The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-03-25
EASY FOR LEWIS
Champion Had No Trouble
Keeping Title in Match Here.
Delighted Bugs by Using
Famous deadlock.

Ed STRANGER Lewis. heavyweight
champion wrestler, had little diff
Guilty in defending his title at the au-
ditorium Friday night against Joe
Geshtout, the much touted Bulgarian
champion Lewis won in two straight
falls and SURPRISED the big European
by Hopping him the second time in
two and one-half minutes. The first
event went to Cliff Buckley. cham
pion of the Buckeye state. who won
in rather easy fashion over Sailor
Jack Lewis of OkIahama- The result
of neither bout was IN doubt from the
start.
With the possible exception of the
late Frank Gotch. who appeared here
several years ago, to the some $500
bugs who witnessed the double mat
performance Friday night, Lewis is
the classiest wrestler ever seen in To-
peka. From the moment he stepped
upon the mat and started to maneuver
with his opponent for a chance to OBJ
tain a head hold, any one who failed
to see why he is the champion should
consult an occulist. The Stranger
was four-fifths of the show.
Each Bout Was Fast.
While each bout was fast and well
worth seeing. opposition to both
Buckley and the champion was lack
ing. At that there were times when
the going was fast and furious and if
there is anything that a mat crowd
likes it is avordupois showing plenty
of speed. Then to top 1t out there
was emo 1gh nifty graphing on the
part of Buckley and the Stranger to
more than give the bugs their moneys
worth. The champion especially was
nimble and crafty and Buckley was a
whale when it came to strength.
At first it appeared as if Buckley
and Sailor Jack Lewis were a close
match But as the two men began to
clash Binckley's superiority in both
weight and power began to tell upon
Lewis, and the final result was evil
dent Buckley was always the ag-
gressor- Time and again he allowed
Sailor to obtain various holds but al
ways he was able to break them.
Possible it was too much youth
against an older man, anyway Lewis
was constantly in the nine hole. and
at the end of thirty-three minutes
found himself pinned to the mat with
a body scissors and barred arm hold.
The second fall came in less than half
the time, Buckley again forcing
Lewis to the canvas with a top body
scissors Lewis fought gamely, but
was unable to stand the punishment
inflicted by the powerful Buckley.
Lewis All the Way.
In some respects the big bout was
MT as good from the standpoint of
honest-to-goodness wrestling as the
first. 1t was simply too much Lewis
but that didn't matter since it was ex-
actly what the crowd wanted. The
champion toyed with the Bulgarian
for awhile at the start and gave the
foreigner every chance in the world
to start the war all over again but
ammunition. power and skill were
lacking just as much as they were
back in the fall of 1918. At the same
time the Stranger was cIeverIy watch
ing his chance to clamp on one of his
famous headlocks and it came at the
end of twenty minutes. 1t was sud-
den like, too, once the Bulgarian real
lzed what was going on.
When the wrestlers returned for the
final tussle, the crowd begged Lewis
TO make it short and he did. FIopDiug
ms man to the mat in a flash. Lewis
rolled him over and made him beg
Tor mercy with an arm scissors and
double wristlock. In just two and one
half minutes after time was called
the Bulgarian's shoulders were kissing
the mat.
The first bout was refereed nv
Sox Hose, a Topeka wrestler: and
J onn Grandovich. looked over the
mann performance. Grandovich is a
heavyweight wrestler with a Farmer
Burns neck who had Charlie Crews
announce that he would meet any
heavyweight wrestler anytime. any
Where. Grandovich looks lust like
MS name sounds and ought to deliver
the goods.