So, I have always understood that the Prophet Joseph Smith never lost a wrestling match or a stick pull. He was an amazing athlete. This catches the interest of 21st century young men (I believe the Lord blessed him with this unusual ability so he could deal with all of the persecution he did in his life!). However, there was one man Joseph was not able to completely throw, and so the match was a draw. The match was against Cornelius Lott, an “older man (45 in 1943 compared to Joseph’s age of 38),” and I understand the writing eye witness was Joseph’s son, Joseph III. Brother Lott was a very interesting man. He was the care taker of Joseph’s farm outside Nauvoo and a member of the Council of Fifty. He deserves a lot more study (the Council of Fifty is also quite interesting). The account below shows the competitive and fun-loving nature of the Prophet and that must have been exciting to hang around his red brick store in Nauvoo!
Here is an account of the exciting match:
Although we would like to believe the Prophet never lost a wrestling contest, this was not the case. Joseph Smith III remembered one man who prevailed over his father. He recalled that on one occasion several of the brethren came to visit and converse with the Joseph at his Red Brick store in Nauvoo. However, the conversation subsequently turned into a wrestling tournament which took place on an open space just west of the store. Each man took his turn grappling with the Prophet, but all were defeated one by one and the men returned to converse inside the store. While chatting, an elderly gentleman by the name of Cornelius P. Lott stopped by the establishment. Upon seeing the old man, young Smith recalled his father saying in a jolly tone, "'Here! I have thrown down pretty nearly everybody about the place except Brother Lott, and I believe I can throw him down, too!'" Cornelius, who was also a man of considerable brawn and muscle despite his age, was not to be intimidated by the more youthful Joseph Smith and agreed to the match. He also gave his rules for the contest. "Well, my boy, if you'll take it catch-as-catch-can you can't throw old man Lott!'" Joseph III remembered all of the men "immediately piled out of the house" to witness the competition. He stated that during the contest, "They ran together several times, but the best Father could do was to get the old man down to his knees. . . . He gave up his efforts to throw the sturdy old fellow." Some of the men who witnessed the event gave him a good-natured badgering for not being able to defeat the elderly gentleman. And in the midst of this ridicule, Cornelius rubbed his own salt into the wound when he exclaimed, "'I told you, my boy, that you couldn't throw old man Lott!'"
Cited in, Tate, Charles D., Black, Susan Easton, Joseph Smith: The Prophet, The Man, 141-142.
