Wrestling Heritage

Rough-house Alf was the heavier, the rougher and the more villainous of the Cadman brothers who were regulars throughout northern rings for the best part of thirty years. Alf was a rule-bending Lancashire heavyweight from Bolton. He could enrage fans with his blatant illegal moves. After training as an amateur at Manchester YMCA Alf’s professional career began in the 1942 and extended over three decades. Shortly after his first bout Alf was called –up to the Royal Navy, and became a full time professional in 1946. He was to wrestle as a full time professional for the next twenty years, finally retiring in 1968. Always a popular (or unpopular) figure Alf met the best in the business, and although he could point to wins  over Eric Taylor, Alan Garfield Joe Cornelius and Billy Joyce he always remained on the edge of those who were considered to be at the very top. A tag partnership with Ireland’s Frank O’Donell was followed by a more enduring and successful teaming with little brother Ken.

Discuss the Cadmans

The younger of the Cadman brothers, whose style of villainy was just that bit more sophisticated than his big brother to earn the nickname Crafty Ken. Like his brother Ken was a regular worker and well known figure in the post war wrestling scene, but always seemed overshadowed by big brother. Ken’s wrestling career was severely hindered by a serious injury which resulted in an early retirement for most of the 1950s. Ken returned to the ring in  1960 and although he did wrestle in singles matches found his greatest success in tag partnership as one half of the Crafty Cadmans.

Discuss the Cadmans

Big, bearded and brutish Jock Cameron looked the part of a great wrestling villain, which he was. He began his career as Hal Strickland but was soon transformed by clever promoters into Jock Campbell, the brother of  Wild Angus. Trained by Dominic Pye.on the Lancashire coast where he was born  Jock’s early career was as a top of the bill heavyweight on independent shows. He was at his best in partnership with Angus, and the two enraged fans throughout the world. Jock wrestled throughout Europe, North America and Canada. Jock joined Joint Promotions in 1967, where he was re-named Jock Cameron . Joint Promotions failed to capitalise on the potential of Jock Cameron and he spent much of his later career wrestling overseas.

Unruly hair and unruly natured Wild Angus was one of the great heavyweight villains of  the mid to late twentieth century. Just when you thought he couldn’t get more villainous Angus had the tendency to do something even more outrageous, often resulting in an exit via the disqualification route. Following a successful career in the UK Wild Angus became an accomplished international traveller, gaining fame and notoriety throughout North America and Japan. Angus made his home in the USA before returning, via New Zealand to settle in Scotland, where he died in 2005.
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Dunfermline’s Ian Campbell was one of the post war giants of professional wrestling in more ways than one. A giant in the sense that he weighed  near 20 stones, but also in the sense that he successfully toured the USA in the 1950s when such visits by British wrestlers were almost unknown. In the USA he became good friends with a man who was to become Heavyweight Champion of the World, “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers. On returning to the UK he became an instant star, sometimes accompanied to the ring by bagpipes before tackling all the heavyweights of the day. Softly spoken outside of the ring there was nothing soft about the man when he climbed through the ropes. A rule bender who infuriated fans in his early days Campbell later mellowed and showed that he was a capable wrestler who could work within the rules. Much of his time was spent wrestling overseas, particularly in Germany, although he also wrestled in Australasia, Africa and Asia. This monarch of the mat held the British heavyweight title for a short time in 1966 after beating Billy Joyce in Perth.

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In the early 1960s, with the number of shows nearing their mid decade peak an influx of new stars came onto the professional circuit. It is a credit to the promoters of the day that the quality of those newcomers was so high. One of the most promising was a young wrestler named Barry Cannon. A highly skilled, fast and popular Bradford welterweight Barry gained increasing recognition in the 1960s following his 1962 debut at Colne. Having become interested in wrestling whilst participating in his national service, Barry returned to Britain and was trained by Les Kellett. Making his televised debut in 1964 Barry was a popular and regular contestant on the small screen, culminating in his final and predictable loss against Mick McManus in 1967.  Matched against the top welterweights of the day, but rarely above preliminary level, fans were disappointed when he disappeared from the scene in 1968.

London born Anglo Italian Eddie Capelli was a stalwart of British wrestling for around thirty years. Born in 1927 success came to the young Capelli in 1949 when he succeeded Harold Angus as the new British welterweight champion. Losing the title to Mick McManus three years later Eddie remained a popular wrestler but was never to reach the top again. In the 1960s and 1970s he remained popular, and his change of nature to become a baddie of the ring never quite seemed to ring true. He was usually found in the preliminary contests, often providing a stepping stone for future stars. Ken Joyce and Eddie Capelli were the European tage team champions.

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Jack Cassidy had a tendency to scare the living daylights out of fans when introduced by the Master of Ceremonies. Without warning, the cowboy jacketed stetson wearing wrestler would draw two revolvers from his holster and shoot them into the air. These proceedings were usually followed by a pretty rough bout in which the heavyweight rule bender would enrage fans with his dastardly deeds. Jack, whose home was more Manchester than the Calgary from which he was billed, was a protégé  of Jim Hussey. He turned professional after leaving the army and  wrestled for over twenty years, mostly on the independent circuit, but did do some work for Joint Promotions. Many a young wrestler owes his career to Jack who was one of the top promoters in Manchester and the north.    

