mitsuharu Misawa
* Owen Hart
* Paul Heyman
* Rob Van Dam
* Ron Simmons
* Scott Hall
* Shawn Michaels
* Sting
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* The Undertaker
* Toshiaki Kawada
* Triple H
* Vince Russo

2000s

* AJ Styles
* Batista
* Brock Lesnar
* Chris Jericho
* Eddie Guerrero
* Edge
* Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Jeff Hardy
* Jeff Jarrett
* John Cena
* Kurt Angle
* Místico
* Naomichi Marufuji
* Randy Orton
* Rey Mysterio
* Samoa Joe

2010s−2020s

* Bryan Danielson
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* Jon Moxley
* Kazuchika Okada
* Kenny Omega
* Nick Khan
* Roman Reigns
* Rossy Ogawa
* Seth Rollins
* Tetsuya Naito
* Tony Khan
* Will Ospreay
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Notable women

Early and Mid 20th century (1900−1974)

* Chabela Romero
* Cora Livingston
* Donna Christanello
* Ethel Johnson
* Irma González
* June Byers
* La Dama Enmascarada
* Mae Young
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* The Fabulous Moolah

Late 20th century (1975−1999)

* Aja Kong
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* Bull Nakano
* Chigusa Nagayo
* Chyna
* Dump Matsumoto
* Jackie Sato
* Lady Apache
* Lioness Asuka
* Madusa Miceli
* Manami Toyota
* Megumi Kudo
* Miss Elizabeth
* Sherri Martel
* Wendi Richter

2000s

* Awesome Kong
* Ayako Hamada
* Beth Phoenix
* Faby Apache
* Gail Kim
* Kaori Yoneyama
* Lita
* Madison Eagles
* Marcela
* Nanae Takahashi
* Sara Del Rey
* Stephanie McMahon
* Trish Stratus

2010s

* Alexa Bliss
* Asuka
* Bayley
* Becky Lynch
* Charlotte Flair
* Iyo Sky
* Kairi Sane
* Mayu Iwatani
* Meiko Satomura
* Mercedes Moné
* Princesa Sugehit
* Ronda Rousey

2020s

* Bianca Belair
* Giulia
* Liv Morgan
* Rhea Ripley
* Sareee
* Syuri
* Toni Storm
* Utami Hayashishita

Notable tag teams and stables

Mid 20th century − 1970s

* Assassins
* Blackjacks
* Blond Bombers
* The Duseks
* Fabulous Kangaroos
* First Family
* Kalmikoffs
* Los Misioneros de la Muerte
* Sharpe Brothers
* Valiant Brothers
* Wild Samoans

1980s

* Brain Busters
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* Crush Gals
* Demolition
* Fabulous Freebirds
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* Hart Foundation
* Heenan Family
* Los Infernales
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* Revolution
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* Steiner Brothers

1990s

* Cho-Ten
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* D-Generation X (New Age Outlaws)
* Doom
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* Dungeon of Doom
* Harlem Heat
* Heisei Ishingun
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* v
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* e

Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt (22 May 1878 – 23 May 1960), commonly known by the title Rustam-e-Hind[a] and by the ring name The Great Gama,[b][7] was a Kashmiri Muslim,[8] pehlwani wrestler and strongman in British India and later, Pakistan. In the early 20th century, he was an undefeated wrestling champion of British India.[9][10]

He was born in the Kashmiri Butt caste in Jabbowal village (Amritsar District) in the Punjab Province of British India in 1878,[2] Gama was awarded a version of the World Heavyweight Championship on 15 October 1910. Undefeated in a career spanning more than 52 years, he is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.[11] After the partition of India, Gama migrated to Pakistan, where he died in the city of Lahore on 23 May 1960.[3][12][13]

The prominent members of Great Gama Family includes, The Great Jahara Pehlwan, Nasir Bholu, Sohail Pehalwan, Abid Pehalwan, Kalsoom Nawaz, Bilal Yasin (Ex-Federal Minister), Ibraz Butt (Youth Parliamentarian, Secretary of Information) [14] & Moazzam Zubair (Son of Jahara The Great)

## Early life

[edit]

Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt was born on 22 May 1878 in Jabbowal, a village in the of the Punjab Province of British India (now in the Kapurthala district of Punjab, India) into a Kashmiri muslim family of traditional wrestlers.[6][3][4][15] Gama had two wives: one in Punjab and the other in Baroda, Gujarat.[citation needed]

He was first noticed at the age of ten, in 1888, when he entered a strongman competition held in Jodhpur, which included many gruelling exercises such as squats.[16] The contest was attended by more than four hundred wrestlers and Gama was among the last fifteen and was named the winner by the Maharaja of Jodhpur due to his young age.[17] Gama was subsequently taken into training by the Maharaja of Datia.[18]

## Career

[edit]

Gama performing a baithak Gama performing a dand

### First encounter with Raheem Bakhsh Sultaniwala

[edit]

In 1895, at the age of 17, Gama challenged the then Rustam-e-Hind,[a] middle-aged Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala, another ethnic Kashmiri wrestler from Gujranwala.[19] At about 7 feet (2.1 m) tall, with a very impressive win–loss record, Raheem was expected to easily defeat the 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 m) Gama. Raheem's only drawback was his age as he was much older than Gama, and near the end of his career. The bout continued for hours and eventually ended in a draw.[20] The contest with Raheem was the turning point in Gama's career. After that, he was looked upon as the next contender for the title of Rustam-e-Hind or the Indian Wrestling Championship. In the first bout Gama remained defensive, but in the second bout he went on the offensive. Despite severe bleeding from his nose and ears, he managed to deal a great deal of damage to Raheem Bakhsh.[20][21]

By 1910, Gama had defeated all the prominent Indian wrestlers who faced him except the champion, Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala. At this time, he focused his attention on the rest of the world. Accompanied by his younger brother Imam Bakhsh, Gama sailed to England to compete with the Western wrestlers but could not gain instant entry, because of his lower height.[22]

### Tournament in London

[edit]

In London, Gama issued a challenge that he could throw any three wrestlers of any weight class in thirty minutes. This announcement however was seen as a bluff by the wrestlers and their wrestling promoter R. B. Benjamin.[12] For a long time, no one came forward to accept the challenge. To break the ice, Gama presented another challenge to specific heavy weight wrestlers. He challenged Stanislaus Zbyszko and Frank Gotch, that he would either beat them or pay them the prize money and go home. The first professional wrestler to take his challenge was the American Benjamin Roller. In the bout, Gama pinned Roller in 1 minute 40 seconds the first time, and in 9 minutes 10 seconds the other. On the second day, he defeated 12 wrestlers and thus gained entry to the official tournament.[22]

### Match with Stanislaus Zbyszko

[edit]

He was pitted against world champion Stanislaus Zbyszko[22] and the bout was set for 10 September 1910. Zbyszko was then regarded among the premier wrestlers in the world; and he would then take on the mammoth challenge of India's feared Great Gama, an undefeated champion who had been unsuccessful in his attempts to lure Frank Gotch into a match. And so, on 10 September 1910, Zbyszko faced the Great Gama in the finals of the John Bull World Championships in London.[23] The match was worth £250 in prize money and the John Bull Belt. Within a minute, Zbyszko was taken down and remained in that position for the remaining 2 hours and 35 minutes of the match. There were a few brief moments when Zbyszko would get up, but he just ended back down in his previous position. Through this defensive strategy of hugging the mat in order to nullify Great Gama's greatest strengths, Zbyszko wrestled the Indian legend to a draw after nearly three hours of grappling, though Zbyszko's lack of tenacity angered many of the fans in attendance.[24]

Nevertheless, Zbyszko still became one of the few wrestlers to ever meet the Great Gama without going down in defeat; The two men were set to face each other again on 17 September 1910. On that date, Zbyszko failed to show up and Gama was announced the winner by default.[25] He was awarded the prize and the John Bull Belt. Receiving this belt entitled Gama to be called Rustam-e-Zaman or World Champion but not the lineal champion of the world as he hadn't defeated Zbyszko in the ring.

