NEBRASKA - LAD IS
WRESTLING CHAMP
Joe Stecher of Dodge, Neb., Throwa
Charles Cutler 'of Chicago
ia Straight Falls.
SPLENDID CROWD AT CONTEST
Joseph' Stecher, Dodge, Neb.f
farmer boy, is the champion heavy
weight wrestler of the world.
Before a crowd estimated at
10,000, which) filled Rourke park to
overflowing,' the unassuming young
manwbos meteoric career has made
him a noted figure in the world of
sport, Models y won two straight
falls from Charles Cutler of Chicago, j
, who since -the retirement of Frank
Ootch has been defending the heavy
weight championship.
Steoher .won the world's championship
with hi famoua body scissors hold,
coupled with half Nelaona.
The fltst fU came In 17 minutes and
8Vfc seconds. The next fall, after an Inter
mission of a quarter hour, came In 10
mlnutea and 59 seconds.
I'wOer Mach Heavier. c
(Cutkr outweighed ' his opponent by a
, good twenty pounds, but within a few
minutes after the beginning of the match,
It was apparent that tho extra weight
was of little advantage to the Chicago
trappier.
It was the old, old story of youth
' against age.
Sterner, as perfcr-tlv proportioned and
graceful -a a a fawn, made a strange
contrast benido Cutler, who, at least
twelve years his senior,, showed the
ravages of time after a few minutes
gruelling at the hands of the Nebraskan.
His paunchy stomach made for con
sternation In ths hearts of his backers,
and after the match lUwu this same
paunch that got the blame for the defeat,
(rrst 1 aevra lor Meeker.
Though Stecher was not the champion
v when he stepped Into the padded ring,
the ovation he received proclaimed him a
prophet that was honored, at least, in his
own land. When at the head of a swarm
of followers he surged through the crowd
and appeared' near the platform, a
mighty roar, like the booming of a thou
sand cannon, broke upon him. -
"Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h-D-h! Stecher! " Stach
aaaaaaar! Ah-a-a-a!"
When Sutler appeared, he received a
generous cheer and prolonged clappijpri
or hands, and a scattering or cheers, but
besides Ptecher's greeting, it was like the
silence of the grave.
It was a representative American crowd,
There were thousands of Stecher fanatics
and thousands Just as sealous of Cutler,
but the majority were of no pervlously
formed opinion at all. With them it was
simply a case of seeing- the two men
stripped, standing side by side, and then
'' Judging which was the best man. . And
when they saw Stecher . beside Cutler,
with resounding applause, placed upon
him the stamp of approval.
Joe IVaa Their Hero.
His every action was greeted with a
storm of encouragement. It Was "Joe,
loa! Oh, Joel Atta boy I Joe!" from tha
time he stepped shoulder to shoulder with
the bigger man, until he stepped out of
tha ring, a conqueror.
When he left tha ring, with Cutler ly
ing flat and breathless from the terrible
effort of the body scissors grip, a cordon
of police had to battle furiously to stem
the tide of humanity, that closed in upon
the hero. Stecher. fresh aa from a little
, print, tried vainly to escape the plaudits.
At S:80 o'clock all the dollar seats had
. been sold and a few minutes later, the t'l
prats were n,H occupied. Remained only
a few sents at $5, and before tha match
snorted, these too were snapped up. Every
Inch of spare In the capacious grandstand
was filled, and every bleacher seat con
tained a spectator.
I nt er Slnkrt Qnlck Grab.
The start of the big match was mado
at :47,-wlth bcjth men feeling thejr way,
but after ar minute of wrestling; Cutler
made a quick grab with a crotch hold to
fet behind, but It did not avail. For flva
minutes they gruelled back and forth
Cars Passing Grandst and at tho Speedway
Spectators who swt In lb grandstand
at the 'Speedway Monday afternoon were
treated to thrills thst'wlll never be ex
celled. Aa tha cars swept down from the
lower turn. It looked as If the mad rush
of the speed devils would rum, th.
directly into the crowded stand, where
thousands wrre watching the race with
utmost eagerness. Then; aa the cam
sped on they whiskey b the watcher.
