THEY DRAW!

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 155, 4 July 1938, Page 15

THEY DRAW!

LOFTY AND FRALEY. PRIME MINISTER'S THRILL YELLING FANS HUSH RING. Eyes gleaming in excitement, the Prime Minister, the lit. Hon. M. J. Savage, and the Minister t.f Int.ilia] Allans, the fl.ui. \\ . E. P.ury. loanr.l forward tensely in their iing-.--iile seats about the ling was a niiliiiig. hoarsely shouting, thrilling, C.OWII. Jt was tin: climax of one of the fastest, most, exiitintr in-it eiiga'.'.-tiients seen in the Au-Uaii.l Town Hail wrestling ling as. ~n Saturday niirht. Lofty iilnmliel.l. New Zealand professional chain]'ion. .-time willi miiilit and science to revenge the two defeat* he lia.l sidieiod al the hands oi "Cowboy" J'at L'laley. The action never let up, and it was a match oi sensations lint it ended in a draw. Sensation opened the contest as Kraley went straight in. elbows swinging, and with three blows sent Blointiel.l to the ,nal for a press and lall. It eoutiimeil as the iwo liig men met I'er.i: i,,:;si\ round after round, jolts, droplocks and other .- pi , taenlar mi t : :o,ls no ding as strong defence: il -■ to a pea!-: ..•' .'M-itement octopus el.imp to .ipinll.-o the I alls, and ill t! e -iMU Series-Mill* r..-'-le.| lllld 111 ok,■ Fiai.A's ||\i-ig toehold; ami it h. Id lhe liuir.- crowd in a maze ol thrills in the seventh and ei-lltll as each mall came oil top lor a period. A Good Decision. Then, will lie school.- of thought as to whi.h was the belter man in this contest but lhe draw allowed by the referee, Mr. .1. M. Lean. u;w the Inst decision that could have been fc'iven. Kaell man was at peak form and whatever the results of previous and subsequent matches, there is little In pick and choose between the two. With lilomtield taken by surprise bv that fall in the first few second* Ernley lield tiie advantage from the start, and in the second he again made the attack with jolts. Lofty fought him oil', though taken to the roper;, and came on top with a wrislloek. Lofty was. however, taken in a shortarni scissors that caused him more than a mite of trouble. He broke at last, willi a headlock. but win* taken, lirst in a lianiinorlock and then a reverse headlock with his. bark arched over Fralov's knee. Ho broke that.

Fralcy tasted the ropes at the start, of tlie third and showed his dislike of such tactics in a jolt. Instantly I,of toy opened up his battery, pelted Fraley with jolts ami head-tossed him, only, however, to meet a dropkick and then a head-scissors. He kicked out at last and Fraley took a jolt that put him in hurried retreat. Lofty followed up to take a headlock and then a head-scissors, with a fly-act, up the ropes and a hair tug to assist the sport. Lofty Says "Take That." Under a barrage of jolt* Lofty retreated, but again gave Fraley a taste of the ropes. In return he was laid to rest on top of the ropes, but not for long. He charged — Frak-v dodged and Lofty dived on 111* own head. His face said it hurt. Lofty was taken in a headlock. but connected with a head-scissors and then a short-arm scissors. Pat strained and strained, but that scissors stayed put to the end of the round. Fraley entered the fifth w«th a damaged i arm, but used it immediately in a strangle and a (swinging punch that earned him a warning. He didn't like that, and he didn't •like Lofty. There was a nasty gleam in his eye as he tore in a«ain. Piston-like | left and right jolts tore in, and Lofty went back and down, but as he went down he acted. He side-stepped, legtripped Fraley, and in a jiffy had his octopus on. It was a fall—and the odds were even. Fraley wasted no time. He paced along the ropes to revive hie leg, and then went in hard at the sixth to punish Lofty in a headlock, but Lofty got to work on his legs again. Flying Toehold Broken. Fraley made for the ropes, broke that hold—and then the remarkable happened. Fraley suddenly loosed his flying toehold. It waa on; but Blomlield took it. Amazement showed on Pat's face as he bounced up and down to get the pressure on. It was no iwe—Lofty first resisted and then kicked off. Blomfield was taken later in a toehold, but he reversed that to work hard on Fraley'e right foot. Thus to the seventh, with Lofty taken down in a headlock that was broken under the ropes. Fraley went back tinder a jolting campaign, but levelled Lofty with a drop-kick. He followed in with a headlock, but was thrown off against the ropes. Lofty met his return with a jolt that laid Pat down under the ropes for a count of three. Fraley attacked again, and applied a keylock, using Lofty's arm for a lxar. Blomfield broke with a headlock and there was thrill food for the fans as in turn Fraley and Blomfield missed with drop-kick and tackle. A strange on Blomfield was broken, but as the referee tried to break a wrist lock on Lofty over the ropes Fraley swung a cracking to Lofty's left eye. Lofty covered his face — defenceless, but the gong came in time.

The house was in pandemonium as the eighth started, a milling throng of speeta, tors crowding up to the ring, while others stood on the seats. They filled the hall with a. deafening shout as the wrestlers strianed every effort to gain the decision. Jolts thudded home on either side, and Fraley had the advantage as Blomfield went down under two dropkickg and a jolt. He tried to drop Blomfield over the ropes, and again Lofty went down under a jolt to the side. Pat dived on top. hut Lofty got out from under, only to he levelled again by jolts. As he fell his leers shot out and once more Fraley was trussed up in the octopus. Again and again Lofty tried to stand up—Pat held his leg. He cleared., hut came down again. He tried to get the ropes, hut Mr. McLean stopped that: again he tried, but Fraley was there first, slipped under the Topes, and the hold was broken. Limping in, Pat tried vainly for his toehold, but was himself held in a double toehold. Fraley cleared with a wristlock, hut the gong came with it. So ended one of the most exciting matches Auckland has seen in years—in a draw.

The PreliminariesIt is a pity that Kod Douglas does not scale a stone and a-half heaver than the 13.7 he entered tlie ling with against M. Maich, 14.5. in the professional preliminary. He is one of the smartest wrestlers of them all. He found it hard to handle the far heavier man, hut worked hard for a drawn derision. Mr. Jim Brown refereed the amateurs, with Messrs. G. Heald and C. Browne as judges. H. Franklin. 9.1, beat C. Hammond. 9.11. witli a press following a series of head and crutch tosses in the third round of an exciting contest. R. Hulme. 11.2, gave a fine showing in his first appearance in the ring here, an 1 beat F. Chester. 11.6, in straight falls with presses. He was decisive and fast with a good sense of balance.

WIN FOR VINCENT LOPEZ. FALL AGAINST ABE YOURIST. (By Tel<^raph—Press Association.) NEW PLYMOUTH. Sunday. Vincent Lopez defeated Abo Ymirist by one fall in the ]ast round of a bout -that had the crowd in a state of great excitement after a wild bout of jolts. In the final round both men were practically out on their feet, weakly knocking each other to the mat. but lacking the strength to followed up their advantages. Lopez took a fall with a body-pross followii j: a series of dunii*;.