HIS PREMIERE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 98, 27 April 1937, Page 17

HIS PREMIERE.

STEIN'S ONE FALL. ON THE REFEREE, TOO. LOFTY'S UNLUCKY "BREAK." It was an unlucky "break" for Lofty Blomfield—but if he had broken sooner his record of successive victories in the wrestling ring this season might not yet have been broken. It was this way. Blomfield was on fairly even terms with the Jewish champion, Sam Stein, of America, at the Town Hall last evening when in the sixth round he applied a strangle. The referee, Mr. Jack McLean, intervened, but Lofty would not break. The weight of his authority failing, Mr. McLean threw in that of his body for good measure—and so did Sam Stein. That did the trick. Lofty crashed to the mat in the centre of the ring; Mr. McLean crashed on top of him; and Stein was a good third to add the finishing touches to Lofty s flatness with a body press. As one of the original sporting commentators has recorded, "What a fall was there, my countrymen." It was the only one of the bout. Stein Impresses. Thus it was that Sam Stein, 10 stone of wrestling agility, handsome enough and celebrated enough to have recorded his name on Hollywood's register of "among those present," made his premiere (first showing—any movie dictionary) in Auckland. It was an impressive one. With the build and lightness on his feet of a first-class boxer he was much faster in movement than his 16.10 Xew Zealand opponent, and hie versatility both on attack and defence marked him as a master of the mat game. On a points decision the match would have been hie anyway, though in the first and the last two rounds Blomfield was in the lead, and some of the others were at near evens. "Get out of that one," cried an American supporter as Stein tossed Lofty and applied a tough head scissors right at the start. Lofty did—and applied a barred toehold that held a sting in it, but Stein slipped out and turned the tables. Then Lofty launched a pogrom with a handful of Stein's hair as a start, followed it with a headloek. a ripping jolt, and a #iead scissors. Stein back-flipped beautifully but was held for quite a time, though he came on top with a tough ehort-arm scissors that held to the gong. Limbering Up. The crowd chuckled as the American returning to his corner limbered up between rounds with a few exercises—but it was on its toes a minute later when the two wrestlers came against the ropes. Off guard a moment Stein was picked up and dumped over the ropes, nearly going to the floor of the hall. Lofty paid for that. The American went in at speed, head-tossed hie opponent, and applied a barred wrietlock that hurt. A head eci«sors in repayment was broken, but Lofty came again with a jolt, jumped on Stein as he went down in the corner under the ropes and managed to get in a few shrewd ones before he was pulled off. He handed out another jolt, and then came Stein in flying tackles. Lofty fended off the third but was held at the gong in a short-arm scissors.

That was the start—and so it continued. From the exchange of Hastiness in the third Lofty emerged with au liuliau death lock, but Stein had an effective counter for that by diving between Lofty's legs, and he used hie short-arm scissors and toeholds effectively. Lofty had quite a lot of nee, as usual, for his jolts, but they became less effective «e Stein squared up in approved style and looked threatening anyhow as he weaved and danced in and out with slapping hands. He had a hammerlock hard on Lofty at the third gong. Deallni It Out For a moment Blomfield started thing* m the fourth when, after falling out of the ring with Stein in possession, he jumped on him "with intent"; but the crowd roared when Stein went in heartily and held Blomfield in a full nelson with his leg* while he repaid with interest. Lofty had his eay when he took a wristlock and managed some ely one-finger work while keeping the referee busy wa&bing Stein'a shoulders. "Can't take it. eh?" said the smile of Stem, when Lofty kept out of the way of several abortive flying tackles, and the American went in to show the big man what else he could do. The idea was a rocking-chair-splite, but Blomfield slipped out of it and again caught the American in the Indian death-jock. He got out of that, and had Lofty in a head-scissors but the Aucklander broke it with a botlysrtssois, and then a toe-hold that had Stem complaining with emphasis. Lofty tried another change—to the Indian deathlock, and Stein kicked out just at the gong. The sixth—and things happened. Lofly started them with a salvo of jolts, anil then it was a toe-to-toe go of swinging arms until suddenly Lofty had on a headlock that became a strangle. Mr. McLean stepped in, aud Lofty fell—out. Through the final two rounds Lofty tried with might and main to get the decision, and Stein dropped the offensive for a defensive role. He was head-tossed, and held in toe-holds and a full-nelson; he was jolted, head-tossed, held in a headscissors, and dropped over the ropes. Stein made a splits into a barred toe-hold on Lofty, but the Auckhinder got home with a wristlock and a lot of one-finger work. Through the last round Blomfield tried for his octopus clamp, but he did not get there in time. Among the Amateurs. Stricter control ruled in the amateur bouts than previously, and with the exception of the final bout of the preliminaries the boys tried hard to make it interesting within the limits of the new rules. Mr. Williamson was the referee, and Messrs. Brown and Heald were the judges. B. Davidson, 10.8, beat N\ Hardy, 10.2, in straight falls with presses. Davidson was clearly the stronger all the way, though Hardy strove hard. B. Dods, 10.10, beat R. AlcPike, 10.7, on points in a close encounter, with a slight margin. Dods had the better of the wrestling, but was not strong enough to make it decisive. F. Whitcombe, 9.8, beat R. Freaks, 9.8, in a bright bout, by a fall in the second. Both boys were going hard all the way, and the crowd gave them an ovation. They proved that the Olympic rule wrestling can be made as interesting as any other brand. R. Double, 10.6, beat C. Lumsden, 10.10, by one fall in the first round. Again they made it bright with a few asides that kept the crowd in a good humour. K. Brewer, 9.9, beat H. Franklin, 9.7, on points, in another well-contested bout. N. Sakey, 9.8, beat T. Harvey, 9.8, on points in a catch-as-catch-can encounter that was willing and amusing, even if it would not have got past in championship conditions.

BRIEF AND VIOLENT !

RUMBERG DEFEATS RICHARDS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, thk day. A brief and violent wrestling bout, in which fieticuffe were more plentiful than scientific holds, wan held in Wellington last night, and resulted in Hal Rumberg defeating Ray Richard*. Both were warned for ueing their fete. Richards knocked Kurabcrg over with repeated shoulder tackke, and secured a fall in the third round with a headlock and press. In the fifth round, after a good deal cf exciting detion Rumberg dazed Richard* with forearm jolt* and dumped him, knocking him out.

Richards had barely entered the ring for the sixth round when Rumberg picked him up. and the referee stopped the bout before he could dump- him, ae Richards wa« plainly incapable of further resistance.