### Bouts against American and European champions

[edit]

During this tour, Gama defeated some of the most respected grapplers in the world, "Doc" Benjamin Roller of the United States, Maurice Deriaz of Switzerland, Johann Lemm (the European Champion) of Switzerland, and Jesse Peterson (World Champion) from Sweden. In the match against Roller, Gama threw "Doc" 13 times in the 15-minute match.[citation needed] Gama now issued a challenge to the rest of those who laid claim to the World Champion's Title, including Japanese Judo champion Taro Miyake, George Hackenschmidt of Russia and Frank Gotch of the United States – each declined his invitation to enter the ring to face him. At one point, to face some type of competition, Gama offered to fight twenty English wrestlers, one after another. He announced that he would defeat all of them or pay out prize money, but still no one would take up his challenge.[citation needed]

### Final encounter with Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala

[edit]

Shortly after his return from England, Gama faced Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala in Allahabad. This bout eventually ended the long struggle between the two pillars of Indian wrestling of that time in favour of Gama and he won the title of Rustam-e-Hind or the lineal Champion of India. Later in his life when asked about who was his strongest opponent, Gama replied, "Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala".[26]

### Rematch with Zbyszko

[edit]

After beating Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala, Gama faced Pandit Biddu, who was one of the best wrestlers in India of that time (1916), and beat him.[27]

In 1922, during a visit to India, the Prince of Wales presented Gama with a silver mace.

Gama did not have any opponents until 1927, when it was announced that Gama and Zbyszko would face each other again. They met in Patiala in January 1928.[28] Entering the bout, Zbyszko "showed a strong build of body and muscle" and Gama, it was reported "looked much thinner than usual".[29] However, he managed to overpower the former easily and won the bout inside a minute, winning the Indian version of the lineal World Wrestling Championship. Following the bout, Zbyszko praised him, calling him a "tiger".[30]

At forty-eight years old he was now known as the "great wrestler" of India.[12]

### Fight with Balram Heeraman Singh Yadav

[edit]

After defeating Zbyszko, Gama beat Jesse Petersen in February 1929. The bout lasted only one and a half minutes. This was the last bout that Gama fought during his career.[citation needed] In the 1940s he was invited by the Nizam of Hyderabad and defeated all his fighters. The Nizam then sent him to face the wrestler Balram Heeraman Singh Yadav(THE LION FROM HYDERABAD), who was never defeated in his life.The fight was very long, Gama was unable to defeat Heeraman and eventually neither wrestler won. After the independence and partitioning of India in 1947, Gama moved to Pakistan. Although Gama did not retire until 1952, he failed to find any other opponents. After his retirement he trained his nephew Bholu Pahalwan, who held the Pakistani wrestling championship for almost 20 years.[citation needed]

## Final years

[edit]

After the partition of India in 1947, Gama moved to Pakistan. During the Hindu–Muslim riots that broke out at the time of partition, Gama saved hundreds of Hindus from Muslim mob in Lahore.[3][4] Although Gama did not retire until 1952, he failed to find any other opponents. Some other sources say he wrestled until 1955. After his retirement, he trained his nephew Bholu Pahalwan, who held the Pakistani wrestling championship for almost 20 years.[15]

His final days were difficult; he had five sons and four daughters and all the sons died young. When his youngest son Jalaluddin died in 1945 at the age of just thirteen, Gama was heartbroken and lost the power of speech for some days. He migrated to Pakistan at partition and tried his hand at different unsuccessful ventures including a bus service in Karachi called the "Gama Transport Service".[31] Gama was given land and monthly pension by the government and supported his medical expenses until his death.[32] He died in Lahore, Pakistan on 23 May 1960 after a period of illness.

