Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-07
DECISION FOR FRENCHNAN
Turk Fails to Throw Him Twice in an
Hour, as Agreed.
SHOWS GOOD FORM
Crowd Utterly Dissuated at Apparent
Joke of Match by
Professional Promoters
from Chicago.

Iusiff Mahmout, the ~sultan.s pride, won
the only fall in the joke battle of giants at
the Auditorium Friday night. but Raoul de
Rouen was given the decision by Referee
Griswold because. by the conditions OF the
match. the Turk was to throw the French
man twice in an hour to win. The Turk
won the fall in fifty-five minutes with
a hammerlock. After an intermission
the remaining five minutes of the
hour were worked out.
II would be all but impossible to find a
more Disguised crowd - disguised first
when the referee announced that the op-
posing managers had decided after they
had got the peoples money. on a handicap
match and disguised again when. after
Jack Curley announced the wrestle would
go all night IL the Frenchman was not
thrown in the time limit. the match was
stopped at the end Of the hour. The crowd
Kept up one incessant bedlam Of disap-
proval. 1t was a severe jolt to Mr.. Gill
lan's wrestling game. II was all too plain
that the professional promoters from Chi
cago had their puppets on the mat do just
what they commanded. Tools in their man
ayers hands, the big foreigners wrestled or
faxed according to orders.
Rats!
over 5000 people saw the match, the
. S1oA AAONu III hNAh AhilA q AaA 81
a sporting event since Gotch last appeared.
Those Of the 5000 who had expected to see
the big hulk of French bone and muscle
tear up the arena and push the Turk
through the ropes were also disappointed,
because he was as tame as a pet hare. The
Frenchman demonstrated that his knowl-
edge of the wrestling game is quite linn
tied when he is pitted against a real
wrestler, such as the Turk is when allowed
to be. The rough tactics of the French
man which he used against westergaard
were entirely eliminated last night.
Four Times Through Ropes.
-Four times the giants went through
the ropes with the Turk having the
point OF vantage before the descent. They
returned to the center and instead Of
giving the Turk the advantage he had
before the mishap the referee allowed
them to start over again. The crowd
took exception to this procedure and the
fourth time the Turk was given his
point of advantage behind On one of
the falls the pair lit on their heads on
the timers table and ruined a couple Of
light soft hats worn by the timers.
The Turk weighed 1873. the Frenchman 24O.
but the Turk was the stronger of the
two. He wrestled in his bare feet, with
simply trunks and e~1astics on his knees,
and he was the handiest man with his
feet seen in these parts for some time.
He showed a thorough knowledge of the
fine points of the game and was sized
up as about an even match for Farmer
Burns.
The concensus of opinion of the Turk Is
that he is a great wrestler, though his
avericious managers did not allow him to
turn himself loose last night. Some of the
American wrestlers who have met him
think he can give Gotch a fairly good tus-
sic. but can't throw him.. He certainly
lacks the thinking capacity of the cham
pion or any OF the best Americans; and he
is also deficient in holds, being more of a
defensive worker. He is tough, strong and
agile. though, and capable for a great
match.
The Frenchman is nothing as a wrestler.
The preliminary between Herbert
Johanson of Council Bluffs and Jack
Toliver of Omaha ended in a draw.
Johanson won the first fall in thirty min
utes with a half Nelson. Toliver won
the second with a double Nelson in ten
minutes and they wrestled five minutes
for the third round without a fall.