Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-04-06
WRESTLING
FORGED BY PUBLIC OPINION TO
 WORK FAST.
Swanson Defeated 0'Connell Two Falls in Forty Minutes of
 Wrestling.

son is the victor, and former friends who had deserted him on other Oc- casions have again flocked around him. It is just the reverse with Ed O'Connell, for the former popular wrestler went down 100 per cent in the estimation of the sports who were present in City hall last night. The match was a real one, too; that is the contention of all who were present, whether prejudiced before the match or not. There were many reasons why the men were forced to battle openly and squarely and one of the principal ones was the fact that both were angered at being called fakirs and other hard names. Sung to madness by the taunts which they heard from all sides, they made up their minds to let the peo- pie see that they could wrestle when they set their minds down to it. They figured that if they could go on the mat and battle for all that was in them, then the accusations that had been made against them would fall flat and act as boomerang. The guilty ones, If they are guilty, do not feel that way this morning. They are just as happy as are the friends of Swanson, for they had a hand in forcing two wrestlers to extend them selves and a big share in protecting the sporting public from another fiasco.
 Both wrestlers were examined by Dr ]. A. Grady before they began work and were pronounced in perfect condition. O'Connell weighed in the neighborhood of 40 pounds, while Swanson must have been ten pounds heavier. A big crowd was on hand to witness the contest. Referee Der ney Burke warned the wrestlers that if either one left the mat before the contest was decided he would lose the small end of the purse. If the seconds of any one of them entered the ring that would disqualify their man and that any other person en- tering the ring would be arrested. George Bothner, the champion light weight of the world, was introduced before the match and challenged the winner. O'Connell said he would ac- cept if he won, but his defeat left him out in the cold.
 When the men faced each other O'ConneH surprised all who had lever seen him wrestle by starting the Billy Cnaki method of wrestling. Several times he punched Swanson In the face and several times he was warned by the referee. Swanson ap- healed for protection and while doing so was thrown to the mat by the New Haven man. The majority of the crowd which had been with OCon- nell before the match changed at once when his rough tactics were ex- hibited. He was hissed repeatedly. Referee Burke had the right to dis qualify O'Connell right there, but-he did right in not doing so. It would not be giving the public the run for their money and would probably be just what 0'Connell was looking for, n disqualification rather than a de- feat. That was the case in the swanson and Cnaki match. when If either one of the wrestlers had been disaualified for rough work the pub lie would be the loser. For twenty minutes at the start O'Connell was the aggressor the most of the time and then Swanson began to work. He slammed the New Havener against the ropes. to which 0'Conneil ciung seeking again to be disqualified. He was brought back to the center of the mat and refused to allow the hold Swanson had on him at the ropes. Then the New Yorker workel i'm earnest and at the end of thirty one minutes he secured a crotch hold and arm lock and forced O'Connell down for the first fall.
 When they went back O'Connell tried his old tactics of rough house and hanging on the ropes. Svanson ate him D. however. and at the end of nine minutes he secured a helf- Nelson and bar lock and 0'Connell went down to defeat with not the slightest bit of credit attached to it.
 In the prelin1fnaries aIrzie" Win ters of Hartford defeated Peter Con polly of Naugatuck in a half-hour bout. getting one fall in five minutes
 Kid Smith of this city and Henry Conrad of Oakville vrestled half an hour to draw.