Dick Shikat

{{Infobox professional wrestler

| name = Dick Shikat

| image = Dick Shikat, early 1930s.jpg

| image_size =

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| alt =

| caption = A publicity photograph of Shikat (in long trunks) from the early 1930s

| birth_name = Richard I. Schikat{{Cite web|url=http://www.legacyofwrestling.com/Shikat.html|title = Dick Shikat Wrestling History}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|1|11|df=y}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=7213&gimmick=Dick%20Shikat|title=Dick Shikat « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH|first=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=bios&wrestler=2602&bild=1|title=Wrestlingdata.com|first=Axel|last=Saalbach|publisher=}}

| birth_place = Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1968|12|3|1897|1|11|df=y}}

| death_place =

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| family = Paul Schikat (brother)

| names = Dick Shikat
Richard Shikat{{cite web |url=https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=7213 |title=Dick Shikat|work=CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database|access-date=2023-02-12}}

| height = {{Convert|6|ft|1|in|cm|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{Convert|220|lb|stlb kg|abbr=on}}

| billed =

| trainer = Joe Toots Mondt

| debut = 1918{{cite web|url=http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=bios&wrestler=2602&bild=1&details=3|title=Wrestlingdata.com|first=Axel|last=Saalbach|publisher=}}

| retired = 1953

| website =

}}

Richard I. Shikat (11 January 1897 – 3 December 1968) was a German professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century.{{cite web|url=http://www.legacyofwrestling.com/Shikat.html|title=Dick Shikat Wrestling History|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/wrestlingscout/profiles-by-country/profiles/shikat|title=Dick Shikat (1897 - 1968) - wrestlingscout|publisher=}} Shikat was considered to be one of the most dangerous 'hookers' (catch wrestlers) of his era and had memorable bouts with Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Wladek Zbyszko, and Jim Londos.{{cite web |title=Dick Shikat |url=https://classicwrestlingarticles.wordpress.com/tag/dick-shikat/ |website=Classic Wrestling Articles |accessdate=18 June 2020}} Over his long career, he wrestled under 3 successively simplified versions of his surname, namely

Schickat, Schikat, and Shikat.{{cite news|last = Kerby|first = Damon|date = 2 October 1929|title = Shikat Throws Brunowiecz in Wrestling Bout|work = St. Louis Post-Dispatch|page = 23}}

One of Shikat's most notorious moments was on 2 March 1936, when Danno O'Mahony lost his National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship to Shikat at New York's Madison Square Garden. Shikat used his wrestling ability to genuinely hurt and punish O'Mahony, who tried to quit twice before the finish of the match. Shikat reportedly made the decision on his own, and following the win immediately put his title up for "sale" to various promoters. He eventually reached a deal with Sandow. Bowser, who held a management contract on Shikat, retaliated by booking him into various states without informing him. When Shikat failed to appear, he was frequently suspended by the local commissions. Later in March of that year, the Tennessee Athletic Commission suspended him, which triggered simultaneous suspension in 23 other states affiliated with the National Wrestling Association.{{cite news|agency = Associated Press|date = 25 March 1936|title = Shikat Suspended by Tennessee's Athletic Board|work = St. Louis Post-Dispatch|page = 16}} In the aftermath of this, the behind-the-scenes negotiations were exposed in a court case, no fewer than five wrestlers were being billed as champions, and the sport's popularity fell.{{cite podcast |url=https://www.f4wonline.com/ |title=Wrestling Observer Radio |website= |publisher=Wrestling Observer Newsletter |host=Bryan Alvarez & Dave Meltzer |date=25 April 2023 |time= |access-date=25 April 2023}}