THE CROWN FOR WRESTLING

Southland Times, Issue 23166, 6 April 1937, Page 11

THE CROWN FOR WRESTLING

MANY CLAIMANTS FOR TITLE Jack Curley, the pioneer impresario who has promoted everything from gum chewing contests to bull fights, is rapidly becoming convinced, after years of scoffing, that the hand is quicker than the eye, declares a New York sports writer. From every section of the spinning globe, wrestlers are singing “world’s heavy-weight champion” as they write down their names on contracts and hotel registers, and Maestro Curley is in stitches. “Never saw anything like it,” puffed the mischievous-looking promoter, as he exhibited a list of razzling champions. “Right off, I can think of 15 claimants to the title, but if you’ll come around an hour from now I’ll dig up ten or fifteen more . Such a muddle!”

Curley’s list had every contingent and every country represented by “one true champion.” “In this country,” the maestro said sadly, “we have . almost as many ‘champs’ as spectators. In my books, of course, I think Dean Detton is all over the champion, but the New York State Athletic Commission won’t recognize anyone. Then there are Yvon Robert, of Montreal, Steve Casey, Cliff Olsen, Dano O’Mahoney, Everett Marshall, Davey Levin and others too numerous to mention.”

Jim Londos, who lost his title to O’Mahoney and went bach to Greece to spend his money, is now wrestling in South Africa. “Jeems” claims the title, saying the O’Mahoney match was just an exhibition. Next to George Hackenschmidt, the “Russian Lion,” Londos made more money than any man in wrestling history, Curley estimates. '

Over in France, Henri de Glane makes a noisy claim to the title because he beat Ed “Strangler” Lewis three years ago. In Australia, two “champions” lay claim to the throne. They are Don George and Earl McCready, the Saskatchewan grappler. Somewhere in China lives a wrestler named “Whang Punch” who wears no man’s collar.

In England, a wrestler with a title claim went to court and had it sustained, revealed Curley. “His name is Jack Sherry, who claims Lewis ran out on him in a match over there and called Sherry a faker, and Sherry sued him for damages. And I’ll be smoked out if the court didn’t award judgment of £4000.” Curley, who exhibits figures from Beni Hasan’s tomb\of 3000 B.C. to prove a new wrestling hold hasn’t been concocted since that day almost 5000 years ago, rates Hackenschmidt as the greatest wrestler of them all, with Frank Gotch the smartest.