The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-07
WREsrLERs AND THEIR TRICKS.
Some Of the Ruses Employed In Bouts on
Che Mat.


tricks Is not considered up 20 date on the
mat. There arc any amo unit Of ruses
grappler can resort 10. but It is the time 10
worn articles that are the most effective
These tricks as a whole may not be con-
sidered legitimate. but II is a dihicult task
10 prevent them from being put into execu-
ton. The Turks are adopts at this sort OF
thing and invariably spring some new
wrinkle every time they appear In a bout
The greaslng trick. which IL probably one
Of the oldest. Is one Of their favorite pranks.
II IL may be thus termed. This Tuse is very
dificult 10 detect at frst. for II the grease
Is applied deity Il will not appear on the
surface Of the skin for some time, OF until
the wrestler begins 20 perspire. we'll
known grappler was telling some quaint
stories about knights Of the mat the other
night and he said among other things;
Whenever was about 10 engage In
contest saw 10 II that my man was thor
oughly examined before went against him
I always made II my duty TO look out for
that grease gag II could, because l knew
that it was a decided factor in aiding any
person who INDUCED In Il. II found that
! he was creased appealed to the referee
at once, and insisted upon the man being
thoroughly washed with alcohol and cleaned
up. II ! wanted 10 stretch point could
then and there have him disqualified. There
are forty kinds Of grease person can use
in such tricks. Take cold cream. cocoa
butter, and a lot Of Others. Rub In
! right and the stun win never come out
! or show until you have worked hard enough
to make the sweat appear. Then 1t is
difficult task to find out II your man il
creased.
Talk about greasy men! Why, person
| must first meet Turk TO ascertain just what
grease really means. Why. lard is resin
compared to them. You see, they eat
lot Of greasy stun. olive oil, &c, and, as
the majority Of them are fat and bulky
you can imagine what they must be after
an hours hard wrestling. Charley Witt
mer, the clever Grseco-Roman athlete from
Cincinnati had q great experience in this
direction when he met the late Yusuf.
The pair put up a great struggle, the affair
4 going for three hours, the result being a
draw Yusuf was creased TO the limit,
so to speak, and it was a herculean task
to keep a hold no matter how firm 1t was
applied. for more than few seconds at best.
AS soon as Wittmer looked his man Witt
mer's hands would become full Of grease
and clip of. Why, when the match was
over. Wittmer could have stood the Turk
in a wash tub, had him soraped and filed
the tub with blubber finer than was ever
brou ght home on New Bedford whaler.
The worst dose Wittmer ever got in
the way Of a trick was when he met Sebas-
tian Miller, the stone crusher' and all
round strong man. Miller had powdered
rosin on the soles Of his shoes. Every now
and then he would get behind Wittmer
when the latter was on the floor, and
rub his hands against his soles, and
then secure q body lock. In this way
he was able to rub the stun on Wittmer's
body from the waist TO the chin. Witt
mer thought that some one was saving
his bones when the ros came in contact
with his skin and suffered considerably
while the contest was in progress.
George Hackenschmidt tells story
of a trick that was played on him when he
started out az a wrestler. Being natur-
ally strong. the Russian Lion took to the
Greco Roman style. He did not know
much about catch-as-catch-can, but he
wanted TO try his skill under those rules. 80
he met fellow by the name Of Morsin in
Berlin. The bout went along all right for
thirty minutes OF 30. Then Mo sin tried
a bone breaking leg Nelson and got hold
Of the Russians right leg in such manner
that the member was fairly twisted out Of
Joint before Hackenschmidt was aware Of Z.
Hackenschmidt continued 10 wrestle never
realizing the extent Of his injury until he
tried to use the leg. Then he found it so
powerless that he was unable to use Il.
But the Russian was resourceful and fooled
his opponent by making his play for neck
and body locks alone, In this way Hacken-
schmidt found a good opportunity 10 use
bis strength, and he did 90. The chance
came with half Nelson. He caught Mou-
sin around the neck. lifted him IN the air
sHd rs 1s him n S6 505SS When ,Ss
he had won by tapping him on the back,
the Russian, with bis man under him. was
unable to rise because Of his game leg. |
Then Mo sins trick was discovered.
George Bothner came near being the |
victim OF one Of the foulest tricks played |
on the mat 70 my knowledge. 1t was many
years ago, and George was just budding as
a professional wrestler. He had occasion
TO visit one Of the New England towns,
where a young athlete, very strong and
powerful was oonsidered to be world
beaten. The friends Of the man regarded
him as a sure winner, and began TO bet all
kinds OF money on his chances. The bet
ting was 30 suspicious that Bothner'sseconds
their eyes open. When the bout began the
man was examined carefully and appeared
to be all right. The struggle went along
without any incident until thirty minutes
had passed II was perceptible all along
that BothneTs opponent was DESTROYS OF
letting George get on top, but Bothner
kept underneath, with the intention OF
rolling his man Finally, Bothner got into |
a standing position, but his man dropped
to the mat and, naturally, George had TO |
become the aggressor. His opponent, Il |
seemed, was anxious to expose the top Of
bis head as much Rs he could by keeping |
his chin close to his body, as many wrestlers
do when they wish TO guard against a neck
hold. Every time Bothner came in contact !
with the top Of his adversary's head a feel |
ing Of nausea stole over him and he got sick !
in his stomach. But, as fortune would |
have t. Bothner threw bis man for the first
fall with a scissors hold. When Bothner
got to his chair he staggered, but be had
presence Of mind to say TO his seconds:
Examine that fellows head before he |
gets TO his dressing room
The examination was promptly made. |
and Il was discovered that the wrestlers |
head was saturated with a drug the fumes
Of which would cause unoonsoiousness
In the course Of time, The trick cost Both
ners opponent the match then and there.
a a