So swiftly they could scsreel K.
and whirled around tha trying steep of
tha first turn, providing the 'most spa.,
tacular feature of the race. The picture
hra shows Orr, rtrown and rvwirleon,
careening along the stretch, where the
(utmost .speed wss wrought from the
ears. It was along tia piece of track
that the most Interesting brushes r-f the
afternoon ccuhred. for here tha drivers
were apparently Inspired to do their ut
most, and exerted very effort to get
greater headway from thel cars. One
V.'
' . w
assajaV
exhibition by Marvin and Henry Hast
ings, sons of A. A. Hastings of Silver
Creek. These lads were 9 and 10 years
of age and showed considerable science
on the mat. ,
Jack Tolllver and Joe Miller of South
Omaha wrestled twenty minutes without
a ifall, when they were forced to give way
to the big match, 1
All sorts of challenges were hurled Into
the ring, but soma of them probably will
not go. since Stecher won.
Jos Coffey offered a $25,000 purse on be-
half of the Chicago American Athletic
club for a match between the winner and
Frank Gotch. A check for 5,000 was
flashed aa a guarantee for a match be
tween Cutler and Qotch In Omaha iithln
sixty days. Stecher challenged Qotch for
a match within alx'ty days. Ordemsn
challenged the winner. ...
Frank Ootch was Introduced In. the cen
ter of the ring as the world's champion,
but he refused to make a talk.
The weather was made to order. Not
too chilly to ba uncomfortable, nor too
damp to remain outdoors, it acted upon
the crowd aa a tonic. It was a fine,
large, cheerful evening, and the crowd
drew from it an inspiration.
The promoters had arranged electric
lights in the grandatand, and sd gradu
ated the lighting effect that the plat
form out near tho pitchers' box, whlch
was under a dosen biasing white arc
)lghta, was as light as day, and srfecfly
plain to view from every seat.
I . ' ;
Was Cupid Flying
Over Rourke Park
When Stecher Won?
w ith no apparent advantage, when Cut
ler got behind by grabbing a crotch hold
while it'll standing. Ftecher made a
strong defense, with the result that after
a few twists they went under tha ropes
with Btecher behind.
"Blether was given the position behind
ii fur they were placed In tho center of.
the met,' according to agreement, nndf
hooked the 'scissors in a very short time.
Then began the punishment that' was
the downfall of Charles Cutler after the
lJoflge county wonder had squeezed Cutler
with his scissors for about four minutes
the tPrrlhle pressure began to tell and
Cutler was seen to took at Frank Ootch
and shake his head. The pain he was
forced to endure was plainly evident.
I'ntler . ita t Kscapr.
Cutler made a heroic effort to get away
and Rjsaln they went under the ropes.
After they, returned to the center Cutler
edged away, and Stecher seemed in. dan-,
gcr for a moment, but he soon twisted
behind and again hooked his stssors. For
almost ten minutes Cutler was forced to
rndure the terrific pressure of those
gigantlo legs of the Dodge county farmer
,wlth Joe all the while trying to twist
the giant over with a half Nelson. After
JT:0J minutes of wrestling he succeeded
in putting both Cutler's shoulders to the
mat and Referee Ed Smith patted him
on the back.
Rooters Caeer Stecher.
Pandemonium broke loose from tha
- thousands of Stecher rooters until it
was noticed that Cutler failed to rise.
He lay on his stomach in the middle of
the padded ring for several minutes un
til he was assisted to his corner. Hera
Frank Ootch visited him and told him ha
must go back for the second fall. He
also advised him to wrestle tha second
fall without his Jersey, It was rumored
around that Cutler would not return for
th second fall, but when the agreed fif
teen minutes was up he walked to th
tenter.
Cutler was behind after ona mlnuta of
wrestling in tha second, but was very
evident that ho was about all In. He
locked his arms around Stecher's waist
and forced tha lad to carry his weight.
