Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-03-07 | Page 10 | Nelson and "Big Jim" Divide Mat Honors

NELSON AND "BIG JIM" DIVIDE MAT HONORS Local Wrestler First Man to Tlirow Boar With Fair Hold; Bout Is Bough. For tho flrst time In the four years and three months that "Big Jim." tho 4S0-ppund 4S0-ppund Alplno grhnsly bear now at the Lmpriiss. lias been beforo the public In ISurope and tills country ho wna thrown liiat night at tho Kmpross In a fair and square wrestling match. George Nelson, the local heavyweight grappler. turned the trick. Nelson put a half crosn bar on the bear after ten minutes of hard work at tho close of the llr.st performance at the Empress last night and turned tho bear on his back in a twinkling. An audience audi-ence that tlllwl every teat in tho Empress Em-press and packed tho standing-room Hpaco cheered the iilucky fireman to the echo. Ills victory over thu bear was so obviously the result of skill and courage that the houso watt Instantaneous In Its appreciation of the unusuul feat-Nelson feat-Nelson had agreed to wrestle tho bear after each performance and to tako $25 for each time he could throw tho bear. The latter has wrestled men for four years, among them such mat artists as Conloy, Olesoti, the heavy Minnesota wrestler: Hoss of New York and Muldoon of Canada. None of these men could throw the boar, although Muldoon, the Canadian champion, stayed twenty-three minutes before tho ixjar got a leg hold and brought him down. The bear roughed Nolton from the tap of tho gong. Besting both paws on Nelson's Nel-son's shoulders, he put his enormous weight on them and "rubbed Nelson's head with his muzzled mouth until tho fireman plainly showed the effects of the work. The bear tried repeatedly for a half-nelson and a leg hold, but Nelson wiggled out of them. At tho end of nine minutes Nelson secured his first half cross bar nnd tried for a throw. He failed to put enough weight on It and tho bear broke It. An Instant later Nol-son Nol-son again got thin hold nnd this time he throw every ounce of strength ho had Into tho clamp and tho bear rolled heavily to tho mat. The crowd cot to ltH ft in tho excitement excite-ment that followed and tendered Nelson a gTcnt ovation. After tho second show Nelson went on again and the hear throw him with a log hold In a little over live minutes. The bear w-as tricky and Nelton could not get another half cross bar. Frank Stevens, the boar's owner and trainer, announced from the stage thnt Nelson was tho Jlrst man In this country or Europe to throw "Big Jim" with a fair hold.