Huseyin Pehlivan (Huseyin Alkaya), also known as Huseyin Pehlivan from Tekirdag, was born in 1908 in the village of Alkaya in Kardzhali. He began wrestling at the age of 14 and, along with his family, immigrated to Turkiye in 1927, settling in Tekirdag. He adopted the name of his birthplace as his surname.
In 1935, he defeated all his opponents in the wrestling competitions organized by the Istanbul People's House. During the same years, in France, he defeated four French wrestlers, considered unbeatable by the French, in 15-minute matches in front of 30,000 French spectators, making his name known worldwide. He was the Kirkpinar champion for eight years between 1935 and 1942.
Huseyin Pehlivan passed away on February 10, 1982. A statue was erected in his honor in the center of Tekirdag, and a primary school was also named after him.
His life was depicted in the documentary "The Loser Drinks Soda," produced by Mehmet Canbulat in 2012.
A monument was erected in his honor in his birthplace in 2013.
Let's try to get to know him now, in his own words, on November 8, 1946. "I was born in 1324 (1908) in the village of Alkaya in Kardzhali. My surname is the name of my village. My father, Osman, was a farmer and a grocer. Although he was interested in wrestling, he only wrestled on holidays. He died in the same village at the age of fifty-five. My first interest in wrestling began by watching my older brothers, Ali and Bekir. By the time I was fourteen, I had beaten both of them. When my brothers saw how talented I was, they wouldn't let me do any work. They said, 'We'll work, you focus on wrestling.' I got married at fifteen. By the time I was nineteen, I had defeated all the wrestlers in our area. My last wrestling match in Bulgaria was at the Kosukavak fair in the Elmali plateau against a 120-kilogram Bulgarian. Although I beat the Bulgarian several times in a row, it wasn't accepted. Moreover, they tried to kill me that night."
Following this, I obtained a passport and came to Tekirdag with my family in 1927. I rented a house in the Ciftlikonu neighborhood. One day, this house collapsed on us. My father-in-law and mother-in-law, my sister-in-law's two daughters, and three neighboring women died. God spared my wife and children. I lost in wrestling matches in Tekirdag. Among those who defeated me in 1929, Huseyin from Uzunkopru comes first.
So, to earn a living, I went to work in the fields. During this time, I learned to read and write the new alphabet. I had only gone to school for a year in my hometown and hadn't even memorized the old script. I worked constantly to support my family, but I couldn't stay away from wrestling. In Ramadan of 1929, I went to Istanbul. I wrestled for fifteen days. After the fifteenth of Ramadan, Kara Yusuf from Bayburt took me and four other young wrestlers to Samsun. We stayed in Samsun and its surroundings for four months. I didn't earn any money, but I honed my wrestling skills. After Samsun, I had my first wrestling match in Duzce.
Here, I faced Chief Wrestler Cemal and wrestled in the second-tier category. Our match lasted 6 hours, and neither could win. After that, they always made me wrestle for the main category. Besides my masters Mandirali Ahmet, Kara Ali, Manisali Rifat, and Coban Mehmet, whose wrestling I carefully followed and from whom I benefited by traveling, I also faced opponents such as Mulayim, Cemal, Coban Mahmut, Molla Mehmet, and Sumnulu Arif. I had many wrestling matches with them from 1929 to 1933 and never let myself be defeated. After 1933, our relationship became serious. We always fought fairly. Finally, in 1936, the Eminonu Community Center organized a Chief Wrestler wrestling match. Here, I defeated Kara Ali (the chief wrestler of 1935), Mulayim, Afyonlu Suleyman, and Arif, and won the chief wrestler belt. I won these matches, which were repeated in Taksim for three consecutive years.
Great Ataturk took an interest in my achievements. He summoned me to Florya to wrestle with Coban Mehmet and Buyuk Mustafa. He delighted us with his compliments and gifts.
In the winter of 1938, I went to Paris with the organizer Asim Ridvan. First, to assess my level, I wrestled with fifty wrestlers in private clubs. This took place over a week, mostly at night. I defeated my opponents in no more than ten minutes. Then, I faced four well-known wrestlers—Finnish, Bulgarian, and French—in front of thirty thousand spectators. I knocked all four of them down in fifteen minutes each.
Upon this, the organizer Raul Paul called me to his room. He said he would give me ten thousand Turkish lira if I lost the three matches I was to have against the French champion Deglen. The Turkish blood in my veins would never allow that. Since the honor of representing a foreign country as the chief wrestler was above everything else, and I was ready to give everything for that honor, not just accept it, I immediately refused the offer. I was not given the opportunity for a fair fight. I returned to my country.
At the 1939 Kirkpinar wrestling championships, the General Directorate of Physical Education presented a golden belt in the name of Mehmet Kurt Dereli. This belt would go to whoever held the title of chief wrestler for three consecutive years. With my determination and strength, I succeeded in this as well and won the belt. At the 1942 Kirkpinar wrestling championships, Ibrahim from Babaeski was declared chief wrestler, but I later defeated him several times. Especially in Afyon, I pinned him to the ground in a minute. I am now thirty-eight years old. I weigh 110 kilograms. My height is 178 centimeters and my neck is 52 centimeters. I have lost nothing of my strength. I am ready to defeat any wrestler who comes my way. Until I became chief wrestler, my biggest rival was Mulayim. I wrestled with him perhaps fifty times. I first defeated him in Corlu, then he couldn't stand against me anymore. Until I became chief wrestler, I received no official or private assistance. When I came to Turkiye, I established and developed my home in Tekirdag, which I love, so I introduced myself as a native of Tekirdag. The province of Tekirdag wanted to give me a house as a reward for the honor I had brought them.
The project was started through the efforts of General Kemal Balikesir and Governor Sakip Beygo. However, due to the war, the General left Tekirdag, and the construction was left unfinished. Apart from a few cubic meters of stone brought by municipal trucks and sand transported by Tekirdag drivers, I received no other assistance. I was forced to build this house, which had a large plan, all by myself. Nevertheless, I owe a debt of gratitude to those who helped me and enabled me to become a homeowner. Today, I live comfortably in it and receive a few pennies in rent. I have three sons, Besim, Muhsin, and Metin, and a daughter, Ayten.
In wrestling, strength and intelligence are essential. The saying "A wise man becomes a wrestler" is a fabrication by those who dislike this sport and is incorrect. Like all athletes, I believe that a sound mind resides in a sound body. Intelligence plays a huge role in wrestling. Victory cannot be achieved solely through strength. There are one hundred and sixty-six moves in wrestling. Using them appropriately for the situation and the opponent is a matter of intelligence. I have never consumed alcohol, not even coffee. But now I do these things occasionally. Looking at our other wrestlers, I can say that my waist and neck are particularly strong, and my chest is broad. The wrestling I primarily do is freestyle wrestling. The Western-style wrestling, which is given importance by the state, is the kind of oil wrestling that the people love. Among the newer wrestlers, I admire Yasar Dogu and Celal Atik. In oil wrestling, the wrestlers from Babaeski; Serif from Sindirgi, Hayati from Karacabey, Ali and Ahmet from Luleburgaz, Suleyman from Hayrabolu, and Halil from Manisa are all on the same level. Now I want to go to England and America and show them the well-known strength of the Turk…
