Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-04-09
Drawn for
The Bee
by
George
McManuS
STAGE IS ALL SET
FOR Big MAT TILT
Both Stecher and Caddock
Eagerly Await Word for
Titular Clash Tonight.
BETTING Is VERY LIGHT

With the stage all set and every
detail arranged, Joe Stecher, the
pride of Nebraska, and Earl Caddock,
the hope OF Iowa, stand ready to lock
horns on the mat at the municipal
Auditorium tonight in joust for the
wrestling supremacy of the world.
Both gladiators are eagerly await
ing the fray. Caddock, an undefeated
contender, obstructs Stecher's clear
path to the title. Joe is anxious to
remove him. For Caddock it is the
opportunity of lifetime. Fame and
fortune are his if he can defeat the
Dodge phenom.
Caddock promises to mix it the
minute the referee says go" Speed
is Caddock's greatest asset. 1t is upon
his speed that he depends. For that
reason he declares he will tear into
Joe at the start and make match
of it from gun to gun.
Frank Gotch, former champion and
said by many to be the greatest
wrestler the world ever saw, will be
in Caddock's corner tonight. Gotch
has been training Caddoek in Chi
cago. He expresses firm confidence in
his charge, averring that if Caddock
stays thirty minutes with Stecher he
will win the match.
Iowans Back Caddock.
Iowa mat fans who will arrive in
Omaha by the hundreds today, have
expressed a similar confidence in the
Anita lad. They all expect Caddock to
win. Nebraskans, of Course, lean to-
ward Joe.
Boosters from Cass county, Of
which Caddock is the hero, will come
to Omaha in special train of twelve
or fifteen coaches. The train leaves
Stuart, Ia, at o'clock this afternoon
and arrives in Omaha at 5:45. The
Caddock boosters will march from the
depot uptown, headed by brass band
OF thirty pieces.
That a record-breaking crowd will
see the event is assured. Not a seat
is available today except at specu-
lators' prices. Standing room will not
be sold until after 9 o'clock tonight,
at which hour it is presumed all hold
ers of seats will have occupied them.
This is done to prevent persons from
buying standing room and usurping
squatters' rights on choice seats.
1t is estimated the house will total
over $4,000 and that half of the peo-
pie who will witness the 60 will be
from out of town.
Very Little Betting.
Very little betting has been done
on the match. Some of the Iowans are
backing Caddock, but they are mostly
odds-ofi bets. Some time bets, forty
minutes, an hour and the like, have
also been recorded. But on the
whole. the betting has been light and
unless plungers get in their work to-
day little money is likely to change
hands on the result this evening
Carl Marfiisi has arranged for sew
eral good preliminaries. They will all
be run off quickly, so the main event
will start not later than 10 O'Clock.
The doors of the Auditorium will
be opened at 7 o'clock and the first
preliminary starts at 8. Holders Of
tickets are urged to arrive as early as
possible to avoid confusion at the
doors. Gene Melady has issued the
following instructions for holders Of
tickets:
Holders Of balcony tickets, north side
Sections A, B, C, D, E, f and @. will enter
at North entrance of Auditorium only.
Holders Of balcony tickets. south side,
Sections H, ]. X. L, NJ, N, o and P will
enter South entrance of Auditorium only.
Ringside, boxes, Arena floor and holders
OF stage tickets will enter center doors Of
Auditorium only.