The Alaska citizen., 1916-07-24
FEAR OF TOE HOLD
 BEATS GRApPLERS

BEATS GRApPLERS
 Frank GotcE who has come out of retirement and who Is expected to meet Joe Stecher. the sensational young wrestler from Nebraska. in telling of h., career on the mat said recently.
 The first big match | had after my return from Europe was with Mahmoul This big wrestler is con- mouly supposed to be a Turk. but hr .s really d Bulgarian | met him in Chicago and Ed w Smith was the referee.
 Before going any further l want to say a word about Smith. There Is one Of the best referees that ever saw wrestling match. There is 6 lot of chance for a referee to be partial. but with smith on the job it's a fair field and an even break all the time
 Il took two falls from Mahmout in eighteen minutes, and the match was full of action from the start. The Bulgarian put up tough battle and the crowd got a real run for its money.
 Now I'll tell you something that may sound a bit Queer-fear of the tee hold beat Mahmout. And | believe that as many men have been beaten because of fear of this hold as by the hold itself
 T had been using the toe hold considerably and Mahmout's advisers had filled him full of advice re garding it When We got on the mat his one idea was to keep me from putting the toe hold on him. If he saw me reaching for his foot be quickly threw himself out of the way and invariably into something that gave me a big advantage.
 As matter of fact made no great attempt to get the hold, but did make a bluff at it, and Nah mout's mind was so thoroughly set with the one idea that he did not make the most of his natural wrest- ling ability
 Early in the match Mahmout worked around so that our backs Were to the referee and grabbed the ropes. Each time he grabbed he was helping himself consider ably Finally when he didn't dare to try to put anything more over, I said to Smith, Watch him. slapped my favorite crotch hold on him and the first fall was over ] secured the second fall the same way.
 But to get back to the toe hold I'll admit that it's pretty tough proposition, but at the same time it's not as bad as it has been paint ed. l never broke mans leg with it and I never threw out joint for any of my opponents. To read the papers one would think l could take the toe hold and leave my opponent mangled almost beyond recognition. This is mistaken idea.
 The toe hold is not really much worse than some other holds Many wrestler can break an arm by using a hammerloCk. Men have been hurt by being thrown on their heads when a crotch hold is ap- piled and if Joe Stecher can burst bag of wheat and apply a pres sure of 1,S00 pounds with his sci5- sors hold, as the papers claim he can, then his favorite hold is dan gerous.
 50 any way you figure it wrest- ling is not parlor game. It's for strong men and is strenuous sport from any angle you consider it.
 T told you how 1 beat Mahmou. and l want to say a bit more abou' the Bulgarian, After l met hin, he went on the road with me for a while. We had quite a company of wrestlers and Mahmout never overlooked an opportunity to pick up every point of the game.
 The big fellows natural strength was wonderful. He had a powerful body and when he picked up some of the finer points of the game he made the greatest improvement ever saw
 The last time saw Mahmout work he had been going good with the use of the crotch hold as I had taught it to him, and was showing great form,
 There is some effort being made to get Mahmout to return to this count 1 have heard that he was in the army, and also heard that he is taking life easy until the war is over Whichever way it is, I know that if he ever does come to this country again and is as good as when he left he will cause all kinds of trouble.
 'I consider Mahmout the best of the foreign wrestlers. He was bet ter than Zbyscko, and l believe a better man that Hackenschmidt ever