Kulsoom Nawaz, politician and wife of Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was the granddaughter of Gama.[33]

## Legacy

[edit]

The Great Gama – Title page of the book

Gama fought and won over five thousand matches.[34][31][35] Bruce Lee was an avid follower of Gama's training routine. Lee read articles about Gama and how he employed his exercises to build his legendary strength for wrestling, and Lee quickly incorporated them into his own routine. The training routines Lee used included "the cat stretch", and "the squat" (known as "baithak", and also known as the "deep-knee bend.").[36]

Today, a doughnut-shaped exercise disc called Hasli weighing 100 kg, used by him for squats and pushups, is housed at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) Museum at Patiala, India.[37]

On 22 May 2022, search engine Google commemorated Gama with a Doodle on his 144th birth anniversary.[38] Google commented: "Gama’s legacy continues to inspire modern day fighters. Even Bruce Lee is a known admirer and incorporates aspects of Gama's conditioning into his own training routine!"[39]

## Championships and accomplishments

[edit]

* International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
* Class of 2021[40]
* George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
* Class of 2007[41]
* Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
* Class of 2015[42]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b lit. 'Rustam of Hind', transl. Champion of India.
2. ^ Or Gama Pehelwan.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Great Gama Pahelwan". thenews.com.pk.
2. ^ a b Harris M. Lentz III (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 118\. ISBN 978-0786417544. "Gama the Great (Ghulum Mohammed; b. 1888, d. 1953; Amritsar, Punjab, India; 5'7", 250 lbs.) was from a prominent wrestling family in India."
3. ^ a b c d "Here's The Story Of Gama 'The Undefeated' Pehalwan And How He Saved Hindus During 1947 Riots". India Times. 16 May 2017. "Gama Pehalwan was born as Ghulam Mohammed in 1878 in Amritsar."
4. ^ a b c "The Great Gama and Lahore". Pakistan Today. 5 January 2018. "Ghulam Muhammad later known as the Gama Pehalwan was born in Amritsar on May 22, 1878."
5. ^ Nidaay-e-Millat, Urdu Weekly Magazine 21–27 July 2016. Lahore
6. ^ a b c Lentz III, Harris M. (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling (2 ed.). McFarland. p. 118\. ISBN 978-0786417544. Retrieved 11 July 2017. "Gama the Great (Ghulum Mohammed; b. 1888, d. 1953; Amritsar, Punjab, India; 5'8", 250 lbs.) was from a prominent wrestling family in India."
7. ^ Garg, Chitra (2010). Indian Champions: Profiles of Famous Indian Sportspersons. Rajpal & Sons. p. 352\. ISBN 978-81-7028-852-7. "He managed to get the Indian wrestling style introduced in the international games. He is solely responsible for earning international fame for this form of wrestling and was given the title of 'Rustam-e-Hind.'"
8. ^ "A Forgotten Wrestling Legend: Perhaps The Greatest of Them All". Bleacher Report. 16 February 2009. "Great Gama, or Ghulam Muhammad, was a Kashmiri Muslim professional wrestler from the undivided India, who was a practitioner of what is known as "Pehlwani" wrestling in south asian countries like India and Pakistan."
9. ^ Green, Thomas A. (2001). Martial Arts of the World: A-Q. ABC-CLIO. p. 721\. ISBN 978-1-57607-150-2. "An early-twentieth century studio photo of the famous Indian wrestler The Great Gama (Ghulam Mohammed, 1878-1960)."
10. ^ Tadié, Alexis; Mangan, J. A.; Chaudhuri, Supriya (2016). Sport, Literature, Society: Cultural Historical Studies. Routledge. p. 41\. ISBN 978-1-134-92024-2. "In recent years, the history of modern Indian wrestling - or kushti \- has begun to receive scholarly attention. Most accounts agree that the last decades of the nineteenth century saw the coming of the modern form of this ancient Indian sport, with Indian wrestlers emerging from the confines of their akhadas and fighting with their Western counterparts. Between 1910 and 1913, a wave of Indian wrestlers visited England and took the wrestling world by storm. The most iconic of them was the great Gama - the 'lion of Punjab' - arguably the greatest wrestler India has ever produced."
11. ^ "The culture and crisis of kushti". The Hindu. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
12. ^ a b c Banerjee, Sarnath (10 March 2012). "Gamanamah: The story of a strongman". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
13. ^ Hornbaker, Tim (2017). Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Headlocks, Body Slams, and Piledrivers. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781613218754. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
14. ^ "YP135-NA-135 Lahore-XIII Ibraz Ajmal Butt". Youth Parliament. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
15. ^ a b "Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt — The Great Gama Pehalwan". Daily Times. 25 May 2022.
16. ^ "Google Doodle celebrates India's Gama Pehlwan, the undefeated wrestling champion". Hindustan Times. 22 May 2022.
17. ^ Sen, Ronojoy (2015). Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India. Columbia University Press. p. 167\. ISBN 978-0231539937. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
18. ^ Prasher, Shantanu. "The Great Gama: Story Of The Greatest 'Buffer' To Ever Walk On Indian Soil". www.mensxp.com. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
19. ^ Hong, Fan; Zhouxiang, Lu (20 May 2020). The Routledge Handbook of Sport in Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-59027-6.
20. ^ a b "Gama Pehlwan: 144th Birth Anniversary of Gama Pehlwan 2022". NDTV.
21. ^ Alter, Joseph S. (3 August 1992). The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91217-5.
22. ^ a b c Alter, Joseph S. (1992). The wrestler's body identity and ideology in North India. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 76\. ISBN 978-0520912175.
23. ^ Svinth, Joseph (2003). Martial Arts in the Modern World. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98153-2.
24. ^ "Why the Great Gama is counted among the greatest wrestlers of all time". trtworld.
25. ^ "The 'John Bull& Wrestling belt won by an Indian". The Derby Daily Telegraph. 17 September 1910.
26. ^ Hornbaker, Tim (July 2012). Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Headlocks, Body Slams, and Piledrivers. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-1-61321-075-8.
27. ^ A problem to wrestle with. The Indian Express. p. 23.
28. ^ "World Wrestling Championship: Indian's Victory Over Pole". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertise. 14 February 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
29. ^ Kundu, Sagnik (23 December 2016). "The Great Gama – The pehelwan who refused to lose". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
30. ^ "World Wrestling Championship: Gama Beats Zbyszko". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 3 March 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
31. ^ a b "The Great Gama Pahelwan | Sports | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
32. ^ "Here's the Story of Gama 'The Undefeated' Pehalwan and How He Saved Hindus During 1947 Riots". 16 May 2017.
33. ^ Jajja, Sumaira (2 April 2017). "WRESTLING: The Warrior's Soul". Dawn. Pakistan.
34. ^ "Ghulam Muhammad".
35. ^ Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. 2003. ISBN 978-0786417544.
36. ^ Little, John, Bruce Lee – The Art of Expressing The Human Body (Tuttle Publishing, 1998), p. 58
37. ^ "The Tribune – Windows – Featured story". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
38. ^ "Gama Pehlwan, undefeated wrestler 'The Great Gama,' honored in Google Doodle". 9to5Google. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
39. ^ "Gama Pehlwan's 144th birthday". 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
40. ^ "Induction Weekend 2022 | Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". IPWHF.
41. ^ Johnson, Steve (14 July 2007). "Emotions run high at Tragos/Thesz induction". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
42. ^ Oliver, Greg (26 November 2014). "Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2015 announced". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* The Lion of the Punjab – Gama in England, 1910 by Graham Noble
* Subaltern Bodies and Nationalist Physiques: Gama the Great and the Heroics of Indian Wrestling by Joseph Alter, Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

