The Washington herald., 1921-01-27
LEWIS NO THUG,
THOUGH WORK ON
MAT Is ROUGH
Kentucky Grappler Could
Hold Own if Head
lock Were Barred.
By JACK NYE.

Stranger" Lewis, according to
an indications, is going to be de-
lending his title soon without the
aid of his famous deadlock.
The hue and cry against his pet
method of retaining his title is al
ready gathering momentum. All of
which is right and proper. Any
time a hold becomes dangerous
enough to MAIN and cripple it
should be barred and there seems
to be little doubt that the head
lock is probably the most dan
gerOus thing the mat game has to
offer
This fact should not, however, re-
suit in personal abuse of Lewis
which seems to have been launched
in New York. The Kentucky Crap
pier is not a thug and there is
nothing of the hard guy" in his
makeup. He is no gentle dove
when on the mat. for wrestling is
essentially a rough game. The
object is to force ones opponents
shoulders to the mat by torture or
otherwise.
Champion Unusually Modest.
Lewis, however, is a soft-spoken
giant with nothing of the brag-
gadOCio in his makeup. For a man
who has attained such heights he is
an unusually modest chap.
He believes the deadlock is a
legitimate hold and naturally takes
advantage OF it. CaddOCk evidently
has the same opinion, for he re-
sorted to it repeatedly against
Lewis, according to reports. II
CaddoCk had thrown the champion
with his own hold it would have
been a highly pleasing event for the
fans, especially if Lewis had been
knocked out. That would have
made it a better joke.
There is no denying, however, that
the deadlock, in its present state
of efficiency, has no place in wrest-
ling. 1t would be the same If Cad
dock had developed the toe hold so
that its application would leave his
opponent permanently crippled
Lewis knows a thing or two about
wrestling in addition to the head
lock and It would be more in the
nature Of sport seeing him defend
his title on a basis of speed
stamina and skill.
Each Man Has Pet Hold.
Those who profess to be shocked
at the Sleer DruLdllly u LS"A
methods appear to forget that bru-
taIity has always been the distin-
gushing mark Of the mat game.
Gotch used to apply the toe hold
until his agOnized opponents were
unable to bear the pain; Stecher 5
favorite method was to apply crush
ing power to the body with his legs
Every grappler has his favOrite hold
and most of them are planned to
cause as much Inconvenience as pos
sible. It's part of the business.
Lewis appears to be no exception.
He was game enough to withstand
a toe hold in his recent match
which mace him writhe in agony.
Twice Referee BOthner asked him II
he was ready to quit. Each time
he shook his head. Then he broke
it. But the tans conceded that he
was game.
The mistake ne appears to have
made is in perfecting the deadlock
TO an extent where 1t is too danger
Gus for the game. 1t has made him
extremely unpopular. The abolish
nent Of the move will probably
bring shekels into the champion 5
rocket and also the honor that is
usually accorded 4 champion. As
soon as he agrees to meet all corners
with the deadlock barred the fans
will think he is a regular guy. And
he might as well do that before he
is forced to.