Dan Kolov

Doncho Kolev Danev was born on 27 December 1892 in the village of Sennik, Sevlievo municipality. He was seven years old when his father died. This tragic event forced him to become a shepherd in order to survive. He left Bulgaria in 1905 and went to then Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1909, he met with another Bulgarian wrestler, Nikola Petrov, who convinced him to emigrate to the United States. == Professional wrestling and martial arts career ==

Kolov left Bulgaria and moved to the United States at the age of 13. In 1937, Kolov defeated then European Heavyweight Champion, American Al Pereira, only for Pereira to win the title back and for Kolov to reclaim it, before losing it in turn to Joe Savoldi. Kolov started his career as a wrestler by taking part in the organised wrestling matches between the workers. He later won the tournament in the circus "Victoria" in 1914, when the director of the circus invited people from the public to compete and check their physical power with the star Jeff Lawrence "The Cyclope". Kolov accepted the challenge and he succeeded in overpowering the 233 pound wrestler. He won against many famous wrestlers from that time such as Jeff Lawrence, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Jack Shirey (also called "The Lightning Man"), Rudy Dusek, Jo Stecker, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, and Jim Browning. Wins Kolov had over 1,500 official matches. == Return to Bulgaria ==

After 30 years in a foreign country, he came back to Bulgaria and was greeted as a national hero. In 1999, it was produced a movie about his life titled Dan Koloff – The King of Wrestling. == Death ==

Kolov died in Bulgaria on 27 March 1940 from tuberculosis. One of the versions for his condition is that he did not get infected naturally, but that he was purposely infected by French doctors. It is known that there were a lot of attempts to get Kolov disgraced and disqualified from tournaments. His coffin was carried by officers of the Ninth Artillery Corps from the town of Sevlievo also escorted by an honorary company of cavalry. He was buried with the specific request of facing the Balkan ("Balkan against Balkan"). Each year, in the town of Sevlievo a freestyle wrestling tournament is held in memory of Kolov. == Championship and accomplishments ==

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter • Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame (class of 2020) • Other promotions • Diamond Belt World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) • European Heavyweight Championship (3 times) • Tournament in Brazil (1927) • Tournament in Japan (1924) • Tournaments in the United States (1914/1927) == References ==