McCready Retains Mat Title

Winnipeg Free Press – May 10, 1933
By Clem Shields

Billed to go best of three falls with a two-hour limit, the Canadian championship wrestling match last night at the Amphitheatre rink between Earl McCready, Canadian heavyweight champion, and veteran Jack Taylor finished after 36 minutes and 45 seconds, Taylor being unable to continue due to a neck injury. The injury was the result of taking a reverse body slam with all of McCready’s 236 pounds behind the charge.

The far from gentle art of modified murder was demonstrated in all its phases in all bouts, with exhibitions of leaping Lenas, grunting, growling, groaning and boxing thrown in for good measure. Particularly in the preliminary in which Mihaly Orgovanyi, perfectly-built grappler from Hungary, and Alex Monahan, wild rushing Irishman, tangled were fans served a tasty hors-d’oeuvres of smash-as-smash-can. Monahan, one of the best to show here, was the victim, suffering a cut eye and split ear and resembling a redskin before the final gong sounded ending the bout in a draw.

Nick Gotch, ponderous Winnipeg wrestler, threw Tony Catalano after 25:50 with a body slam but lost by a wide margin when it came to fisticuffs. Nick opened hostilities but quickly discovered that the report crediting Tony as being a former sparring partner of Jack Dempsey’s was probably more truth than fiction.

As in his first bout here a few weeks ago, McCready favored straight wrestling, flavored with a few flying tackles. His superior strength was evident throughout the match, despite the fact Taylor gave a fine performance and proved a tough nut to crack. At several stages Taylor manoeuvred arm and headlocks and punishing toe-holds and twice toppled the champion over the ropes.

Excitement reigned among the ringsiders when a few minutes before the dramatic ending, Taylor picked his heavier opponent bodily up and was about to toss him overboard but fell into a leg hold himself. Both fell over the top rope strand and, despite the frantic efforts of referee Johnny Walker to separate them, continued to punch and struggle on the narrow ledge outside the ring.

It was only a few minutes after this little episode that Taylor fell victim of his bad judgment. He tossed McCready against the ropes and instead of backing away a respectable distance, left himself in an ideal position to take a lightning rebound off the ropes and be crashed to the mat with a terrific reverse body slam.

The grizzled veteran lay stunned for five minutes and after a fit of coughing was carried from the ring by four attendants. An examination found him to be suffering from a severely strained neck.

The attendance was the best to see a mat show here for several years and apparently found full favor with the vast majority.