MCCREADY IN WORLD CLASS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 159, 8 July 1939, Page 4

M C CREADY IN WORLD CLASS

BOUT WITH R. STEELE MISSED

REGRET EXPRESSED BY A CRITIC IN AUSTRALIA

CANADIAN’S MANAGER WOULD LIKE BOUT WITH J. LONDOS

Wrestling enthusiasts who favour • raight, all-in wrestling without the I dmixture of clowning and frills that | o with spectacular bouts so dear to he hearts of female fans, missed out >n a worthwhile bout when Earl McCready, champion of the British Empire. sailed for New Zealand, writes A. H. Ahearne. in the Sydney Referee. He slipped into Sydney, watched the match at Sydney Stadium, but issued no challenges. McCready refused all offers of engagements. His arrival and departure were not chronicled in the daily Press. Outside Ray Steele, it is doubtful If any wrestler in Australia could hold his own with the Empire champion. Steele i* the most scientific wrestler among those campaigning in Australia at the moment. A clash between him and the young ■ Canadian star would have been the j outstanding attraction in the 1939 ■ wrestling season. There’s no doubt about McCready’s j status in the wrestling world. After i a distinguished amateur career dur- I ing which he won the Canadian cham- • pionship four years in succession and | the British Empire Games champion- | ship, he turned professional. i When he steppe* off the boat in Sydney he had completed a world tour ! during which he defeated the best • wrestlers in New Zealand, Canadg, ' England, and South Africa. Twelve months after he turned pro- , fessional he wrestled Dick Shikat, one . of the world’s outstanding wrestlers, : to a draw at Madison Square Garden. ’ New York. After touring the U.S.A, meeting I allcomers he returned to Canada and I won the British Empire title from I Jack Taylor. In Canada he teamed j up with Walter Miller and under his ' direction toured Australia and Nev, Zealand. He defeated the best wrestlers in both countries. Then on to England where he defeated claimants to his Empire crown. At that time Richstoff. three times winner of the Olympic wrestling title, was campaigning as a professional in England with the famous Jack Sherry. Walter Miller posted a challenge on behalf of McCready to Richstoff Accompanying the challenge went a side bet of 15.000 dollars. When the chai- ; lenge was not accepted. Miller, with fifteen thousand dollars in notes In I his hand, called on Sherry. “Why has your wrestler not ac- j cepted McCready’s challenge?’’ queried I Miller. “Because Richstoff wants none of him,” replied Sherry. Placing the 15.000 dollars on the j table. Miller said: “The same chai- I lenge. and the same side bet goes for | you. Jack.” White with rage. Sherry i refused Miller’s taunting challenge. From England Miller and Me- j Cready went to South Africa where . the great Dutch wrestler, Van der 1 Walt, ruled the roost. McCready’s Quick Win. When McCready and Van der Walt

wrestled at the Wanderers’ Ground. Johannesburg, partisan feeling was at fever heat. Police and militarymen were enlisted to keep the crowd of 15,000 in order. However, McCready crashed the big Dutchman to the canvas twice inside 23 minutes of wrestling. Stunned by the crashing defeat of their idol, the crowd were mute. The silence of a tomb enveloped them for minutes after the match had ended. McCready, keyed up to expect a riot if he defeated the Dutchman, admits ’•hat the unexpected and dramatic silence chilled his heart as he stood in the c.entre ot the ring. The Canadian is 6ft. liin. high, and weighs in the vicinity of 17 s’one. He bears practically no marks of his profession, though he was severely injured on a couple of occasions. He is a modest, unassuming individual and speaks interestingly from a wealth of ; experience born of extensive travel in j many lands. Like Ray Steele, the I purity of his wrestling skill shines , through the showmanship, nowaday- | a part and parcel of the wrestling! game. a > g man dotructive in the ring, an : a wonder- ' lai defensive wrestler. His wife and small daughter travel i with him wherever he goes. McCready is managed by Walter Miller, who, in his prime, was one ot ! the toughest wrestlers in the world, i During his career Walter held world j < hampionship in four divisions. He’s i confident he can make his young pro- ; tege a world champion. He is willing to stake five thousand i dollars for McCready against the pre- . sent world champion, Jim I.ondos, under any conditions, rounds, or to a finish. Miller was a Champion. In his day Miller was recognised as i a dangerous foeman. Added to hi> amazing strength and skill, he had a | cold, deadly ferocity in the ring. To-day he is a man of strong personality, but there’s something of the j cold, deadly menace of his ring days behind Miller’s backing of the Canadian. i He himself feared no man on j ■ earth, and he fears no man for his | young protege. I believe he would! risk every penny of his considerable i fortune on a bout between McCready ! and any wrestler in the world. McCready and Steele mot in the ; ring in 1932 and wrestled a draw. 1 I asked McCready what he thought 1 of Ray as a wrestler. "He’s as clever as sin, as powerful as an enraged tiger, and as slippery j as an cel.” he replied. Had McCready and Steel ■ been I fighters the fans would have hov.icd j I for a clash between them. But the politics of wrestling and j the tides of tangled international i affairs, are beyond the understanding j ot simple people like you and me.