The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-06
GOTCH AFRAID
TO WRESTlE POLE
Manager of Zbyszko Says
Gotch Failed to Evince
Enthusiasm

Principals-Stanislaus Zbyszko, Po-
lish champion. must throw Henry Or
deman Of Minneapolis. twice in an
hour or forfeit a $500 side bet.
Observation-Disclosures Kid" will
box three rounds with Wally Bratton;
Kid Medford will give a three round
boxing exhibition with Kid Boiler.
Olaf Refs and the Human Eel" will
wrestle to a finish. best two out Of
three falls.
Time Of Observation-Disclosures will
start at 9 o'clock.
Referee-Seth Richardson.
Placc-Fargo opera house, March 6.
Fargo. N. D., March 6-Jack Her
man. Of Stanislaus Zbyszko.
who ia to wrestle Henry Ordeman here
tonight at the opera house, is hot on
the trail OF Frank Gotch to arrange a
match between the Pole and the
worlds champion.
Il am going to take Zbyszko," Her.
man said in an interview published in
Milwaukee Saturday, ION a our of the
west. The trip will extend to San
Francisco. Everywhere I go I will is-
sue a challenge to Gotch. If he Is not
afraid to meet the Polo he will accept
the challenge and then there will be
something doing"
VI nAhGC Nls1iItt6Cl 1lcil tldI GNe
hibited a clipping from the Salt Lake
City Herald Republican of recent date,
which sizes up the wrestling situation
as follows:
Is Champion Gotch Afraid?
Frank Gotch is afraid to wrestle
Zbyszko for the heavyweight cham
pionship Of the world and is also keep
Ing Mahmout in his employ because
he knows that the Turk can throw
him.
THAT statement may sound ridicu.
lous hut h developments of the past
few days ave only served to strength
en- the we'll defined opinion long held
by some Of no hest sporting authori-
ties in the United States. that Gotch
knows In his ear that he is not the
best wrestler at h present time and
that he cannot successfully defend his
title against Zbyszko or Mahmout.
THE management of Saltair, acting
through Harry Heagren. has made
Gotch n of the hest offers the cham
pion ever received. The local amuse-
ment promoters stand willing to give
him a purse of $4,000 for a finish
match with Zbyszko and are willing to
match Mahmout n Zbyszko first and
stipulate that the Pole must throw the
Turk before he can get the match with
Gotch.
NOeShb ~ y sNNS
There was never Il fairer offer made
to Gotch or ans other champion. But
Gotch will not accept. His manager
Emil klank. who also looks after the
interests of Mahmout will not even
talk business. His only replies to the
offers of the local men are to the eff
feet that Jack Herman, Zbyszko's man.
ager. is not on the square and that
he will not do business with Herman.
klank is acting like a child and the
local men will do we'll to pass him UP
until he begins to show some sign Of
becoming reasonable.
Klank Fears Defeat
"Klank " spurned big money
like that ct any time in his life unless
IT was because he would be the loser
in the end. II Klank thought Mahmout
would close h matches without the
slightest delay and grab the money.
He Is In the business for the money
and his present attitude shows that he
Is afraid Gotch will be defeated and in
that event would lose his prestige to
u an extent that no more money
could be made with him.
"Gotch is one Of the luckiest cham
pions the mat game has v known.
He threw old Tom Jenkins and defend
ed his title against Mahmout. Zbyszko
and Hackenschmidt. Mahmout after
wards made a public statement to the
effect that he had to LAY down. to
Gotch in order to get the match. Gotch
bea. Zbyszko when the latter was a
novice at the catch-as-catch-can style
of wrestling and the last time the
champion threw Hackenschmidt he
was against a man who was SO severe
~ crippled that he could scarcely get
into the ring.
Some of the best Informed wrestl-
ing Experts in the United States are
secretly of the opinion tina Gotch is
inferior to both Mahmout and Zbyszko
and that the latter can throw both the
champion and the Turk.
The present actions Of Klank only
go to strengthen this opinion. Just
what Klank intends to do will be dis
covered within the next three weeks.
Langford and Nelson are going to New
York to meet Herman there on Feb
ruary 10. They are prepared to make
the best offer eve received by Gotch
and II Klank fails to show up and
agree to the match on reasonable
terms the general sporting public can
rest assured that his failure to do so
will be prompted by only one thing
the certain knowledge that Gotch can
not defeat Zbyszko."