* v
* t
* e

Physical culture

Antecedents|

* Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths
* Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
* Johann Baptist Krebs
* Pehr Henrik Ling
* Franz Nachtegall
* Francisco Amorós y Ondeano
* Adolf Spiess
* Thomas Topham

Systems|

| Western|

| European|

* Bert Assirati
* William Bankier
* Edward William Barton-Wright
* Zishe Breitbart
* Niels Bukh
* Victor Dane
* François Delsarte
* Edmond Desbonnet
* Launceston Elliot
* Tony Emmott
* Juan Ferrero
* Eileen Fowler
* Bob Fitzsimmons
* Gustav Frištenský
* Edith Margaret Garrud
* Hermann Görner
* George Hackenschmidt
* Georges Hébert
* Oscar Heidenstam
* F. A. Hornibrook
* Thomas Inch
* John Lees
* Dan McLeod
* Jørgen Peter Müller
* Hartvig Nissen
* Reg Park
* William Pullum
* Joan Rhodes
* Eugen Sandow
* Arthur Saxon
* Clara Schlaffhorst
* Sokol
* Mary Bagot Stack
* Lionel Strongfort
* Maxalding
* Maxick
* Monte Saldo
* Vulcana
* Ronald Walker
* Emily Diana Watts
* Freddie Welsh

