THE MAT GAME

Evening Star, Issue 22458, 1 October 1936, Page 4

THE MAT GAME

WRESTLING NEWS AND NOTES ANOTHER EX-WORLD'S CHAMPION DON GEORGE ARRIVES TO-MORROW

[By Hooker.] That Ed Don George is held in the highest regard by the Dominion Wrestling Union may be gauged from the fact that he~ is being brought to New Zealand on a guarantee of £1,700, which, according t present indications, he has two months to make good. With prospects of some great matches between George and M'Cready and George and Savoldi, however, there would appear to be little fear of the returns not being commensurate with tne outlay. It was in 1930 that George won the heavy-weight championship from Gus Sonnenberg when that flying-tackle expert was among the real top-liners, and a year later he defended his title against Ed (“ Strangler ”) Lewis after Savoldi had wrestled his one ana only preliminary on the same programme.

From then on, Savoldi forced his way through the held until he beat Londos at Chicago in April, 1933, being the lirct man to pin the Greek ia hve years. It was George who eliminated iiiari M'Cready from the Olympic Games at Amsterdam in 1928, the pair being exceptionally well matched, and it was not until they had wrestled lomin 9sec that George took the winning fall. As a professional, George has been one of the best drawcards in America. 'l’he biggest gate at any wrestling match in America last year was tha. for the match between George and Dauno O’Mahoney at Boston which drew receipts amounting to bO,OUu dollars. There were 4U,000 people present at the (r irge-UTuahoney match which was refereed by Jim Braddock, the world’s her -y-weight boxing champion. After the match had been m progress an hour and a-half, George twice threw O’Mahoney out of the ring. The second time O’x ahoney had one foot through the ropes on the way back when the count reached 19, Braddock then stopping the count. George, thinking his opponent had been counted out, was caught off his guard and was hurled out of the ring in his turn, and did not get back until the referee had completed a count of 20. A general melee ensued until the police stepped in and stopped what looked like becoming a riot. Subse. quent arguments concerned whether O’Mahoney was in or out of the ring when he had one foot through the ropes, and it was recalled that a similar incident arose in a match between Lewis and Sonnenberg on January 4, 1929. It was ruled at that time that either a wrestler or a boxer, with but one foot on the canvas and the rest of him either in the ropes or outside them, was not in action, and was subject to being counted out. On that score the bout shop Id have been awarded to George, but he had already laid himself open to disqualification by throwing O’Mahoney out of the ring for the purpose of injuring him. Those who have seen George In, action, in fact, describe him as one of the most exhilarating performers in the game to-day. Whether his opponent is willing or not George can be relied upon to keep a bout moving at a fast clip from start to finish, while the efficiency of his flying tackle is revealed by that fact that one unfortunate who was hit by it had his shoulder broken. In size George is round about the 16st class, and he is still in the flush of his wrestling vigour. Savoldi and Kruse in Return.

Despite the departure of several members of the present team to Australia where a big revival in the mat game is predicted, there are many attractive matches in store for New Zealand wrestling enthusiasts, and the arrival of Ed Don George at Auckland to-morrow will further stimulate interest.

Some big attractions are listed for the nest month or two, and at the Town Hall on Saturday night, the Dunedin public should be afforded the opportunity of seeing one of the best contests of the year, this being the return contest between Jumping Joe Savoidi, the former world’s champion, and Bob Kruse, who is reckoned t be one of the classiest wrestlers of his weight in the world to-day. Savoidi has won all of his matches in the Dominion to date with the exception of his bout with M'Cready which ended in a draw, each securing a fall, and the power of his drop-kick was illustrated in the last round when he secured the equalising fall by putting M'Cready out of action.

When Savoidi and Kruse met for the first time at Auckland on September 14, the former won by two falls to one, and Kruse is right out to even the score up, though those who have seen the two men in the ring favour Savoidi most.

