Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-06


Gotch. as all admit, is the worlds
greatest exponent of the catch-as-
catch-can versian Of the wrestling game.
During his prime he ranged on the
mat as Jeffries did in the ring while
champion. He is to wrestling what Ty
Cobb is to base ball. Willie Hoppe to
billiards, Alfred de Orc to pool. and
Eddie Mahan to foot ball.
How few, however, while recognize
ing his ability, can even guess at the
real secret of his success.
That he beat all corners, defeated
wrestlers in every known language, is
an accepted fact.
The average man let's it go at that,
and dismiss-s the subject from his
overwrought mind. That an Ameri-
can won the championship honestly
and retired with the honor is SOM
thing calculated to satisfy the aver
In popular conception Gotch is a
huge bone-brea ker-true, not as large
general way, of thinking he simply
went in and beat his man. Gotch is a
big man. all right, tipping the beam
at 206 pounds in his stockings when
mendously outweighed in a majority
of his matches.
Yesterday we asked him the real
secret of his success.
He summed it up in three words,
Speed and science"
Whereupon Old Avoirdupois. so
generally accepted as the prime fac
tor in mat matches, curled up in a
back seat
Most of us had assumed that only
the large and spacious gents could be
successful in the graphing game.
~ ri nj a. a
picture Of a plentiful and capaeious
foreigner nearly everybody took it for
granted that he must be terrific
tremely difficult to rock him on his
foundations. Gotch early got away
from this idea. He is a big man. He
hoofs and throw. it over his biggest
barn. But despite his heft he looked
comparatively puny when he steamed
up alongside some of his massive
ping irons.
Therefore he decided that the surest
way to beat these abominable Turks
and other invading guys was to out
He thought out moves and grips
which were new to wrestling. among
them being the toe hold. which is a
scientific method Of twisting an op-
ponent's leg off at the knee unless he
capitulates.
Contrary to general belief. speed
and science are greater assets in
wrestling than weight and strength
said Gotch. "In, fact. they play al
most as great part in the mat game
as in boxing or fencing. Of course
man must have certain degree of
strength to make his science avail. but
a fast man has every essential advan-
tsge over a slow but heavy opponent
Finding / was frequently outclassed
in poundage and physical prowess, /
figured that this disadvantage could be
more than offset by speed and skill. A
small but active dog can almost worry
bear to death. In a way / applied
the same principle to wrestling. / made
wrestling a study, and figured out ev-
cry possible advantage that could be
taken.
II soon saw where speed would be a
great factor; a factor which many of
the big men had overlooked. Endowed
from boyhood with a robust body. i
devoted more attention to developing
speed than to developing my muscles.
have increased the size of my muscles,
but reduced their elasticity and dimin-
ish my speed. SO l did but little work
with the weights"
In other words, Gotch thought about
two generations ahead of the average
erappler, and it was this, plus his ma
tural ability. which made him monarch
of the mat.
Formerly wrestling was confined to
the Graeco-Roman style, which per-
mitted of no holds below the waist
When the limit of skill had been
rea ched in the Graeco-Roman school,
variations were sought. and finally the
grapplers of Lancashire. Eng, evolved
a rough -and-ready style of wrestling,
which in time became known as CATCH
as.catch-can, and which permitted OF
gripping an opponent either above or
below the waist. However, 1t remained