Joa got away from hlro twice. After
nine minutes Cutler hooked a half Nel
son and a bar hold on Stecher and It
looked Ilka tha Dodge boy was going to
tha hay. But hera was where fctecher
showed tha stuff of which ha is mads
by twisting away by main strength.
Cutler got behind, immediately, but
stecher raised himself to bis feet and
threw Cutler over his head and immedi
ately got behind, hooked his scissors,
when tha Dodge boys started for boms,
for they knew tha match was over, and
to it was, for Cutler did not offer much
resistance this time aTter those fearful
legs were wrapped around hire. The fas'
took 10 minutes and ii seconds.
Tha preliminaries consisted of a lively
"Winning this match means a lot to
me," quietly said Joe Stecher, as he sat
In the Henshaw dining room last night,
surrounded by a host of friends at a lit
tle dinner.
His friends gazed at him admiringly.
The match certainly did mean a lot.
Movie royalties, gate receipts, champion
shipcertainly it means a lot.'
But Joa's face was masked in sn ex
pression of mystery. His eyes were up
turned, as if ha was trying to find some
thing on the celling,
"Yes, this match means a lot to me."
he repeated, jjreamily. Everywhere about
htm was excitement In the cafe-all eyes
were upon him, but somehow, to an ob
server who was on the trail of a mystery
story, It seemed that the champion was
not lending himself to tha occasion.
Tea, that's tha meat of thla story. Also,
that's as much as there appears to be in
it; for Stecher would say nothing about
it, affirmatively or negatively.
When a reporter asked him whether he
won a bride, with the world's champion
ship, Joe smiled wanly.
"Where'd you. get that?" he wanted to
know, still seemingly preoccupied.
CUTLER CREDITS
STECHER'S SKILL
Fallen Idol Makes No Excuses, bat
Gives Nebraskan Full Measure
. - of Praise.
fair spectator of the
was over: "At .first
now rast lh cars were going, and the
rush down from the urn onto the
race sstd, after Itlstrttch was terrifying, but soon one l.e
you didn't reallxe came accustomed to the suee.l and the
exlleratlon of the spectacle kept one on
tcnalo to the very end."
Avoid colds.
Don't get overheated standing
oversteamipg tubs of hotwater.
wasn your clothes in luke
warm water
with
SAYS ABLE TO BEAT, GOTCH
Will Gotch Give
Joe Opportunity .
To Defeat Him?
Frank Gotch smiled and smiled and
smiled.
"Yes. I think I'll giva thla young fel
low a chance to put me on my back," he
said. "I think he's a wondery-l'm going
to see more of him." . (
Before the match Ootch told newspaper
men that "Cutler'd throw Stecher so hard
that he'd bring dark days to Nebraska."
Afterwards, Gotch revised his opinion.
He was loud in Stecher's praise. "He's a
great boy, all right." he said.
Stecher's Father ,
Proud olHis Son
It was after the first fall at the Sterher
C'utler match that a sudden "commotion
In tho grandstand sent police there on
the ' run, and made thousands of heads
turn. A- cheer that plainly carried a
note of aympthy told that it was not a
ftght, and then a few minutes later ex.
planatlon came when an erect old gentle
man marched out on the field, "and up
to the platform, followed by cheer a from
every section of seats that he passed.
It was Joseph Stecher's father.
Everybody seemed to want I to wring
hlr hand. Everybody demanded an
answer to the same question: , "Well,
what d'ye think of Joeyboy now, eh?"
aa if Stecher pera had previously been a
Cutler backer.
Ha smiled wanly. "Oh-h-h, . I don't
know. I guess he's all ight." slowly,
"He's a better man than I am!
"I can throw anyone else In the world 1"
"Frank Ootch cannot now.ior never
could throw him!
"I'd Uke a return match, but I don't
think It would do much good!"
These are some of tha pithy statements
made by Charley Cutler, defeated world's
champion heavyweight wrestler, as ha
sat. pajama-clart,""in his room at the
Castle hotel yesterday, and fought over
and over again the Rourke park battle.
He was surounded by his henchmen and
a Bee reporter.
A were sitting about, listening &
pearls or wisdom from the ex-champlon.
