Blomfield Beats Raines

Northern Advocate, 29 August 1938, Page 3

Blomfield Beats Raines

Wrestling

[Special to "Northern Advocate.”! AUCKLAND, This Day. In a professional heavyweight wrestling contest in the Town Hall on Saturday evening, “Lofty” Blomfield, 16.8, was declared the winner when Dick Raines, 16.6, was unable to continue after being hurled out of the ring and knocked unconscious. This bout moved with astonishing speed throughout. Spectacular methin the form of punishing jolts and flying tackles off the ropes kept everyone on their toes. Blomfield, who was a decided favourite, was fully extended, and with one fall against him, appeared to be on the losing side until the climax in the latter part of the sixth round.

In the fourth round Raines displayed considerable ingenuity by picking Blomfield up bodily and, instead of slamming him, he ran or rather stumbled, over to a corner of the ring, and hurled Blomfield into it, at the same time still holding on to him. He then dumped him to obtain a fall with a body press. Wrestling of a fast and furious character predominated in the fifth and sixth rounds. Blomfield, with one fall against him, brought all he had into play in order to secure an equalising fall. Raines, on the other hand, was just as determined that he should not. He narrowly lsut cleverly evaded an octopus clamp by securing a toehold and forcing Blomfield to relinquish his grip. He then banged Blomfield’s arm hard down on the top rope several times, and, to the onlookers’ delight Blomfield returned the compliment.

Raines suddenly obtained a headlock but Blomfield shot him out into the ropes only to drop flat as he came off them in a flying tackle. He missed his objective and continued on out through the ropes on the other side. Coming back, he immediately secured a headlock, and as he manoeuvred Blomfield to the ropes to force him backwards, Blomfield bent down, picked him up, and threw him out of the ring, to land with a resounding crash on the stage, where he rolled off on to the floor, some sft below. When he did not, or could not, come back, Blomfield was declared the winner.

Prior to the commencement of this bout, Cowboy Pat Fraley issued a challenge to Blomfield, “winner take all basis”, which was accepted. This bout is to take place in Auckland very shortly.