Wrestling Heritage

The Wigan Peer

There were wrestlers who looked as though they could wrestle, those who could wrestle and a few who could really wrestle. Wrestle until it hurt. Wigan’s Jack Dempsey fell into the latter category. Those fortunate enough to see him in ring knew they were witnessing someone very special, a craftsman

 Anyone  watching him in action was left in no doubt.  Their five shillings were not going to buy them colour, showmanship or acrobatics. Just pure wrestling.   Skilful, crafty, tenacious and very hard, he epitomised wrestlers of his era. Hard as nails. Nothing flash. For Jack Dempsey showmanship meant carrying a brighter than usual towel or wearing black trunks with a single white stripe. Not that he was a wrestler who would lower himself. He was a wrestler who didn't need gimmicks.

By the early 1960s the age of such wrestlers was drawing to a close and we saw the emergence of men such as Breaks, Faulkner and Cortez, who were able to combine their wrestling skill with speed, acrobatics, excitement and charisma. The unkind might say that Jack had none of these, but that would be to miss the point entirely. Here was a master of many holds, a student of the Snakepit, who was able to apply his skill with a touch of genius, and relentlessly punish his opponents. The entertainment value of Jack Dempsey was watching him outwit and outclass opponents with sheer wrestling brilliance.

In a gruelling match against the much more youthful Vic Faulkner, their styles could hardly have differed more. The match in itself was a symbol of our changing world. Dempsey was a youth of the pre-war mining era, and Faulkner was  a youth of Harold Wilson's "White heat of technology." Dempsey, the wiley technician and master in wearing opponents down by consistently outwrestling them, against the young Faulkner who supplemented his wrestling skill with speed and acrobatic flair. They shared a wrestling heritage by both coming from the industrialised areas of South Lancashire. Both were skilful wrestlers, but the cornerstone of Dempsey's performance was to wrestle, whilst that of Faulkner was to entertain. It seems something of an anti-climax to admit to not remembering the result, but the match was one of those milestone events that could create in young fans an interest in wrestling that would endure for years to come.

Another memorable Dempsey bout was against Salford's Fred Woolley. Both were experienced technicians and shared a style that might suggest dullness. Nothing could have been further from the truth. They were both well past their best but at the end of an eight round draw the crowd were on their feet, cheering and showing their appreciation for the two men.

For a wrestler the calibre of Jack Dempsey it seems discourteous to begin listing  individual highlights in such a long and illustrious career. Where would we begin? A win over Jackie Pallo at the Royal Albert Hall? Overcoming Mick McManus for the British  welterweight crown? Establishing himself as undefeated welterweight champion with a win over Eddie Capelli? Dozens of championship successes as holder of  the British title at lightweight and combined  British and European welterweight titles at welterweight?

Here was a man whose chosen sport took him from the mining areas of South Lancashire to most of western Europe, though he was still criticised for wrestling infrequently in the south. A man who was as much at home winning a game of crown green bowls, listening to brass band music or enjoying a night at the opera or ballroom dancing.

Towards the end of his career Jack, then working for the independents, issued a challenge to McManus and Pallo. This must have been the idea of the promoter, It seems unlikely to have been Jack Dempsey's idea, not just because promotional differences meant the bouts would never happen, but because it just wasn’t Jack’s style.  The leaflets issuing the challenge were  placed on chairs before fans entered the hall. It wasn't Jack's style to parade around the ring, shouting the odds and throwing his leaflets at the fans. Jack was simply a wrestler through and through, a monarch of the mat, truly a Wigan Peer.