Evening star., 1935-10-30
Colonial dnen Fighting Mood 1areek Favored Keep Slate
SPoRTScopE
Boxing Board Faces Toss
for Loss in Trying to
Control Wrestling.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN.


sion, in office year and
half and boasting most un-
~ common record for smooth
ness of operation, finally seems to be
feeling the strain. Maj. Ernest w.
Brown. the police officer on the stan,
again has requested the District Com
missioners to ask Congress to place
wrestling under the protecting wing
of the Boxing Board.
This suggestion by the towns Law
enforcement head is distressing to
those who have watched the perform
ance of Washington's first ring board
with a degree of satisfaction.
FoOling with the control Of
wrestling is like asking Joe Louis
to knock chip off your shoulder.
Obviously you cannot win.
1t is said that Maj. Browns chief
reason for seeking to increase the
jurisdiction of the Boxing Commission
is to quell the wrestler's quaint habit
of using the good majors policemen
as stooges in their mellerrammers. a
state to which the local force has
fallen of late.
Matmen Tough on S0lons.
1T SEEMS that in spite of all kinds OF
determined resolutions, the District
coppers still bow to the superb
Thespian ability of Daddy Joe Turner'S
rasslers. Like other folk the cops sniff
at the sincerity of Joe's offerings, but
whenever the script calls for it the
rasslers unfailingly wind up with
policemen hanging from their up.
holstered frames and preventing post.
match "fracases" 1t would be inter.
esting some time to watch the cop;
calmly refrain from taking a hand
Maj. Brown, Of course, has
legitimate kick. The genuine
rassle fan welcomes his riots
and the presence of bluecoats
lends a realistic air. but. after
all, the wreStlerS get paid and
the coppers do not. 1t is all very
unfair.
The dangers of commission-r -rulec
wrestling are twofold. One faction
either the commission or the ma
trust, must predominant. If the beetle.
are in command, the governing boarc
will oe made to look very bad Ir
fact. one might trace much of thu
reason for the low estate of boXins
commissions directly to the Wrestlers
Tough Break for Joe.
THE first step of the commission, o1
course, will be to declare wrestling
null and void as sport. Promoters
will be told henceforth to advertise
all matches as exhibitions. But
the boxing bodies have habit Of
falling away from this practice, anc
in moments of weakness they have
been known to listen to a promoter
pleas and put the official stamp oi
approval on some of the bigger acts.
The promoter gleefulIy bills
is as a shooting match" and
the customers, naively trustful
of the commission, fall for it.
The New York Boxing Commits
sion never has recovered from
okaying the Londos- Browning
championship" affair as a
shooting match" and then
watching the boys stage the
usual adagio.
The second danger is to the Wres-
tiers. They virtually are immune to
such dangers as flying pop bottles
drop kicks into the sixth row ring
side and police clubs, but take away
their tricks of trade and the wres-
tiers are through.
And clamping down on kangaroo
kicks, Thorhammers. gouging and the
employment of ropes as impromptu
gallows is another favorite move by
commissions. This. in truth, is strik-
-ug at the Achilles heel of wrestling.
From what I can learn, Mai. Brown
is determined to take over our wres-
ting racket but somehow I hope the
army of mat incurables sitting in Con-
gress recall the thrill of having a
beetle land in their laps and sidetrack
the whole business.
Too many folks in this town have
nothing else to do except look for
faults, in the boxing commission al
ready and wrestling would not make
the solons' task any easier.
And, somehow, it would seem
like a dirty trick on Joe Turner
to take away 5 per cent of his
gate" and cramp his minions'
style after all those years of
building up a racket which in
spite of its burlesque and ex-
poses still manages to offset
Turner's consistent losses as the
nnIv 6ohf vrnrnofar Il, <nrn