Omaha daily bee., 1919-09-28

This is the tale of taxi trip of
three fighters and a sport writer.
1t is all fact, of the most amusing
kind. The trip started in taxicab
and wound up on freight train.
Recentlya hurry cali for an ath-
letic program for soldiers home
coming celebration came in. The
sport writer was hired to referee the
events and secure the talent. He
was instructed to get pair OF re-
turned soldiers for boxing bout.
He did. Two ex-soldier colored
boxers, heavyweights, were booked.
One of them backed out at the last
minute.
Too late to catch the morning
train, the matchmaker hunted all
over the stock yards, in heavy
rain, for another scrapper. He was;
unable to get the man he wanted,
but hired pair of lightweights and
hustled them to the railroad station
in taxicab, late in the afternoon,
neither of them stopping for togs..
Hired Another Taxi.
Arriving at the station, one of the
original heavyweights met them apd
climbed aboard the train with them.
Arriving in the town, another taxi
was hired to take them to the fair
grounds. The grounds were desert
ed and the taxi drived was ordered
to take them to the committee chair
man. An hours hunt and he was
located. The boys had run out of
cash and the leader had to get
check cashed so they could eat.
The taxi driver was waiting all
this time for his money, but he
didn't get it, yet. He accepted an
other fare while the scrappers and
the manager went to a restaurant.
While they were eating, the taxi
driver came in and was instructed to
wait at his regular stand until they
had fixed things with the chairman
of the committee.
Matters were adjusted and the
boys had their expenses paid, even
though they did not perform (the
celebration had been postponed on
account of the rain). A train to
Lincoln left at II :35 that night, and
they rode it, arriving in the state
capital too late to catch a train for
Omaha that would get the boxers
home in time to get to work in the
morning.
Travel on Stock Train.
A stock train, leaving at 1:30
o'clock, was being made up in the
Lincoln yards. The four, scrappers
and manager, jumped the train and
rode behind an oil tank until out of
the Lincoln yards. They climbed a
box car behind the oil tank and rode
there until the train stopped in Ash
land.
From Ashland, the now Disguised
quartette rode on the front of the
oil tank, with hog car in front of
them as wind break, as far as Raj
ston. The stock train was held UP
in Ra1ston for a half hour and the
motley crowd of fighters climbed
down to stretch their legs and shiver
on the ground. When the train again
continued its way, they climbed back
and rode into the Omaha stock yards
at a. m. in time for work,
Some Trip.
That was some taxi trip. Started
in taxi, rode cushion one way.
another taxi, another cushioned
train and then TAXED home on a
freight train with the odor of hogs
permeating the air around them.
For information as to the identity
of the riders, ask the Sports Editor.
of The Bee. Eddie Gillen or Jimmy
Drexel. They will tell how Jack
thornton, the colored army boxing
instructor, tremb1ed whenever
lantern light showed within block
of him.
Marsh Made a Mistake.
Recently Joe Marsh, manager of
Marin Plestina. the giant wrestler
whom all the big fellows are appar-
emily afraid of, wrote letter to the
sport editor of The Bee. In this
letter he accused Jim Londos, the
Greek champion, of agreeing to lay
down to John Pesek. Marsh has
made serious mistake in this. The
writer knows for fact that Londos
has long. been after return bout
with Pesek and, that he really thinks
he can beat the Shelton man, and
that he will be on the mat on Oc-
tober Q with blood in his eye.
Plestina's challenges have gone
unheeded for long time, but not
long ago Mart Slattery promised
some Omaha friends that he would
sign Plestina as soon after he could
get a match with Earl Caddock or
Joe Stecher, as anyone could wish.
Since none of the other big fellows
would meet Plestina, Mart could not
see why he should be picked to send
his man against some one the others
feared until he. too, had made his
man top-hotcher.
Made Poor Showing.
Only few short years ago, Pies
tina appeared in Omaha and made
very poor showing. Omaha mat fol-
lowers do not forget such things
very quickly, and they will have to
be shown that Plestina is the man
he now claims to be.
1t is very likely that they will soon
get the chance to have this shown
them, for one-time conqueror of
Plestina wants to meet him again.
Charley Peters, now sheriff of Sarpy
county, once defeated Plestlna, and