|

New World|

* Marguerite Agniel
* Charles Atlas
* Clarence Bass
* Sanford Bennett
* Pierre Bernard
* Mark Berry
* Joe Bonomo
* George Brosius
* Drexel Biddle
* Marie Bjelke Petersen
* William Blaikie
* Paul Bragg
* Alan Calvert
* Edwin Checkley
* C. Ward Crampton
* Jack Delinger
* Ludwig Durlacher
* George Eiferman
* Carrica Le Favre
* Keene Fitzpatrick
* Mark Forest
* Ed Fury
* John B. Gagnon
* Vince Gironda
* Joe Greenstein
* John Grimek
* Milo Hastings
* Roy Hilligenn
* Bob Hoffman
* George F. Jowett
* Annette Kellerman
* Siegmund Klein
* Jack LaLanne
* W. R. C. Latson
* Diocletian Lewis
* Gilman Low
* Dan Lurie
* Bernarr Macfadden
* Artie McGovern
* William Muldoon
* Ralph Parcaut
* Kid Parker
* Harry Paschall
* Bill Pearl
* Steve Reeves
* Leo Robert
* Joe Rollino
* Tony Sansone
* Dudley Allen Sargent
* Larry Scott
* Amos Alonzo Stagg
* Genevieve Stebbins
* Alois P. Swoboda
* Armand Tanny
* Vic Tanny
* John Terpak
* Warren Lincoln Travis
* Al Treloar
* Turners

Indian|

| Bodybuilding|

* Manohar Aich
* Ramesh Balsekar
* The Great Gama
* B. C. Ghosh
* Ambika Charan Guha
* Jatindra Charan Guho
* Guru Hanuman
* K. V. Iyer
* Kodi Rammurthy Naidu
* Chandgi Ram
* Monotosh Roy

|

Yogic|

* Krishnamacharya
* Kuvalayananda
* Seetharaman Sundaram
* Shri Yogendra
* Tiruka
* Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao

Related|

* Battle of the Systems
* Fitness culture
* Gymnastics
* Muscular religion
* Yoga as exercise
* Natural hygiene
* Pilates

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Pride of Performance for Sports

1950s|

* Hashim Khan (1958)
* Hawaldar Abdul Khaliq (1958)
* Abdul Hafeez Kardar (1958)
* Fazal Mehmood (1958)
* Subedar Muhammad Iqbal (1959)
* Hanif Mohammad (1959)

1960s|

* Syed Abdus Samad (1960)
* Major Abdul Hamid (1960)
* Roshan Khan (1960)
* Brojen Das (1960)
* Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed (1960)
* The Great Gama (1960)
* Captain Raja Javed Akhtar Khan (1961)
* Azam Khan (1961)
* Bholu Pahalwan (1962)
* Naseer Bunda(1962)
* Hafiz Rashid (1962)
* Saeed Ahmed (1962)
* Brigadier M.A. Baig (1962)
* Abbas Mirza (1963)
* Manzoor Hussain Aatif (1963)
* Mushtaq Muhammad (1963)
* Dafadar Mubarak Shah (1963)
* Khundker Nasim Ahmed (1964)
* Jamadar Ghulam Raziq (1964)
* Subedar Muhammad Nawaz (1966)
* Imtiaz Ahmad (1966)
* Sheikh Shaheb Ali (1966)
* Aslam Pahalwan (1967)
* Asif Iqbal (1968)
* Muhammad Bashir (1968)
* Khalid Mahmood Hussain (1968)
* Tariq Aziz (1968)
* Muhammad Asad Malik (1969)
* Moideen Kutty (1969)
* Mohammad Akhtar (1969)

1970s|

* Lala Abdul Rashid (1970)
* Ahmed Riazuddin (1970)
* Jehangir Ahmed Butt (1970)
* Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool (1970)
* Faiz Muhammad (1970)
* Major Mohammad Aslam Khan (1970)
* Fazal Rehman (1971)
* Tanvir Dar (1971)
* Riaz Ahmed (1971)
* Nabi Ahmed Kalat (1971)
* Zaheer Abbas (1971)

