1952 witnessed the emergence of a new Queen in the United Kingdom. The death of George VI in February brought Queen Elizabeth II to the throne, though her coronation was not to be until June 2nd of the following year. A man who was to gain greater influence in his second career was married when actor Ronald Reagan tied the knot with Nancy Davis. In November the first official passenger flight flew over the North Pole on the way from Los Angeles to Copenhagen. Albert Schweitzer received the Nobel Peace Prize. Tragedy in the UK resulted in an estimated 4,000 deaths as a result of a smog, lasting six days, that covered London in early September.
The cataclysmic event of 1952 in the wrestling world was the formation of Joint Promotions. The decision of a small group of promoters to work co-operatively was to transform the wrestling business. Whether or not Joint Promotions were to become a force of good that transformed the business into a legitimate sporting entertainment, or whether they were a cartel that stifled development and took advantage of wrestlers is still debated by Mountevans era fans. For the promoters there was no doubt whatsover. Unity was strength. That their decision was to change the face of professional wrestling as we knew it is beyond doubt.
Dale Martin Promotions, Norman Morrrell, Ted Beresford, Bill Best, Jack Atherton, Arthur Wright, George de Relwyskow and Arthur Green carved the country into their own individual territories and tied wrestlers to contracts which required them to work exclusively for their members known as Joint Promotions.
Joint Promotions began to stamp their authority by arranging championship contests that determined champions in their newly structured weight divisions. Only wrestlers working for Joint Promotions could wrestle for the newly established Lord Mountevans titles.
An outdoor show at the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, brought together two men who would remain rivals for over a decade. One of them was Jack Dale, a master wrestler, and part owner of Dale Martin Promotions. The other was a young Australian making his British debut and going by the name of Paul Lincoln. Ten years later the two were destined to become business rivals as the Australian built up Paul Lincoln Management to challenge the might of Dale Martin. On that summer day in Bristol Dale won by a KO.
Johnny Stead took the lightweight title with a win over Jackie Harris at Huddersfield in February. One of his top challengers was the Scot, George Kidd. Kidd challenged Stead at Newcastle in September, 1952, but the bout ended unsatisfactorily when the Scot was injured. A hastily arranged return contest two weeks later saw Kidd do no better than hold the champion to a draw, and so the year ended with Stead still the champion.
Alan Colbeck took the welterweight crown in May, 1952, but his reign lasted only a few months and he lost it to Tony Lawrence at Newcastle in November. Tommy Mann was crowned middleweight champion when he defeated Jack Dale, but again his reign ended within months and the year ended with Yorkshireman Harry Field wearing the belt.
The Heavy Middleweight championship was to remain vacant for another year. Dennis Mitchell ruled the light heavyweight division, and kept himself busy with defences against Jim Anderson, Les Kellett, and Alf Cadman. Norman Walsh was the first Joint Promotions Mid Heavyweight champion, a title he was destined to hold for a decade.
In the heavyweight division Ernie Baldwin was crowned Heavyweight champion when he defeated Dave Armstrong at Newcastle. With Bert Assirati still claiming the title outside the Joint promotions sphere Baldwin worked hard to prove himself the legitimate champion. A string of challengers throughout 1952 included Pat O’Reilly, The Farmer, Norman Walsh and a promising newcomer weighing in at close on twenty stones, Derek Oldham.
The powerful Trinadian heavyweight, Ray Apollon (left), who was to go on to become one of the great post war heavyweights, arrived in the UK in December, 1952, just six months after turning professional. From that UK debut against Ernie Baldwin he was to blossom into one of the most powerful and skilful heavyweights on the British scene. Other overseas visitors included French heavyweight Pierre Boss, Turkey’s Mustapha Labriola, and Americans Pat Curry and Dean Rockwell.
British heavyweight boxing champion Jack London, was touring the country challenging wrestlers in Boxer v Wrestler contests. Another wrestler starting out on a long career was a Yorkshireman called Shirley Crabtree, later to transform himself into the legendary Big Daddy. Bolton’s Bert Royal, still a novice, gained one of his best wins to date when he overcame Alan Colbeck.
Masked wrestlers continued to feature regularly on bills, particularly in the North. The Mask, the Vampire , The Scorpion, and the Phantom were regulars , but still leading the way were heavyweights Count Bartelli and The Ghoul. For a time Bartelli tagged with another masked man, the Black Knight. Their styles were hardly suited, though, as Bartelli was popular with fans and the Black Knight enraged them with his rule bending. When the Black Mask was revealed as Bob Hooton he continued his with career using the name Tommy the Demon.
Although Mountevans style wrestling now dominated the British scene one of the successful pre war promoters,
Athol Oakeley, was still trying to compete with the newly formed Joint promotions organisation. One of his final attempts to break back into the wrestling business was in May, 1952, when he brought to Britain the German heavyweight, Kurt Zehe, to face the popular ex boxer, Jack Doyle. Zehe was known as Gargantua, due to his enormous stature, which was claimed to be 8’4” tall and a weight of some 50 stones. Pictured is Kurt Zehe, he's the tall one!
Soccer and cinema remained the cornerstone of leisure pursuits in the early 1950s. The solitary BBC television channel was still in its infancy and professional wrestling was destined to become one of the most successful post war spectator sports in Britain. If we were to seek the foundation stone of that post war success we need look no further than the year 1952 and the formation of Joint Promotions.
Continue to the next year......
1952