Only occasionally would their lntermnt
and then to cheer up tha fallen Idol aa
he recounted some dark iitii r v..
fray.
Thsnarbt -Woald Be Kaay.
"When F arrived here I'll tell you tha
truth-I thought I was about-to take
candy away from a babe. I hear so much
of this 'farmer boy champion' stuff, you
see. Every ten minutes, soma one is dis
covering a champion wrestler somewhere
out In- the Jungles. I dots on 'coming
champions but m tell you ilka a man,
that I bit off more than I could chew
wnen i started. In to commit mayhem
upon mis Doy. . -
"I was too confident. I didn't believe
these stories about hla wonderful legs.
But that first fall got mo. so quick that
I realised what I was up against tha
next time, and I fought, hard and warily.
I gave up everything that was in ma
everythlng that nine years of tha wrest
ling game has brought me. When I sai
everything, I mean every trick in the
game. And I bet my money that I'd
beat him. My friends here pawned their
personal adornments to take away soma
of this 'soft money from Nebraska.
Those Wonder's I I.eors.
Tou' have a wonderful boy here.
There la no one In the world able to put
him on his back. His legs are wonder
ful, but they're, not hla only good points,
even though they are his best. Too much
cannot bo aaid about them. When ha
gets a body scissors on an opponent
good nlght-ifa like a gigantlo boa eon-
sincior. iowiy, nut surely tha folds
tighten, and tighten and tighten. Just
above tho short ribs r got It. First a
felling of nausea. Then giddiness. Then
red, red red!"
Cutler's managor, Rochelle came m Just
then and sighed heavily. Everybody else
sighed.
"Well Charley, It bests me. To think
that we'd get goofed by a guy with only
one trick." , .
"Only one!" Charley exclaimed, "Say,
if you're talking about tha scissors hold,
lemmo tell you-one trick is plenty for
that guy." i i
STECHER LOOMS
AHEADOF GOTCH
Referee of Match with Cutler Pro
nounces Young . Titan Marvel
of Wrestling World.
ONE OF BARE MEN OF THE MAT
By KOmiS UMITU.
Refere of the Match.
Tnera is no way one can find out
now Just how good this astonishing
young fellow Stecher really is.
It was enough this defeat of
Charley Cutler In such convincing
style to prove that he is the one
great athletic marvel of a century,
just as much 0f a marvel and Just
as much of a wonder as Jess Wlllard.
the new champion in his line.
Surely this Is tha day of the rlore to
nature athlete, 0e fanner boy Is coming
Into his own x and the city chap surely
must look to his laurels now.
Studying Stecher and hla methods
closely, as h flashed them on thi mat
tonight, I must say that ha Is ona pf the
greatest boys I ever saw. and, consider-:
Ing his age, one of tha world a wonders. !
Ha upsets all precedent by becoming a
champion at the tender and completely
unheard age of S3, or Is it S2? Wc have I
been led to believe that it took a matter
of tea years or so to properly season a
wrestler. What do you know about that
hen Stecher at K becomes a wrestler of
the Ootch tr! Astonishing? Truly ra.
And this selfsame Ootch, 1 Imagine, ha t
something of a scare thrown Into him bv
what he saw In those fiery twenty-ettiht
minutes on the mat. I think he has some
thing to thi(k about.
Hats off to Btecher. He's the real thing!
soap.
Saves hard work,
fuel and bother.
Makes your clothes cleaner
than when washed the hard, old
fashioned, wash-boiler way.
Pels a Co., Philadelphia.
Frlerds of stecher are going ahead
with their plans for giving tha new
champion a diamond belt. U la sug
gested that this ba really representative
of Nebraska, and while It. Is presented
by his Nebraska friends. Hist It be made
in Nebraska. Already a,.W0 has been
rained to pay for this trophy, and It Is
easy for those who have been watchlna
the new champion to see that It will be
paid for by Omaha aid Chicago monev.
The country boys have surely been clean
ing up on Stecher on every match hs has
wrestled. '
M'CONNELL WINNER !
