Wrestling Heritage

1954

 

Miles, Myths and Masks

 

 

 

1954, the year that Roger Bannister ran the first four minute mile. Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia. Hydrogen bomb testing took place on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. At long last food rationing came to an end in the British Isles. Germany won the World Cup when  they beat Hungary 3-2 in the final. All this, and the birth of a son to Jack and Trixie.

                                                    

A fairy tale reached a tragic and almost mythical end. Karl Pojello, the Lithuanian heavyweight, had helped to establish professional wrestling in Britain during the 1930s. He had befriended and coached a Frenchman named Maurice Tillet, and brought him to Britain in the late 1930s. Tillet, known as The Angel, never matched his mentor’s wrestling ability and yet become one of wrestling’s biggest draws in the pre war and early post war era. Following the war Pojello and Tillet based themselves in the USA and yet continued to travel the world  Tillet’s final bout, which was in Singapore, was  reported in A Year of Wrestling 1953. Pojello had suffered lung cancer for some time and finally passed away in September, 1954. His protégé and close friend, Tillet, was devastated. Just thirteen hours later Tillet himself died of heart disease.

Meanwhile other stars were in the ascendancy, and two masked men were now firmly established amongst the country’s top heavyweights.  Although they wrestled mostly in the midlands and north news of their exploits had travelled much further afield.  The Australian Ring Digest of August 1950 had reported,

“In England are the Ghoul, another masked man who has won over three hundred contests without dropping a decision. Also in that part of the world is Count Bartelli who is thought to be a local wrestler but has defied the efforts of all his opponents so far and his identity will remain a secret until he is defeated.”

Of the two it was the Ghoul who had the greater national exposure as he did occasionally venture south whilst Bartelli’s business commitments limited his activities to the north and midlands. Each had their speciality moves, The Ghoul with his Guillotine Garrotte and Bartelli with a fierce arm hold which tended to dislocate an opponents shoulder. Their styles contrasted sharply, with The Ghoul being a ferocious and frightening character whilst Bartelli (right) was a crowd pleaser, though not averse to extending his range of acceptable tactics whenever defeat seemed a possibility. Both claimed to be unbeaten, but as with most masked men neither had a record quite as perfect as they would have us believe. A 1954 clash between the two masked men promised  defeat for one of them. The Ghoul had begun 1954 in impressive style, with a 2-0 win over Tony Mancelli and knock out defeat of Ray Apollon. The Ghoul and Bartelli were brought together in the northern resort of New Brighton in August, 1954. Often such bouts end inconclusively, but on his occasion  there was a winner. The Ghoul was declared the winner after Bartelli was injured and the referee declared him unfit to continue. As all 1960s fans know Bartelli did not unmask, and was destined to continue with his identity concealed for over a decade. The man behind The Ghoul’s mask was Bomber John Bates, a popular heavyweight in his own right. We have it on good authority that Bates made his final appearance as The Ghoul in 1954, but the persona of the legendary masked man was destined to continue for another fifteen years, latterly on the independent circuit.

On the championship scene many holders had been established for getting on two years, and there was no shortage of credible challengers. Eric Sands had snatched the British lightweight title from Johnny Stead in 1953, but his luck was to run out on 9^th March, 1954, when Stead regained the title by the odd fall at the Lime Grove Baths, London on 9^th March.  

Jack Dempsey was consolidating his grasp on the British welterweight title, with successful defences against Ken Joyce and Jim Lewis. Dempsey also began the years as European champion but was given a fright when  Stefan Milla took him to a draw,. A short time later Dempsey relinquished the belt because he had added the European Lightweight Championship to his collection. Alan Colbeck succeeded Dempsey as welterweight champion and made successful defences against a young Bert Royal and ex lightweight champion, Stead. In February Gentleman Jim Lewis defeated Belgium’s Fernand Bawin to claim the World Welterweight Championship. Dempsey is pictured with a wristlock on Sid Cooper.

Frankie Hughes took over as king of the middleweights, and made successful defences against Chic Purvey and Alan Colbeck. Eric Taylor entered the second year is long to be reign as British Heavy Middleweight champion.   

Eltham’s Charlie Fisher took over from Ernie Riley as British Light Heavyweight champion. A flurry of activity at World level saw Norman Walsh begin the year as champion, lose it momentarily to Dai Sullivan, before grabbing it back by the end of the year.

Walsh, meanwhile continued to hold on to the British Mid Heavyweight title, with Tony Mancelli numbering amongst his challengers. At World level Walsh was destined to lose the title he had held since 1950 when he lost to Black butcher Johnson in Aberdeen. Johnson was one of the old guard from the pre war days, whose speciality was a vicious savate kick, which would collide with an opponents chin and knock him out. Johnson tried to add the British Heavyweight title to his collection, but Ernie Baldwin remained champion at that weight.

Overseas visitors continued to regularly visit British shores. Amongst them were Modesto Aledo, Fernand Bawin, Ted Christy (pictured right), Robert Duranton and Edouardo Wieckorski, Jan Brouwers, Roger Guettier, El Said Arabet,  and Franz Koeller.

A wrestler known for his physique, Spencer Churchill, won the title of “Britain’s Best Developed Man.”  In Barbados a seventeen year old took up body building  and his first steps towards the Mr Universe title.

Meanwhile back in London Jack and Trixie chose a name for that young son of theirs. They called him Jack after his dad, but we knew the young Gutteridge as JJ Pallo.

Continue to the next year......