LARGE CROWD FIGHTS TO SEE WRESTLERS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 185, 6 August 1931, Page 6

LARGE CROWD FIGHTS TO SEE WRESTLERS.

(Special to the “Star.”) AUCKLAND, August 5. A crowd of several hundred men and women besieged the Town Hall last evening in an effort to obtain admission to the professional wrestling match between George Walker and Stanley' Pinto. When the box plan was opened on Thursday of last week, a record queue formed up, and over £2OO worth of seats were sold. This indicated a packed house, and as soon as the doors were opened last evening enthusiasts who had not booked their seats swarmed round the booking office. The demand for tickets was abnormal, and half an hour before the first preliminary bout was timed to commence the sale of tickets was stopped and all the doors but one were closed. Instead of dispersing, the crowd be--came larger, and patrons who had booked their seats experienced extreme difficulty in fighting their way to the door. Walker and his wife arrived shortly before eight o’clock, but were unable to gain admission at the Queen Street entrance. With an official, they went round to the Grey Street door, but even there they had considerable trouble in squeezing their way through the crowd. A number of women in the crowd were severely jostled, and several of them fainted. Some patrons who had tickets arrived at the hall before eight o’clock, but did not gain admission until a short time before the main bout commenced at nine o’clock.