Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-17
FRANK GOTCH'S
WRESTLING STORIES
interesting Anecdotes of Ath-
Ietic Life Told by the
Champion.
Whistle Didn't BIow-LiveIy
Times With French Canadians
as Leo PardeIlo Saw It.
BY Frank A. Gotch,
Americas Champion Wrestler.

AS all rules of sport are continually being
tinkered with, so We often find critics COM
planning of the freedom given the athlete
in the grips of catch-as-catch-can wrest-
ling. Personally, velieve that the Ameri-
can catch-as-catch-can rules, as established
by the Police Gazette, are the best in the
world. l detest brutality on the mat as
much as anyone else; do not believe in in
Turing manning man unnecessarily.
The japanese warriors, in their great bat
ties, always, 1t is said plan to leave a sin
gle avenue Of retreat open to the besieged.
So in wrestling a hold should always lead
! to a fall, not to simple brutality. A man
| should always be given the opportunity of
yielding. My toe-catch combination has
often been severely criticised. And yet 1t
| Is not unfair in catch-as-catch-can wrest-
ling. and 1 have never employed 1t without
leaving my opponent free to turn his Shout
ders to the mat, If he doesn't like 1t.
Graeco-Roman wrestling 1 abhor. 1t con-
| fines holds above the waist and in this
country has come to be refuge for the
big men who can't wrestle. but who are
wrestlers In America nowadays like Billy
Muldoon, Ernest Roeber, Charley Wittmer,
men who studied and practiced the science
of that branch of the sport, although, of
course, Hjalmer Linden, the Swede, Is
capital man at the style.
When the Whistle Didn't Blow.
Talking Of Graeco-Roman wrestling
brings to my mind the style of rules which
they follow in the Canadian cities. l
wrestled a great deal in Canada during the
season of 1866, and I had my work cut
out winning the great international tour
nament at Montreal Ottawa and Quebec,
in which over fifty of the best heavyweights
in the world participated. Over in Canada,
the French-Canadians want Graeco-Roman
wrestling in preference to catch-as-catch
can. They have created a set of rules,
styled the French Graeco-Roman rules
which constitute weird code. With only
holds above the waist permitted, they bar
the strange, the hammerlock and about
everything else, so that a man Is almost
powerless to do anything. Then they
blow whistle every few minutes and the
contestants take rest l have observed
that about the time the Frenchman Is get
ting tired the whistle generally blows. The
first time l tried these rules they con-
fronted me with a mass of humanity that
weighed about 800 pounds. 1 wrestled him
down to the mat with body holds in five
minutes and had him safely Nelsoned, when
the whistle blew. We rested. Again l had
him close to the floor and the whistle blew
Five times came exasperatingly near Sc
curing a fall. but each time the whistle
blew. Once the Frenchman got me in q
bad spot and the whistle hung fire for
twenty minutes. Finally. I got my man
locked hard and faSt and, although an
ticipating blast from the tin horn every
second. I got his shoulders to the mat
Then looked up. The referee, a French
man, was red in the face still struggling
with the whistle. Someone had stuffed a
bit Of paper In it. and 1t wouldn't blow.
Where'll I Put Himp
On one occasion in Ottawa for half an
hour they kept my opponent from defeat
by insisting that we wrestle only on the
mat, which was q handkerchief affair
about yard square in the center Of the
stage. The referee was very friendly to
the homo man. ana desperate measures had
to be employed. Tho next time arm
locked him I slapped on q hard half Mel.
son and crotch hold and lifted him clean
OF tho mat. Then turned to the referee.
''Where'l put himf" asked.
That brought the house down and broke
up the match right then and there.
Canadian Sports.
But I will say for the French Canadians
that they are great sports. and Montreal
II great sporting town. They'll bet you
deaf, dumb and blind on every proposition,
from roulette to the direction In which the
wind win blow tomorrow. r you don't be-
lievs It 20 mp and witness the winter sport