Omaha daily bee., 1917-04-22
PLESTINA MEETS
TAYLOR FRIDAY EVE
Omaha Heavyweight and Ca
madam Champion Battle for
Right to Meet Caddoock.
PETE LoCH IS PROMOTER

A pair of the greatest heavyweight
wrestlers in the game will battle for
supremacy at the Auditorium Friday
night, when Marin Plestina, the huge
Omaha grappler, and Jack Taylor,
Canadian champion, lock horns. This
match will go long ways toward de-
termining who is the logical opponent
for a championship battle with Earl
Caddock, who won the worlds title
when he defeated Joe Stecher here
few weeks ago. ga
Pete Loch, the we'll known pro-
moter, who is staging the Plestina-
Taylor match, looks for one of the
largest crowds that ever attended a
grapplers' tilt in this city. The seat
sale has been satisfactory thus far and
Loch's lieutenants anticipate a big
scramble for the ducats this week at
the Merchants hotel, the Auditorium
and Pete Loch's buffet.
Both in Good Condition.
Reports from the camps of both
heavyweights say that the b fellows
are in prime condition and are bent
on making the Omaha battle the hard
est fought contest in their careers.
Plestina is in training at local gym
nasium, where daily he is taking on
small army of trainers so as to be in
A No. condition on the night of the
match.
The Canadian champion is making
his headquarters at Lincoln. He will
engage in one more match before
coming to Omaha-with Ivan Michal-
off, the giant Russian, who held off
Joe Stecher for considerable time
at Kansas City recently before the
former champion pinned his shoulders
to the mat. Taylor will battle the
Russian Monday night and then come
to Omaha for his match with Plestina
on the following Friday
Plestina's Great Record.
Plestina needs no introduction to
Omaha or middle western wrestling
fans. He has met and defeated some
of the greatest big fellows in the
game, as we'll as issuing unrestricted
challenges-backing them up with
hard cash, too-to all Others who
cared to inspect his mat wares. He
defeated STRANGER" Ed Lewis at
Lexington, KY, on February lS, 1916
The dethroned Stecher and Plestina
were to have battled in Omaha on
April 27, but when the Dodge county
lad lost the championship to Caddock
plans for the match were called off.
Plestina is big aggressive fellow,
afraid of nothing, and has been care
fully groomed for championship hon
ors. 1t is known that he is out for
Blood" fguratively speaking, in his
match with Taylor, and many fans are
of the opinion that the tilt will de-
velop into the hardest fought mat bat
tie ever staged here.
Only Two Defeats.
The big Canuck has been climbing
the championship ladder for a long
time and believes he is now within
stepping distance of the top rung.
Taylor has lost only two matches dur
ing his career on the mat, both when
he was comparative novice in the
game Stecher and DR.. Roller were
the men who defeated the Canadian.
The wrestling doctor subsequently
was defeated by Taylor. Stecher and
Taylor were rematched, the battle to
have been held at Lincoln in May, but
when the Nebraska boy lost to Cad
dock the match was cancelled.
Promoter Loeb said yesterday that
tfc men will go on the mat Friday
aight weighing about 2ll pounds
each.
Jack Lewis or Carl Marhsi will
referee the bout