The record-union., 1893-11-02
BOXING And WRESTLING.
A Very Lively Evening With the
Athletic Club.
Zine Wrestling Bouts-Wells Birdsan
Wins the Coast Feather Weight
Championship.

By the failure of the Olympic, Acme
and other club boxers to put in an ap-
pearance at the Sacramento Athletic
Clubs tournament last evening, two of
the local club members had to compete
for the coast feather-weight champion
ship. They were William McGraw and
Wells Birdsall, and the latter won.
The club members were nearly all
present, and there were few invited
guests. President George II. Clark an
nounced that Thomas Dwyer would act
as referee, V. S. McClatchy and A. z.
Seheld as judges and Henry Gallagher
and George Bauer time-keepers.
The first event on the programme was
two-round boxing bout between the
Billion midgets They displayed more
science than many of the professional
adults who pose before the public, and
were roundly applauded.
The Mooser brothers, feather-weights,
gave an exhibition with blackened gloves
which provoked great merriment Be-
fore the first round was half ended the
faces of both were as black as Goals from
the frequent visitation of the gloves. The
lads appeared to be pretty evenly matched,
ana performed LD6 dCG 1OI
each other in great style.
Otto Hebron and G. \. Strobel, light
weights, followed, and for two rounds
gave a very pretty exhibition OF the box
ing art.
William Johnson, the clubs boxing in
strUctOr, and John Kelly, the coast anna
teur champion of '92, boxed two rounds
lightly. The men are among the cleverest
on the coast, and though they only
tapped one another, the spectators could
see that they were masters at the art.
The wrestling contests between X. Y.
Cole and Donahue, and II. a. Spanjer
and L. A, Payen, light-weights, were
very exciting Cole won two straight
bouts. Spanjer won the first and Payen
the second bout in the other contest.
Then the McClatchy twin midgets,
Jim and Ted, wrestled for fifteen min
utes without fall. The little fellows dis
played the science and pluck of profess
eional adults, and they were so evenly
matched that the contest was very eX-
citing. The second bout lasted about five
minutes and was won by Jim.
E. IL. Cox, Jr., and w. NJ. La Bare
were the next TO try their mettle as
Zvrestlers. The first bout was won by Cox,
and the second by La Bare. after hotly-
contested struggle.
Then came the event of the evening,
6iX-rOund boxing match between Will
lam McGraw and Wells Birdsall for the
amateur featherweight championship of
the Pacific Coast. The prize was a hand
some trophy given by the club. McGraw
weighed $50 pounds, but Birdsall, who
was trained down very fine, seemed to be
q few pounds lighter.
The first round was conspicuous for its
lack of fighting. McGraW reached Bird
sail once on the face and the latter re-
sponded on the ribs and chest, but most
OF the round was spent in feinting.
When the second opened there was
hot exchange near the ropes and then
NcGraw got in good body blow. Nc
Graw planted his left on Birdsall's ribs
and the latter countered in like fashion,
The round ended without injury to
either.
The lads-who, by the way, are the best
OF friends-were smiling when they faced
each other in the third round. More
lively work was done in this round, there
being several hot rallies, in which the
Lonors were about even. Toward the
end of the round, however, McGraw
seemed to have a little the best of it.
Birdsall was very aggressive at the
,fpening Of the fourth round, but was met
with a couple of hard smashes one on
the cheek and then on the ribs. Then it
was give and take, both receiving some
heavy drives in rapid succession. Neither
seemed to have any the best of it when
the gong sounded, except in the matter
of points, which were in BlrdSalPS favor.
The fifth opened much like the last,
Birdsall doing most of the leading, but
getting return for nearly every blow he
struck. Then he met a couple of Nc
Graw's rushes with straight lefts in the
face, McGraW getting in heavy blow
over his opponents heart. Just as the
gong sounded Birdsan gave McGraw a
hard one on the jaw, but it left no mark.
Both came to the scratch with their
faces illumined by broad smiles. Bird
AiSr1onSo1 IL
Guid Of gum, and soon even the smiles
gave way to looks Of determination.
There was no foOling in this round, for
on the result Of it depended the owner
ship of the clubs trophy and
the coast championship. Birdsall had
evidently made up his mind to
win, and he cut out the pace in great
shape. He usually selected McGraw's
face for his mark, and reached it very
often, but without leaving scratch to
mar the latteT's beauty. NcGraw, on the
other hand. played for his adversary's
body, and planted many hot blow there
in exchange for those he received on the
Jaw. Toward the end of the round Bird
sail was doing most of the work, and
once he accidentally struck McGraw con-
siderably below the belt. The latter
rood-naturedly cautioned him against
such blows, but the effort cost him dearly.
While he was talking Birdsall landed
hard crack on the chin, which dazed him,
and following up his advantage he was
raining blows on McGraw's face in rapid
succession when the gong sounded and
the bout closed.
McGraw did not think the contest was
decided and wanted another round, but
the judges scores showed that Birdsall
had the most points in his favor, and he
was declared the champion amateur
faatherweight for 1893
It was q very interesting exhibition
throughout, both of wrestling and box
ing.