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Beginning at the beginning, George Modrich was a man who was in at right at the beginning. Indeed, he was in there long before the revival of British professional wrestling in the 1930s. The Ohinemuri Gazette of February 1917 reports George Modrich and Walter Hogg wrestling a 60 minute draw in a match for the heavyweight championship of Waikato. Therein lies a clue to his background George was born in Croatia.
Waikato is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand and the Ohinemuri River is located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula. The match took place at the Theatre Royal in Te Aroha, and was a single contest presented alongside a cinematographic presentation. Both events must have been a rarity in 1917.
That wasn’t our earliest discovery. In May 1914, listing his occupation as a gum-digger living in Mangawai George Modrich was issued with New Zealand naturalisation papers. He had been born in 24th April, 1891, name of Jure Modric, in the smallest town on the island of Hvar, Sucaraj, Croatia.
Following on from his wrestling encounters of 1917 George’s career then takes a surprising turn. In 1919 we find reports of George Modrich the boxer, and a contender for the New Zealand heavyweight title. Shortly afterwards he moved south to live in Auckland, and by 1922 to the south island city of Christchurch, where he advertised his services as a medical masseur, simultaneously active as a professional boxer. On 4th February 1925 the New Zealand Boxing Council declared George New Zealand heavyweight champion as a consequence of champion Tom Heeney leaving New Zealand and George being the last man to defeat him.
It was a short reign as on 12th February, just one week later, light heavyweight champion Eddie Parker knocked out George in the seventh round. New Zealand Truth declared it a feeble and futile performance by George and wondered how he had ever been declared champion. None of this prevented George claiming to be heavyweight champion of New Zealand when boxing in the United States the following year. The boasts of his prowess failed to be matched by his performance, which were said to damage the prestige of New Zealand boxers in North America. The Waikato Times of 9th April, 1927, reported:
“George Modrich who went to America recently from Auckland and did anything but give New Zealand a good advertisement by his one and only display. Modrich is now back in his native land of Dalmatia where he is located at a town called Split. He is training a few boxers….”
The website boxrec.com lists 31 professional boxing matches for George, with a win-loss-draw record of 14-16-1.
From Croatia, via another knockout loss in Oslo, George finally arrived in Britain early in 1929. On 12th February, 1929, and still claiming to be New Zealand heavyweight champion, he knocked out Guardsman Charlie Penwill at Lime Grove Baths, which was later to become a regular professional wrestling venue. Five more boxing matches, and sparring for British heavyweight champion Phil Scott, followed before George emerged onto the British wrestling scene.
Having been knocked out for the sixth consecutive time by Jack O’Malley in March 1930 George was back in Britain. In May his wife, Mary Laura Modrich, was granted a divorce on the grounds of desertion. Mrs Modrich told the court, that he left in 1926 saying that he would be back soon, but she never hear from him again,
With professional wrestling having had a recent revival in the USA and South Africa there were murmurings that Britain would be the next destination for the circus in town.
The Daily Express claimed that more than twenty promoters around the country were eager to promote the new style of wrestling in Britain. Following a false start by boxing promoter Jeff Dickson at the Royal Albert Hall in October, it fell to Belle Vue, Manchester and London’s Olympia to reveal the new style of “American Catch as Catch Can Wrestling” on 15th December, 1930.
The problem facing anyone staging wrestling at that time was a shortage of wrestlers. For almost twenty years professional wrestling had been in the doldrums, surviving in music hall performances and semi professional Catch as Catch Can style mostly in the north of England. Amateur Catch-as-Catch-Can, Devon and Cornwall style, Highland, Cumberland and Westmorland amateurs were plentiful, but reluctant to lose their amateur status by taking part in an unproven venture. Americans Ben Sherman and Henry Irslinger were in the country, amateurs Atholl Oakeley, Duncan Clark, Harold Angus and Bill Garnon were willing to give it a go. There were a few old time professionals like Billy Riley and Johanfesson and some willing workers who saw the new sport as an opportunity to improve on their lifestyle, men like Jack Pye, Bert Assirati and Norman Ansell. If the sport was to be sustainable it would need many more who could attract the public.
Well, George Boganski was as obliging as he was confident. He already had some public recognition in Britain, and no doubt he was more than capable of making the most of his limited wrestling experience. And so it came about that on 15th December, 1930, George Boganski wrestled Henry Irslinger at Olympia in London’s first public wrestling match for many years. Although a rough affair the match didn’t display the most unsavoury elements that were often associated with 1930s wrestling, and was genuinely reported favourably by the press. The match was over three ten minute rounds and went the distance with Irslinger taking the only fall in the second.
In February 1931 George took part in a British heavyweight title knock-out competition at the London Club. The boy did well; beating Henry Irslinger in the quarter finals and losing on points to Douglas Clark in the semi finals. George was soon off on his travels again, and now we find (thanks to boxrec.com) he was boxing in Croatia from October 1931 until 1934.
George wasn’t back in Britain until the beginning of 1936, back in his wrestling role and set for a longer stay. This time he was given a greater “push” as he wrestled throughout the country against the likes of Bert Assirati, The Ghoul, Bill Garnon, Karl Reginsky and Guillame Estelles. When George drew over six ten minute rounds at Wolverhampton with Francis St Clair Gregory in January, 1936, they reported, “There was nothing in the contest that was not British ….. It was one of the best bouts yet staged at a venue where nowadays the real art of the mat game is being displayed for the good of the sport.”
George was last seen departing London on the Strathmore on 13th April, 1939, destination Sydney, Australia, accompanied by fellow wrestler Harry Rabin. He continued wrestling in Australia, last seen in May 1940.
In conclusion George Modrich was not the greatest wrestler, not the greatest boxer, but a man who created his own opportunities and travelled the world with unconfirmed matches in Turkey, Romania, Greece, South Africa, Sweden and Germany.
George Modrich: born 24th April 1891 ;died 27th June; buried in Walkumete Cemetery, Auckland.
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