Wrestling Heritage

First recorded appearance

Wrestler

Last recorded appearance

14/10/1958 PURLEY

Against BUDDY CODY

WILD IAN CAMPBELL
The wild Scotsman had started out in North America in the mid-fifties and exited unheralded, but was a British Heavyweight Champion for a short while in between.

28/8/1972 BRIDLINGTON

lost 2-1 to GWYN DAVIES

14/5/1948 LEVENSHULME, MANCHESTER

against  DON MARTINSON

EDDIE CAPELLI

Wimbledon welterweight who was British champion remarkably soon after debuting.  Like McManus in last time’s update, we are surprised to see the Londoner apparently debuting in Manchester.

2-11-1976

WORTHING

against SID COOPER

1/4/1958 SWINDON

against JACKIE PALLO

TONY CHARLES

We restrict ourselves to UK careers and the farewell appearance was a flying return visit from his new American home.

5/4/1973

BRISTOL

defeated JOHNNY YEARSLEY 2-1

12/12/1947

LEVENSHULME, MANCHESTER

v JIM MELLOR

ALAN COLBECK

European Welterweight Champion over many years.  That final bout really says it all, McManus and Colbeck had been wrestling regular main events around the country for 20 years.  But this was a rare loss for Colbeck.

14/5/1975

BRADFORD (TV show)

Lost 2-1 to MICK McMANUS

2/10/1953 LEVENSHULME, MANCHESTER v DUKE LYNCH

JOE CRITCHLEY

Romeo Joe was a northern favourite and one encore appearance as late as St Andrew’s Day 1982 saw him venturing unusually south as far as Solihull … maybe it was worth the trip to get to grips with Mitzi Mueller!!!!

19/3/1976 ROTHERHAM

2-1 win against DAVE SHADE

16/5/1939

EDGBASTON, BIRMINGHAM

wrestling as YOUNG CUNNINGHAM (South Africa)  v PETER KNOWLES of Yorkshire

JACK CUNNINGHAM

Barefooted Springbok who many will remember as a 60s referee.

16/6/1965

KINGS LYNN

v BOB ARCHER O'BRIEN

4/4/1959

BELLE VUE, MANCHESTER

against JOHN FOLEY

ERIC CUTLER

Sheffield’s Cutler debuted against the man he would later succeed under the leather helmet as a Black Diamond – what a coincidence!

12/7/1974

LIVERPOOL

2-1 win against BOBBY RYAN

1/10/1957 SWINDON

against ERNIE RILEY

JOHNNY CZESLAW

Popular Dale Martin stalwart who seemed to spend these full 22 years on southern bills.

8/11/1979 CAMBRIDGE

drew 1-1 with BILL TORONTOS

8/3/1946

BELFAST

against JACKIE HARRIS

OUT.

We are convinced he was wrestling in the early war years so we will leave the door open to improvements in this section.

JACK DEMPSEY

The great British Welterweight champion who sadly departed at the end of 2007.

We can unearth no sign of his ever having wrestled under the real named of Tommy Moore.

24/10/1969

OLDHAM

against IAN WILSON on a very low key independent show.

27/9/1958

GRANTHAM

v DON BRANCH

“Strongman”ALAN DENNISON

Alan sadly passed away in the dressing room after this bout

27/6/1984

SOUTHPORT

won 2-1 against DAVE DURAN

15/10/1960

NEWCASTLE ON TYNE

lost 2-1 to JOHN FOLEY

VIC FAULKNER

Vic looked just as young in his final appearance as in his first!

3/12/1984

READING

drew 1-1 WITH CHICK CULLEN

3/5/1952

BURY

against MELWYN RISS

JOHN FOLEY

We are counting his UK appearances only as Foley went on to great heights in seventies American wrestling.

10/10/1971

BLACKPOOL

lost 1-2 against PALLO & SON.

The original Black Diamonds leaving Eric Cutler out of the action.

2/7/1960 CATFORD, LONDON

against DICK CONLON

LEON FORTUNA

Originally wrestled as Young Sullivan before becoming The Friendly Islander.  A career wedged between a couple of Artful Dodgers!  What a coincidence!

9/4/1981 SOUTHAMPTON 

2-1 win against  CHRIS BAILEY

14/2/1957 BRISTOL

against DENNIS MITCHELL

GEORGES GORDIENKO

Possibly the leading active heavyweight of the sixties in Britain.  We refer only to the Canadian’s UK appearances.  And look what a coincidence!

24 /2/1975

LEEDS

2-1 win against DENNIS MITCHELL

21/1/1952 BRIGHTON

against BOB TAYLOR

JUDO AL HAYES

A glittering well-rounded career as you can read in the A-Z profiles.  Like others on this list, we see the final appearance as a return from a far flung new home for the last bits of baggage.

28/11/1975 BOURNEMOUTH against KENDO NAGASAKI

7/8/1943

BELLE VUE

v NAT RABIN

*** Look out for a very special Belle Vue feature coming soon to Wrestling Heritage ***

BILLY HOWES

European Mid-Heavyweight Champion and the first man ever to cause Kendo Nagasaki to unmask.

The longest active career recorded in this first batch of FILO’s.

Will Bill lose this crown at the next update???