1980s|

* Islahuddin Siddique (1982)
* Jahangir Khan (1982)
* Byram D. Avari (1982)
* Nazir Ahmed Sabir (1982)
* Ashraf Aman (1982)
* Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1983)
* Akhtar Rasool (1983)
* Samiullah Khan (1983)
* Manzoor Hussain Junior (1984)
* Hasan Sardar (1984)
* Kaleemullah Khan (1984)
* Hanif Khan (1984)
* Qamar Zaman (1984)
* Major Mohammad Sher Khan (1985)
* Javed Miandad (1986)
* Zaheer Abbas (1986)
* Captain Abdul Jabbar Bhatti (1986)
* Mohammad Ali (1986)
* Abdul Majeed Maruwala (1987)
* Shah Jehan (1988)
* Zia Mahmood (1988)
* Intikhab Alam (1988)
* Abdul Qadir (1988)
* Nasir Ali (1988)
* Mudassar Nazar (1989)

1990s|

* Honorary Lieutenant Mohammad Younis (1990)
* Arif Khan (1990)
* Nazo Anwar Miandad (1990)
* Mohammad Shehnaz Sheikh (1990)
* Wasim Akram (1992)
* Shahbaz Ahmed (1992)
* Ghulam Abbas (1992)
* Taimur Hasan (1992)
* Shahid Ali Khan (1992)
* Qazi Muhibur Rehman (1993)
* Rajab Shah (1993)
* Mohammad Yousuf (1994)
* Mohibullah Khan Junior (1994)
* Khwaja Mohammad Junaid (1994)
* Abdul Rashid (1994)
* Muhammad Saeed Khan (1994)
* Mansoor Ahmed (1994)
* Ahmed Alam (1994)
* Tahir Zaman (1994)
* Muhammad Shahbaz (1994)
* Muhammad Shafqat (1994)
* Irfan Mehmood (1994)
* Naveed Alam (1994)
* Asif Bajwa (1994)
* Muhammad Danish Kaleem (1994)
* Muhammad Usman (1994)
* Kamran Ashraf (1994)
* Rahim Khan (1994)
* Rana Mujahid Ali (1994)
* Waseem Feroze (1994)
* Aliya Rasheed (1995)
* Fareed Sehrai (1995)
* Waqar Younis (1995)
* Ali Nawaz Baloch (1995)
* Mohammad Sarwar (1995)
* Asghar Ali Changezi (1996)
* Sardar Azmarai Javaid Hissam el-Effendi (1996)* Ghulam Noorani Khan (1996)
* Munawwar uz Zaman (1997)

2000s|

* Saeed Anwar (2000)
* Haider Ali (2003)
* Rozi Ali (2003)
* Mohammad Irfan Islam (2003)
* Grand Master Muhammad Ashraf Tai (2004)
* Zakir Hussain Syed (2004)
* Mehrullah Lassi (2004)
* Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (2005)
* Nida Waseem (2008)
* Zubair Ahmed Hundal (2008)
* Shahid Rehman (2008)
* Umer Khan Achakzai (2009)

2010s|

* Atta Muhammad Kakar (2010)
* Khawaja Zakauddin (2010)
* Lal Saeed (2010)
* Shahid Khan Afridi (2010)
* Younis Khan (2010)
* Aleem Dar (2011)
* Goshpi Avari (2011)
* Naseem Hameed (2011)
* Shahid Pervaiz Butt (2011)
* Qasim Zia (2011)
* Mohammad Yousuf (2012)
* Maria Toorpakai Wazir (2013)
* Misbah-ul-Haq (2014)
* Zeeshan Abbasi (2014)
* Hanif Khan (2014)
* Muhammad Asif (2015)
* Amir Iqbal Khan (2015)
* Samina Baig (2015)
* Muhammad Waseem (2017)
* Alamgir Anwar Shaikh (2017)

2020s|

* Muhammad Irfan (2020)
* Haider Ali (2020)
* Farhan Mehboob (2020)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[lit.]: literal translation
*[transl.]: translation