Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-21
WRESTLERS WIN
THEIR LAURELS
CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTS AT
ATHLETIC CLUB
TITLE IN MIDDLEWEIGHT CLASS
CHANGES HANDS
Bouts In Each Division Prove Full
of Interest and Decisions
Meet with Unanimous
Approval

Wrestlers of the Los Angeles Athletic
| club determined the question of cham
pionship last night in six hotly con-
tested and hard-fought bouts in the
gymnasium. Nearly 200 members as
sembled to witness the contests.
In the lightweight class the cham
p1on Of last year, George Retzer, held
his own. In the heavyweight division
! DICK Retzer carried away the honors
/ he championship in the middleWeight
class changed hands in the most ex-
citing contest of the evening, passing
| from George 1saacs to H. r. Maurier
! Dewitt G. Van Court was referee
and Walter Wheeler acted as timer
The contests were, on the whole, clean
cut exhibitions and the decisions were
satisfactory to everyone concerned.
E. G. Price and H. r. Maurier in
the middleWeight preliminaries were
called to the mat first. The men seemed
very evenly matched and neither had
the advantage at the end of the first
ten minutes. The judges then ordered
a f1ve-minute round. In the second
bout Maurier won the decision, al
though neither had scored a down.
! Maurier was quick and aggressive,
while Price was stubborn and strong.
The heavyweight preliminary was
| then called and everyone was glad
that Dick Retzer and Ernest Cochrane
had drawn together. Both men were
cautious and it was some time before
either made a break in the others de-
fense and got a hold. Retzer was the
aggressor. He finally secured a body
hold which was spoiled by the two
men rolling off the mat.
Retzer Given Decision
Then they began a process Of milling,
| Retzerr taking the lead in trying to
wear out his husky opponent. Coch-
rane is a wrestler of experience and
was a hard man for the club champion
to handle. The first ten-minute bout
ended with both men in good wind and
neither having a decided advantage.
Retzer continued his aggressive policy
throughout the second bout of five
minutes, which was ordered by the
j -dges. He played for opponents
wind, holding him tight about the
waist, and succeeded in interfering
considerably with the breathing of his
antagonist. Cochrane was on the de-
fensive throughout the entire second
'rut and the decision was given to
Retzer.
G. w. Isaacs, the middleweight
champion, was then called on to de-
fend his title against Harvey Hicks.
! Hicks succeeded in worrying his op-
two minutes, but Isaacs did not give
his man a moments rest and continu-
! ally mixed it, Finally he downed
Hicks during a fast mixup. Only 8
! minutes and 48 seconds were consumed
| in the bout.
Only one man, D. F. Harris, appeared
to dispute the lightweight champion
ship with George Retzer, the club
champion in his. class. Harris made a
splendid showing, and during the first
three minutes was as much the ag-
/ gressor as was Retzer. But the cham
piOn was too quick for him. Three
times Harris came near losing but
s 5ed himself in the nick of time. The
third attempt was successful and the
champion forced the shoulders of his
! adversary to the mat. Seven minutes
| and % seconds were consumed in de-
termining the lightweight champion
ship.
Champion Wins Again
Then came the finals in the heavy
weight class, in which Dick Retzer
was opposed by A. K. Clymer. Retzer
did not seem to be any the worse for
his first bout, and continued the same
aggressive policy pursued in his first
encounter. He also repeated his waist
hold and tried to cut off his opponents
wind, but the attempt did not work so
we'll as in the first match and Clymer
broke away, regaining his footing.
! Five minutes and 20 seconds elapsed
before Retzer finally cleared away the
last stubborn obstacle to the champion
ship.
Then came the final and most ex-
citing contest of the evening. Every
one thought Isaacs would have things
his own way with Maurier. But in
this they were badly mistaken. Maurier
had shown good form in his first
match, but in his final contest with
Isaacs he showed amazing endurance
and excellent headwOrk.
With his eyes always riveted on
those of his opponent 1t was difficult
to tell just what hold he was planning,
and he was always plotting something.
| From a grab at a head hold he would
suddenly dive for the legs of his op-
ponent and Isaacs soon saw that he
had a rough trail to travel on the way
to the championship. Maurier was the
aggressor during the first ten-minute
bout. At one time he had his oppon-
ent in a bad position with a neck hold
but while he kept his grip for some
time, winding ISaacs by keeping his
neck bent under, he did not have the
strength to make his hold effective and
force his opponent over.
Bout Most Lively
When the men were sent to their
corners at the end of the first ten
minutes Isaacs seemed to be suffering
more than was Maurier. In the sec
ond ten minutes Of exertion Isaacs
came back at his man with his usual
spirit and determination. He seemed
to have regained his energy and made
things lively for his opponent for the
first five minutes. But Maurier evad-
ed him on every hold and always came
back ready to take advantage Of the
slightest opening.
A third siege of five minutes was or
dered by the judges before rendering
a decision, as Isaacs had made a bet
ter showing in the second round than
in the first. The men roughed it dur
ing the first three minutes of the last
tussle, Isaacs' continually forcing his
man off the mat but gaining no ad-
vantage. Then the match lapsed into a
hold-of contest until time was called,
and the decision was rendered by the
judges on points, neither Of the con-
testants having scored a down.