The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-12-31
TALKING
IT OVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS

NEW YORK, Dec. 31.--I think it
IN can be stated with some truth
that wrestling has got a new loot
hold in the metropolis. Not to men,
ton toe hold, head lock and a
body scissors. 1 mean to say the
ancient sport is back on the Dig
time. L witnessed a strange spec
tacle Monday night. Frenzied men
and women storming the doors OF
Madison Square Garden. Mounted
COPS trying futilely to preserve the
municipal dignity. Amazed attend
ants opening emergency entrances,
and a boiling. roaring cascade OF
humans flowing through the portals,
bowling over usherS and scrampling
for seats. And all because Jack
Curley, promoter, was tossing wnaI
he smilingly called a heavyweight
wrestling championship.
tt 4
No such phenomenon could have de-
yeloped without cause or reason ana ING
answer in this instance seems to be tnat
podroniing prize fighters and have turned
to the grunters and groaners VINO are
much more skilled in the broader phases
Certainly it is significant Of something
T yot at the GaEFde p1og Willie an prize
card leaves the customers cold and the
seats empty They were selling squeezing
Mr.. Curiey probably speaks the truth when
he says thousands were turned away.
+
VOU are told there is no &C
4 counting for tastes and yet it
is easy to understand how a person
might turn from one form OF worm
wood as a steady diet to another.
After some Of the unsavory prize
fights that have been committed
hereabouts recently a fine old up
roarious, rough and tumble wres-
ting show with all the familiar
trappings is a refreshing thing.
1t doesn't make a great deal of diff
ference whether the big fellows are level
ing. At Least the performance is always
exciting. And that seems to be all that
anybody cares about. think the most
astonishing thing about wrestling is that
it has continued to endure in spite of the
universal belief that it is all done with
mirrors,
physical torture" and human suffering.
or what passes for these sadistic de
lights. Eyes are gouged: Hair is pulled:
far beyond the breaking point. Occasion
ally a rousing haymaker is planted on the
button, Some of the more eccentric artists
effect the manneriSmS of mountain goats
and drive their noodles into an opponents
entralls.
THE emotional reactions of the
Il customers is edifying indeed,
they love it. The more brutal it
looks the greater the thrill. Nothing
short Of a bloodless program ever
satisfied. You get the uncomfort-
able feeling that if it were still
proper to feed Christians to lions
Mr.. Curley could attract a million
dollar gate with his clientele.
II n
The championship" Monday was be-
tween jim, Londos. the Greek. and Ferenc
HoIuban. the Hungarian cayeman. Lon
dos. defending his championship" or that
part Of il which is not claimed by Gus
Sonnenberg, Don George and others. sue
cessfuIly mangled his little 234 pound play
mate in due time and with many gaudy
flourishes, using a crotch hold. a whirIing
over head movement and a glcwering
grinace.
It was z very spectacular climax and
when it was completed hundreds of Lon
dos followers leaped to their feet and
emitted strange cultural sounds attesting
to their. cast admiration. Londos is
well set UP Young man in his early thir-
ties and l am told is one of the best
wrestlers the game. has ever known. His
opponent is physical freak and to
students of natural history must have
suggested a well fed dinosaur, or some con-
temporary land mammal of similar breed.
II
A DEMPSEY could take Holu-
a bans neck and use it for a
torso and still look bloated. He
appears in the ring with his head
freshly shaven and totally bald, a
grisly detail which scarcely adds
to his loneliness.
q
In his highest triumph of makeup the
late Lone Clancy never managed to
achieve such an incredible creation. The
carcass of Holuban stuffed and mounted
would make an interesting exhibit in any
museum