Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-02-17
WRESTLING. GOOD WORK
 LAST NIGHT
Manager Joe Lawlor Pulls Off Two Good Wrestling Contests Jack Roac Failed to Throw Pickett.

The first of q series of wrestling tournaments was inaugurated last night by the Simonsville Athletic club
 under the management of Joe Lawlor and the opening was most success
 full one, both from sporting and
 financial standpoint The little athletic
 hall was filled last night with crowd of representative citizens who enjoyed the two contests furnished lM the club. It was good entering wedge
 for more contests of the kind and the
 manager was congratulated on the stand he has taken in regard to clean and square contests. Before the sport began it was announced to those pres ent by the club referee that the match es given in the Simonsville athletic hall would all be on the level. If the slightest suspicion was attached to any one of them the referee would at once stop it and send both men from the mat. No fakes will be worked off on the public by two men who have mnde prior agreement to divide the profits. This will insure good work on the mat and will afford the public an opportunity of seeing something for what they pay.
 There were to be two preliminaries last evening, but O'Brien who was to wrestled with Heating. did not show up and that contest had to be declared off. The next preliminary, however, furnished enough excitement to make up for the loss of the first one. This contest was between Gresham. the champion featherweight of Montreal. and Philip Arkand of this city. The boys wrestled at catchweights. but af ter the contest was over bet was made by friends of each about their respective weights which will be de- cided later. When the lads got to- gether it was seen that Gresham pos sessed the most science and that Ar kand, while showing much strength. lacked many of the fine points of wrestling. He left himself open for many holds and had to be warned by the referee for holding to the ropes and to the mat. Gresham would have se- cured one fall but for peculiar thing. Arkand was being slowly forced to the floor when Arkand pounded him twice on the back with his fist. At once Gresham arose from the mat. believing the referee had awarded the fall to him. He was surprised when told the referee had not, touched him and Ar kand was warned that if he attempt ed the trick again he would be dis n n ,sv,,, had put his man in a hole and forced him to the mat. for the first fall with a half Nelson and leg hold. Arkand put up great battle in the next meeting of the two, but he was outclassed in cleverness and succumbed to a similar hold as the first in fifteen minutes. Ar kand has the makings of wrestler. but must control his head and learn a few tricks of the game. Gresham proved himself pretty clever lad.
 The star bout of the evening was between Jack Roach, the champion featherweight of Waterbury, and Dan Pickett. the popular athlete of the Good Will Athletic club. In this match Roach had agreed to throw Pickett two falls in one hour of actual wrest- ling. He failed to get one fall, al- though he put up one of the most az gressive contests seen on any of the loc$ &ats. Pickett is rugged lad and since his last appearance in pub lie he has improved one hundred per cent. Although he acted on the de fensive throughout and was never on top he proved that he had studied some of the George Bothner defensive tactics. Time after time Roach got him into tight places. but by main strength he broke the holds and was still fighting at the finish. Roach showed his cleverness and adopted all kinds of holds to gain an advantage. but was unable to secure the coveted falls. Both had good following who cheered their favOrites on. It was n good exhibition and proved one thing. that it will take pretty good lad to down Dan Pickett one fall in an hour. Roach is still the champion in his class. however. and there are none in this city who can throw him at his weight. The timers for the contest were J. S. Carroll and George Waite of this city and w. r. Stapleton of