GOOD-BYE OLD WRESTLING GAME
Climax of Fakirs Record in Brown-Peddler Match Last Night – Deliberately Fixed in Advance
BROWN FORFEITED
Tried to Put Over One of The Oldest Fakes in The Game – Some Inside Information on How it Was Done
Originally Published In The Waterloo Times-Tribune (Waterloo, Iowa), Friday Morning, March 7, 1913, Page 2.
The wrestling game in this city never was or never will be at a lower standard than it was last evening and if the promoters of the game in Waterloo are wise they will let the game drop here and leave town. Waterloo supports as good a class of mat fans as can be found in any city, men who are willing to spend their money for a good square match and most of them are also willing to bet a little on the side. Betting on a match that is fixed is a different thing and does not meet the approval of any man, but those who are connected with the promoting.
The affair last evening was the worst they have pulled oft this winter. Not as far as the match itself was concerned as it was a pretty match, but it being fixed spoiled the whole thing. Either one of the wrestlers could have told last evening at 7 o'clock just how the match would end. At 7:30 last evening Carl Brown made a little deal that showed the match was crooked.
Betting by Wrestlers.
It was between" seven and eight" o'clock that Carl Brown entered one of the popular restaurants on the west side. He started talking of the match and said that he had been sick and was not in good condition. He also stated that he would throw up the match if he did not win the first fall in one hour and also stated that he would give the Peddler the match if he lost the first fall.
A short conversation then followed between one of the proprietors of the restaurant and Brown, and a few minutes later they retired to a room off the dining room. In this room Carl Brown asked the proprietor to bet some money for him that he (Brown) would win the first fall. At the match in the evening the money was bet and all those who were present last evening know, Brown won it.
The first fall came at the end of 40 1-2 minutes on the most, used and most worn-out fake In the wrestling game, a strangle hold in which the one who had it refused to let go. The Peddler hung on for dear life and even when told by the referee to let go, still hung on. Any wrestler who was wrestling for a side bet of $200 and 75 per cent of the gate receipts of a house the size of the one last evening, would not take chances of losing a fall on a strangle hold unless there was something else in it. "When the referee finally piffled Klem off. Brown was all in and fell to the mat, but he had won the fall and his money.
Brown Forfeits.
A large crowd was present last evening, it being the largest crowd of this year, and when the bout for the second fall started, the mat fans were thoroughly aroused. Some clever work was done daring this half, but the mat fans had noticed the first fake. One man hunted all over the house for some Brown money, but could not find any. After 46 minutes of wrestling the Peddler obtained a George Hackenschmidt flying maneuver on Brown and forced his shoulders to the mat for the fall. In catching the hold on the roll, Brown hit on one of the boards the held the mat and hurt his side, so he said.
Both men retired to their dressing rooms and a short time later Referee Carle entered the ring and made the statement that Brown was so badly hurt that he could not come back for the third and deciding fall -and that the match was forfeited to Klem, the Peddler. Upon examination last evening it was stated that Brown jad three ribs broken in the match. He was supposed to go to Omaha early this morning where he was to meet a man before one of the wrestling clubs of that city. Owing to his injuries it is thought he will, have to cancel his matches for the next two or three weeks.
Many of the fans left the armory after the second fall and did not wait to see the third fall. Many of them will now know until today that the match was forfeited to Klem. In all probability this will be the last match in this city to draw a good house as the fans have got next to the game and are disgusted with the antics of the promoters here.
Two Preliminaries.
The first curtain raiser was between the two old timers Darrah and O'Neil. As is always the case Darrah won both falls, doing it in shorter time last evening than ever before. The first fall came at the end of four minutes on a full nelson, and the second at the end of six minutes on a reverse nelson and toe hold.
In the semi-windup McDonald of this city and Katron, a Greek of Chicago, did some clever work for a half hour. As neither man received a fall during this time the match was called a draw. Following the match Katron stated that he was willing to meet any man in this city his size, and by his funny actions created considerable laughter, among the mat fans.
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