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Salvador Vento Castilla should not be confused with fellow Spaniard Vincente Castilla, who wrestled as Quasimodo.  Vento Castilla had trained the Spanish Olympic wrestling team and made quite an impact on his British television appearances in 1964, failing in his bid at the Somme Barracks, Sheffield, to relieve Alan Colbeck of the European Welterweight Championship but gaining considerable compensation in battling through to the final of the 1964 Television trophy only to be knocked out by Mike Bennett in the final. He went on to achieve a Royal Albert Hall draw with Jon Cortez.

Millions loved him and a minority of purists were infuriated by Doncaster’s Gary Cooper, who adopted the name of a fictional television character. With long straggly hair and unruly beard it wasn’t his looks that made Catweazle so popular. Arriving at the ring in sackcloth the wrestler would remove his robe to reveal a lanky body wrapped in a gaudy wrestling outfit. Having placed his lucky-charm toad on the corner post the match would commence with Catweazle literally running rings round, and generally humiliating his hapless opponent. For the most part the fans loved his antics and Catweazle was one of the most popular of wrestlers throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was a tribute to the man that he was selected by Dale Martin Promotions to oppose Mick McManus in the Londoner’s final televised bout. The wrestler’s untimely death and subsequent cremation led to the inauguration of the annual British Wrestlers Reunion.

The hugely popular Antiguan welterweight turned professional in 1958, working for the independent promoters, and was signed up by Joint promotions in 1961. He had come to the UK as a child and shown a keen interest in many sports, including cycling, soccer, boxing  and swimming. Following completion of his national service Linde turned his hand to professional wrestling. His first contest was at Canning Town against Frankie Bell. Skill and speed combined together  to make him a popular and successful television performer, often seen in tag action with Johnny Kwango, and in later career with Leon Fortuna as The Sepia Set.   A regular in top of the bill bouts with McManus and Pallo at their peak, it was around 1972 that Caulder drifted off uheralded as so many before and after him.

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The small Rhondda Valley of Treorchy was famed for miners and singing, but not wrestling. Tony Charles did his best to change that, and as one of the top television stars of the sixties and seventies didn’t do a bad job. After becoming Welsh amateur welterweight champion and  representing Wales in the 1958  Empire Games he turned professional in 1959. Starting out as a welterweight he moved throught the weights up to mid heavyweight, challenging unsuccessfully for a British title all the way, against Jack Dempsey (welterweight), Tommy Mann (middleweight) Billy Joyce (light heavyweight) and Mike Marino (mid heavyweight). His speciality moves, a spinning toe hold and a drop kick gained him a place at the very top of British wrestling.

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The fans loved “The Cover Man” as he posed to listen to their cheers before tackling the latest bad guy. Spencer Churchill, the Kew light heavyweight, turned to wrestling following success as diver and a body builder, and won the title “Britain’s Best Developed Man” in 1954. To say that he was a body builder is something of an understatement as Churchill was one of the most popular and well known body builders in the country, known as “Mr Muscles Unlimited.”   He learned to wrestle at Tottenham Court  Rangers Amateur Wrestling Club, and then turned professional aged twenty, losing to drop kick expert Johnny Peters at the Royal Pier Pavilion, Southampton. Although never a top of the bill performer Spencer Churchill remained a popular and well respected wrestler for two decades.

Blond haired Steve Clements came from famous stock, being the son of Huddersfield’s ted Beresford. It was his wrestling skill, though, that made him such a popular and successful wrestler. In the 1960s he gained fame as a popular welterweight and as partner to Mick McMichael in the Yorkshire Terriers tag team. In 1969 he went to Mexico where 46000 fans saw him defeat Karloffe Lagarde in the Pueblo stadium, Mexico, to take the World welterweight title. Shortly afterwards he travelled to the USA where he partnered Don Greene to take the Tennessee Tag Team Championships. On  returning to the UK he weighed over 14 stones, three stones more than when he had left. Tragedy lay in store and a sparkling career remained tragically unfulfilled due to Steve’s untimely death in a road accident.

Discuss Steve Clements

Steely faced Alan Colbeck was respected rather than loved by the fans. A dour, skilful welterweight whose style lacked vitality and excitement. He was, though, a talented wrestler who held British titles at lightweight, welterweight and middleweight, as well as the European welterweight title. Alan Colbeck began wrestling at the age of 14. In 1965, he battled Mick McManus to a draw live on television in a contest  so intense that the football score updates were not shown on the screen until it was finished.  Tagged for a while with Jackie Pallo in an usual cocktail, but settled down for a while in The Masters alongside Peter Preston.