. IN HAPPY HOLLOW MATCH
MeConnell best Brownies In straight
sets, 7-, in tha Happy Hollow
club tennis championship finals In singles.
All first round matches in the doubles
must be played by tomorrow evening by
order of tha tennis commission.
overall la Valform.
AKOK!Efl.t Cel., July S.-Orval
Overall, former 1'hlcago National pitcher,
got Into a tnlt Ijikn City uniform today
and pitched at batting practice. Msnaser
Blankenshlp of the Utah team said after
ward ha had offered Overall a contract.
Overall has been working as a brewery
salesman.
Co-Pa-Co IPaiotE
Best for Wear and Weather
Varnishes, Stains and Enamels
1312 Farnam Street
a ' '
C. R.Cook Paint Co.
Omaha real estate is
going to take a jump
this fall. Buy nowC
sffiUBaS
II'
t AI
Joe Stecher Says
The Match Meant
Whole Lot to Him
In his room at tha Merchant, hotel
after tha mateli with Just a few close
friends and the members of his family
about him, Joe Btecher dressed for tha
street and wreathed In smiles, declared :
"There Isn't a ona f the crowd out
there, Indicating tha huge swarm of ad
mirers beneath hla window," that even
begin to now how tickled I am. It
meant mora to ma than tha
person csn realise.
"As for Cutler
man, and a
weight I bellev
ordinary
he ia a decldely touah '
bully good sport. His extra i
had much to do with 1
my being able to throw him so quickly. '
Just tell the bunch I did my best and I
inai was enough to bring home
goods."
no
You must read THE LITERARY DIGEST of July 3d for this unique
view-point current in England.
Since the recapture of Lemberg by the Germans, the Berlin populace
in their delirious enthusiasm', fpel that Lemberg is only an incident on the
triumphant march of the German hosts toward Calais, Paris and London.
THE LITERARY DIGEST presents the best and most comprehensive, ac
count of the War in both war-zones.
Another feature that will bo of interest to every reader is the detailed
opinion of various authorities upon how tho Lusitania might have been saved,
in which it is pointed out that the aeroplane has not .been utilized to tho
extent that it should have been by the Allies for spying upon submarines.
i While THE LITERARY DIGEST features the War in its various
.phases prominently it is also rich in features of a peaceful aspect which
particularly concern the American public. '
Among these may bo mentioned:
Regulating the Jitney
End of the "Grandfather Clause" '
Pnrfuin Political "Hijher-Ups"
in Indiana
The League to Enforce Peace
Full Description of the Widener
Library at Harvard
The Military Officer in German Letters
German Rejectors of ""Hatred"
Cigars Under the X-Rays
How Summer Weather Affects the
Wireless
Food At It Concerns Personal Fitness
Musical (Sounds Translated Into Colors
D'Annunzio As Italy's Voice of War
The Memorial to Mrs. Wilson
Through the Servian Inferno
The Awakening of England
The Czech's Aspirations
Nervous Tension in Holland
the
Interest in Match
Holds the Record
Public interest tn tha fata of Joa
Stacher'tn bis match with Cutler ex
ceeded that ia any sporting event held tn
Omaha within the memory of newspaper
men. All Tha Bee telephones were kipt
ringing continuously from aarly evening
until after midnight carrying inquirers.
There was almost no cassation of the
question: .
N hat do you bear r f thf w:t0iing
match at Hourks par?'
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patients suffer no collapse.
Do not ba pursuaded that "all treat
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Coma to us without delay. These con
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Send for Illustrated booklet. Corre
spondence strictly confidential.
The Kecley Institute
Corasr it aaf
OMASA.
Cass treats.
MES.
THE LITERARY DIGEST for July 3d, is, as usual, copiously illus'
trated with striking cartoons, photographs, and maps. . Besides tho features
above mentioned, it contains news of interest from the fields of Science'
Politics,-Invention, Literature, Art, Religion, Education, Industry, Sports,
Drama, that will claim tho attention of the American public.
Get Your Copy of THE LITERARY DIGEST for July 3d, TO-DAY
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