Kruse has a fine record in New Zealand, and his only defeats have been at the hands of M'Cready at Wellington on July 13, Boesch, at Christchurch on August 26 when he was disqualified, Savoldi, 'at Auckland. M'Cready, an Whangarei on September 19, when he lost on points, no falls being recorded, and Blomfield, at Wellington on September 21 when he dropped the decision fay two falls to one. He has to his credit a draw with M'Cready at Dunedin on August 8 (one fall each), a draw with Blomfield, and two draws with Bocsch, while he defeated Bob Russell twice, Jack Forsgren, Pete Mehringer, Harry Kent, Chris Zahanas, and Dannie Dusek. Savoldi is a showman of the first order, but he is also an outstanding wrestler, and as Kruse is one of the best exponents of the game in the country a first-class match should be witnessed. SHOCK TACTICS. When wrestling first came to New Zealand it was a sport in which physical condition and brains were the dominating features, and in which the “ punch drunk ” contestant was unknown (says .an exchange). How. many men, they asked, had died as the result of wrestling? But, even while advocates of the grappling game were arguing along these lines, the matmeu back horde in the United States were finding that it paid to speed up and toughen up the sport. Gus Sonnenberg came to light with his famous flying tackle, caught the popular fancy immediately, and very soon found other bus. kies who were prepared to give th. public what the public wanted. The modem trend can easily be followed by glancing back at the change in tactics in the six years the matmen have been visiting New Zealand. 'ow it is becoming apparent that wrestling enthusiasts can no longer claim that their sport does not burn out and maim professional participants. In the United States the death roh of wrestling m the past three years has outnumbered that of boxing, and the heavy falls and severe knocking about taken by the wrestlers can be assessed by the dozens who are placed on ie sick list each season. ... The public demand is for the spectacular, and by their injuries the wrestlers prove that they are not sparing themselves in meeting the public demand. They admit, most,of them, that the mat game is o longer a sport in which professionals can look forward to an ctive career stretching far out into the indefinite future. Shock tactics have put wrestling far beyond boxing so far as the demands made on stamina and physical resistance are concerned. WORLD CHAMPION. Recently it was announced that Dava Levin, the New York butchers boy, and Vincent Lopez, the Mexican, were to meet in a bout which was being staged to find a world champion who would be in the position of holding an indisputable title. The match duly eventuated at Los Angeles about the middle of last mont, and resulted in a win for Levin, who will nor be Earl M'Cready’s opponent if the negotiations at present in progress to give the Canadian a tilt at the title bear fruit.There was som dispute _ regarding the manner in which the winning tail was achieved, and, incidentally, the opinions of the contestants give an idea of the style of wrestling in America. Levin put his position this way: “ Lopez said he was fouled, but I m positive I did not hw him low. It was a left to the pit of the stomach that paved - the way for my winning elbow smash to the jaw.” . Lopez responded: “i m positive that Levin wc . from me on a foul and that it was deliberate. That left hook he threw me hit me low. T! it aas what b'at me.” between rounds. A well-known New York wrestling promoter. Mr J. Curley. wcAntljr received a message from the director or the Luna Park Stadium in Bueu°f Aires reporting the death ot \\ ladek Zbyszko, famous Polish wrestler, during street fighting in Barcelona, (spam.The following day, however, a cablegram was received m New York from Zbyszko’s lawy' stating that the wrestler was in London. Wrestling entl isiasts from one enct of New Zealand to the ot ,^ r "‘ L lO } 11 in expressing sympathy with J Mr C L. Finer, the secretary of the Otago Wrestling Association in his illness, and in the hope that he will moke a speedy recovery. Mr Finer 11 one ot the greatest enthusiasts associated with the gam° in -he Dominion, and th* hold wrestling has taken upon the Dunedin public may bo aUnbuted m no small part to Mr I mer s wise former holder of touy world’s wrestling titles, who is in New Zealand watching the interests of the 1936 team, sats that any match betwfenTdrea/y and Walker must ho promoted under the ffigis of the New Zealand Wrestling Onion (s~ys the ‘Sporting Life’). So far as the dmslon of the gate receipts is concerned, M’Cready will wrestle » 60-40 split, wmner-tako-all, and/or for a side-wager. The likelihood o long awaited match between M Oread, and Walker taking place, will gue wrestling enthusiasts from one end of the country to the other much to talk ab Dave Levin, the handsome Jewish boy who won the heavy-weight “bauble" from Ali Baba, Jmnidvia the foul route,, unscheduled1 to meet Vincent Lopez m Los Angeles for the heavy-weight title of the world (other claimants please take notice). . is a husky ex-butcher boy and the first Jewish matman ever to gain a wrestline title in any division ot the spoit (safs the ‘ Ring ’)• Mark these Jew, ish grapplers who have fought haid for a place P in the limelight . . . Paul Boesch, Abe Coleman. Doctor Freddw Meyers, Eli Fischer, Herb Freeman. Benny Ginsberg, Sid Westnch, and Abe Goldberg. „ . _ The ' Ring * spoke well of Georg# Pencheff before the latter left for New Zealand. It had the following:—* “ George Pencheff and Tommy Nilan, two clever Australian heavy-weights, are giving a good account of them, selves in California. Both are fas* and agile and should go far in the mat game either in America or Australia.