3/4/1976

HANLEY

Knocked out  ROY ST CLAIR

… but this was a false finish as …

… he made one last appearance in a tag

23/3/1979 DERBY with KING BEN winning 2-1 against DAVE BOND & LEE BRONSON

20/12/1942

ARDWICK STADIUM, MANCHESTER

v GEORGE BELSHAW

“Jumping” JIM HUSSEY

Another who went out without fanfare and duly dropped the verdict to enhance a colleague’s career, in this case a wrestler with whom Hussey had been doing the rounds throughout 1971.  But it was clearly known it would be Jumping Jim’s last bout:  just look how many wrestlers exited with a televised appearance.

29/11/1971

LEICESTER (TV show)

lost 1-0 to RAY GLENDENNING

Ray Glendenning has sadly passed away just at the launch time of this section our site and we pay our respects to him here.

15/7/1957

BEACONTREE

v ANGELO PAPPINI

PRINCE KUMALI

The globetrotting photographer was billed from Georgetown Guyana but there is little doubt London was home.  Read more about his very special expertise in Armchair Corner under “Crowd Control of the Purest Kind.”

13/5/1978

MAIDSTONE

v WAYNE BRIDGES

5/1/1952

NEWCASTLE ON TYNE

won by ko to LEW ROSEBY

MASAMBULA

…… and The African Witchdoctor went on to be largely undefeated over 15 years.

Here’s another who bowed out on television in what for many viewers were surprising circumstances, which you can read more about under The King of Charisma.

19/2/1975

PRESTON (TV show)

Unable to continue against JUDO PETE ROBERTS

13/12/1941

BELLE VUE, MANCHESTER

against GEORGE GREGORY

ROBERT “BILL” McDONALD

Tough Scottish grappler who was a cornerstone of the mid-sixties boom in team matches, centred largely around bagpipe-playing highlanders.  He died soon after his last bout and with him went the team match mania.

10/12/1963 EDINBURGH

In tag with WILD IAN CAMPBELL beating BRUNO ELRINGTON & STOKER MORRIS.

12/7/1944

BELLE VUE, MANCHESTER

against AL FULLER

MICK McMANUS

We feel sure the Londoner must have had southern experience before debuting Up North so do let us know of earlier appearances. Just look at the name of his final opponent … what a coincidence!

6-5-1982 PETERBOROUGH walked out against STEVE LOGAN

(not his tag partner but the Midlander of the same name.)

16/10/1960 CARDIFF

against MAX CRABTREE 

QUASIMODO

His first tours were for Paul Lincoln Promotions, but the second half of his twelve years visiting the UK saw Quasimodo in Joint promotions rings and topping the bill nationwide.

26/4/1972

PERTH

ko'd by MIKE MARINO.

Poor Quasimodo didn’t win very often!

14/10/1957

DERBY

against FRANCIS SULLIVAN

BILLY ROBINSON

UK appearances only.

That début saw him billed as Bill Kenton.

25/7/1978

ST ALBANS

beat LEE BRONSON 2-0 in a televised bout which is reviewed in Armchair Corner entitled “From Manchester to Minnesota”.. 

10/3/1950

CHESTERFIELD

v JIM HOLDEN

BERT ROYAL

Don’t forget that the early Bert Royal wrestled behind a mask!

And what an unlikely pairing for farewell opponents!

31/10/1981

BEDWORTH, COVENTRY

in tag with VIC FAULKNER v MARTY JONES & SID COOPER

17/1/1966

LEEDS lost 1-2 to CHICK PURVEY

JIMMY SAVILE

Yes, the television disc jockey chalked up a half-century of wrestling bouts, losing most and going out against another bleached blond.  What a coincidence!

27/9/1971 NOTTINGHAM unable to continue against ADRIAN STREET

4/5/1934 PLYMOUTH double knock out v HARRY PALMER

FRANCIS ST CLAIR GREGORY

A glorious career spanning two golden ages and grappling greats, and a thoroughbred record for siring champions.

4/10/1963

DUMFRIES

against ALF CADMAN

10/10/1963

SOUTHAMPTON

v JOHN DA SILVA

BILLY TORONTOS

The Chicago Express’s debut must have been not without controversy.  Fans and promoters had expected a full blown heavyweight, but the visiting Tornado must have been towered over by the Maori Giant as he stepped off the boat in So’ton.

24/9/1981 PETERBOROUGH

2-1 win against BOB BARRATT

Torontos passed away shortly after this bout

7/10/1959

ASHFORD

v JOE CORNELIUS

BILLY TWO RIVERS

We refer solely to Billy Two Rivers’ UK appearances.  At the time of Two Rivers’ final tour, one perceptive fan was even asking in a letter published in Joint Promotions programmes whether this was the same Two Rivers who had caused a storm in the early sixties.

27/3/1974

BRADFORD (TV show)

knocked out BIG JOHN COX

7/11/1958 WILLENHALL

against FRANCIS SULLIVAN

ALBERT WALL

We never noticed Rocky relinquishing any of his titles and his departure remains more mysterious than even the guise of his final opponent.

7/4/1975

LIVERPOOL

against KENDO NAGASAKI

8/10/1948 LEVENSHULME, MANCHESTER

against  DANNY KEEGAN

NORMAN WALSH

The long-reigning British Mid-Heavyweight champion whose retirement opened up the way to the Marino years.

1/2/1966 WOLVERHAMPTON

against JOHN LEES

More

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Come

Throughout

2008