Upcoming Lecture on the Historical Origins of Professional Wrestling
By Ann Cipperly for The Observer
OPELIKA— Join us for the Lunch Break Lecture Series at the Museum of East Alabama on September 30 at noon, featuring Keith Hebert, the Draughon Professor of Southern History at Auburn University. Known for his award-winning works on Civil War history, including the 2023 Georgia Historical Society Book Award recipient Cornerstone of the Confederacy, Hebert will present his latest research on the 19th-century origins of professional wrestling.
His talk, titled “The Deadly Origins of American Sports Entertainment: The 1868 Murder of Wrestler Uzile Prickett,” will delve into the unique story of Prickett, a Civil War-era wrestler and con man who engaged in elaborate scams against gambling audiences alongside African American performers. Hebert will explore how a famous match led to Prickett’s tragic murder by an enraged gambler.
With insights into how professional wrestling functioned as both entertainment and cultural expression in the 19th century, Hebert argues that it captivated audiences by melding athletic competition with theatrical storytelling.
Hebert has been a faculty member at Auburn University since 2014, teaching public and Southern history, while also leading the public history certificate program. He received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educator of the Year Award in 2025 and was honored with the 2019 American Library Association Choice Award for notable community college publications.
The Museum of East Alabama is located at 121 S. Ninth St. in downtown Opelika. For more information, please contact Kylie Hogue at (334) 749-2751.
