Georg Hackenschmidt - Personal Life

Personal Life

Hackenschmidt became a naturalized French citizen in 1939, and then became a British subject in 1946.

He lived with his French wife Rachel in South Norwood, London.

He was a great friend with famous magician Harry Houdini and playwright George Bernard Shaw. As he aged, Hackenschmidt also expressed a high regard for his old opponent, Tom Jenkins, by then the wrestling coach at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hack visited Jenkins in 1939 and the two got along splendidly, Jenkings accommodating Hackenschmidt in his home and giving him a tour of the West Point training facilities. In their mutual admiration society, they never publicly expressed any credit to Frank Gotch, and Hack spent the rest of his life complaining about Gotch's foul tactics and his knee injury in explaining his inexplicable losses.

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