Coos Bay Times – December 21, 1946
By Jane Irvine
Wrestler Frankie Hart’s threats to give Sammy Kohen a good going over resulted in lots of thrilling action last night at the North Bend Community Hall. The 185-pound Windsor, Ont., boy took 178-pound Kohen, who hails from New Jersey, in a bout that gave spectators plenty to scream about.
Sammy strode confidently into the ring, ready to dish out the dirt, but promoter and referee Thor Jensen kept the eagle eye and the iron hand on him when illegal tactics were noticed. Hart took the lead early in the match and received joyous howls from the crowd several times when he faked grogginess, then followed it up with a swift kick at Kohen’s stomach. Hart took the first fall in 29 minutes with a double stepover toe hold.
Throughout the feature match, Hart fans repeatedly asked Jensen to remove the tape from two fingers of Kohen’s right hand. The tape seemed to be doing no harm until late in the scrap when Sammy started working on Frankie’s eyes. Hart was tossed out of the ring and each time he attempted to climb back through the ropes he was greeted by another shove from Sammy. Hart was temporarily blinded by illegal irritation from Sammy’s fingers or the tape on them, and after eight minutes was awarded the fall on a foul, giving him the match with two falls.
Popular Tony Ross had an easy go in his match with Billy Goelz, the little chap from Chicago, but lost the alurels by landing a punch on the “Atomic Blonde’s” stomach after time was called. The referee awarded that fall to Goelz, making Tony mad about the whole thing. Ross took the first fall in 33 minutes with a standing backbreaker, which he attempted again later in the fight but missed when Billy put forth his amazing speed and used a little ju-jitsu.
The curtain-raiser brought Ernie Piluso and Pete Belcastro to the mat in a skillful meeting. Belcastro, present coast junior light heavyweight champ, came through with the sort of action the crowd loves, tying both Ernie and referee Jensen up in the ropes. Piluso evened the score with like tactics on Belcastro, only to be tossed out into the laps of spectators when Pete was again free. The match was a draw with neither man taking a fall in the 30-minute time limit.
Jensen announced that no matches will be held until after the first of the year, at which time the regular schedule will be resumed. The first card of 1947 should be a good one, including a scrap between challenger Ernie Piluso and the winner of last night’s feature event, Frankie Hart.
Classic Wrestling Articles 