WRESTLING.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 18 June 1936, Page 3

WRESTLING.

GEORGE WALKER’S IDEA. Though George Walker, one-time heaiiliner in New Zealand wrestling, lias been practically off the map this season, it has been apparent that he has been as eager as ever to wrestle providing the arrangements suited him. Ikrly in the piece there was some talk or a party of men being brought to New Zealand either by Walker or by the National Sporting Club to work in opposition to the New Zealand Union. These negotiations, as was anticipated in these columns, liave now apparently fallen through, and unless he is prepared to forget the prejudice which he developed against the union in 1934 and which has kept him outside the union’s organisations ever since, it looks as if his long and distinguished New Zealand record has come to its end.

There is reason to believe, however, that Walker is coming to see that he is adopting an attitude very costly to himself in standing out against the union, and it would not be surprising if he made a move before long to get back into harness and accept matches against the union’s men. The union’s attitude remains unaltered in that it is willing to provide Walker with contests as soon as he asks for a license to wrestle under its control. The union, however, has such a fine array of talent at its disposal that it has neither the desire nor the need to press Walker to work in with its men.

After living in Wellington for some time, Walker is now in the -Rotorua dis-j trict, but when visiting this city re-' cently he approached Mr Walter Miller, manager of the union’s men, and discussed the question with him. Walker said that he was prepared to wrestle for the union, but he had a rather surprising suggestion to make, apparently as a publicity move. According to Mr. Miller, Walker’s suggestion was that it should be announced that he had issued a challenge to Earl McCready, which the latter had declined to accept. Mr. Miller laughed at the proposal quite naturally, when one considers the readiness which McCready has always displayed to meet any challenger whether for the British Empire title or not. Apparently that was as far as the interview went, and the position at the moment remains unaltered, with Walker again in seclusion at Rotorua. Will he come out and pick 'up the money that is waiting for him ? There is no doubt that many enthusiasts would welcome the opportunity of seeing what he could do against the men at present wrestling in the union. ON THE AIR. BOESCH MAKES A HIT. Paul Boesch has been responsible for quite a few sensations since he first set foot in New Zealand and has become a highly popular member of the Wrestling Union’s forces, both in and out of the ring. On a recent Monday night, however, he blossomed forth in an entirely new line and made just as big a hit as any he had made previously. This was in participating in the broadcasting of the match at the Wellington Town Hall. A fan mail of quite sizable proportions, comprising telegrams as well as letters, was delivered to him on Tuesday and subsequent days bearing testimony to the enjoyment which his unseen audiences had derived from his commentary. A Masterton enthusiast wired, “Splendid. Like to hear you again.” And from Waipu came, “Enjoyed broadcast. It was swell.”

Among the letters was the following from Nelson : “We have just been listening to your very able description of the match between Bloomfield and Forsgren, and 1 have no need to tell you that we enjoyed it. The description was certainly the best we have heard from Wellington for some time. Wishing you success in your visit to our shores and hoping to see you in Nelson, the ‘City of Sunshine.’ ”