Yusuf İsmail (1857-July 4, 1898), also widely known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During his lifetime, his native Turks knew him as Şumnulu Yusuf Pehlivan. However, writer Rıza Tevfik posthumously awarded him the honorific Koca (great) and he was later remembered as Koca Yusuf.
Widely known for his massive size and brute strength, he was recognized as one of the top three strongmen in the world by Alan Calvert, pioneer of American weight training, and photographer Edmond Desbonnet during the turn of the century. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he remained undefeated in his near four-year career and successfully challenged Evan "Strangler" Lewis for the American Heavyweight Championship in 1898. Yusuf İsmail was the original wrestler to be known as "the Terrible Turk", however several others, including Kızılcıklı Mahmut (promoted as his son)[1] and Armenian American Robert Manoogian, also used the name throughout the first half of the 20th century.