One of the great post war middleweights, though his career spanned both sides of the war. Vic was trained by his father, Aubrey Coleman, who had wrestled in the 1908 Olympic Games and then wrestled professionally using the name Bull Coleman.  When Vic turned professional he was just fifteen and billed as the World’s youngest wrestler, Young Bull. Like most other wrestlers Vic’s career was interrupted by serving in the RAF during world war two but he returned to the ring to go on to greater success. In March, 1951, Vic won a knock out tournament at the Wimbledon Palais to win the Empire middleweight title. Others competing were  Dan Darby, Ken Joyce, Ken Wilson, Charles "College Boy" Law, Bob Russell, Russ Bishop,and  John  Lipman.

Bristol born Danny Colins was a fans favourite from the day he turned professional in 1983, aged just sixteen. Danny’s style was was fast and furious, but he complemented his athleticism and agility with good wrestling skill. Having said that, one of Danny’s backwards summersaults from the top rope, was a site to behold.   Just sixteen months after turning professional he won the British lightweight title from Breaks. He went on to hold the British welterweight title three times, the European welterweight title, the World middleweight title and twice the British heavy-middleweight title. Without doubt one of the late twentieth century’s top wrestlers.

The youngest paid wrestler in Britain was not sixteen, fifteen or even fourteen. He was just thirteen years old when he stepped into the ring in January,1961!......
 

Read our extended tribute: Ringsport Gold Mick Collins

Frenchmen frequently popped across the channel to wrestle in the South of England. Some, such as Julien Morice became resident Britons, whilst others, such as Jean Corne, travelled back and forth from his home in Brittany.  In fact he travelled back and forth frequently over a decade that spanned from 1959 until 1969. Fledgling promoter Paul Lincoln enticed the French middleweight to our shores in 1959, and the stylish technician remained a frequent and popular figure on the independent circuit until 1964, opposing other Lincoln regulars such as Eddie Capelli, Ken Joyce, Joe Murphy and Doctor Death. He also formed a popular and successful tag team with Judah Ischa Israel. . He was then tempted across to the Joint Promotion camp where television exposure and Royal Albert Hall appearances were part of the attraction. A Royal Albert Hall loss to McManus was followed by a win over rising star Brian Maxine. The crowning glory was a Royal Albert Hall appearance in July, 1968 in the presence of HRH Prince Philip when the French team of Jean Corne, Gil Cesca, Jacques Lageat and Bruno Asquini won the hearts of the fans against the London team of Mick Mcmanus, Jackie Pallo, Steve Logan and Al Hayes. Later in his career Corne formed a tag team, Les Celtes, with Michel Falempin. He also authored a book about wrestling,  “La vérité sur le catch" (The Truth About Wrestling).

The black tights and sequined capes were the trademark of the hugely popular Londoner, Dazzler Joe Cornelius From the moment he jumped over the top rope until the day he retired as undefeated Southern England heavyweight champion Dazzler Joe was a crowd pleaser throughout. Trained by Tony Mancelli and Joe D’Orazio the dazzler made his professional debut in Germany,  substituting for his injured mentor, Joe D’Orazio. Dazzler Joe combined wrestling with hairdressing, which was not the unique pairing that might have been expected. Fans were surprised and disappointed when Dazzler Joe hung up the sequined crown for the last time, whilst still Southern England Heavyweight Champion.

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The elder (by two years)  of the sensational Dulwich brothers who turned professional (initially using the name Jimmy James) for Paul Lincoln Management in 1960. After joining  Joint Promotions the brothers became instant television successes, often as a tag pairing, but Jon particularly was renowned in his own right. The tag pairing was cut short when Peter moved to Australia in 1972. Jon went on to gain equal, if not greater success, as one half of the Jet Set, partnering Al Miquet. Jon Cortez was the first winner of the ITV Golden Gown Award.

He was loved for his speed and agility, which may have disguised the fact that he was a very skilful technician to boot.

Nineteen stone John Cox took a career break from the ambulance service in the early 1960s and spent over ten years meeting the best professional wrestlers that Britain could offer, including Albert Wall, Count Bartelli, and Kendo Nagasaki. He was a popular wrestler who made numerous television appearances, but never truly climbed to the top rung of the professional ladder. After getting involved in martial arts through judo  John Cox trained as an amateur wrestler at the Tingley Amateur Wrestling Club as an apprentice of former heavyweight champion, Ernie Baldwin.

Max Crabtree is generally reckoned to have been the best of the three Crabtree brothers when it came to wrestling ability. The less than generous may well retort that that's not saying much but we do have it on good authority that Max was a very competent light heavyweight of his day. It was his wrestling ability, blond hair and looks that made him a very popular wrestler in the 1960s.  Shirley was already  established as BWF heavyweight champion  when Max made his debut towards the end of the  the 1950s, working initially for the independent promoters against men such as Black Butcher Johnson, Doctor Death, Quasimodo and Leo Demetral. In the early 1960s Max began to promote wrestling and established himself as one of the most successful of the independent promoters. Success was based on Max's inventiveness and his ability to create and develop new wrestling stars.  In the early 1970s as wrestling audiences went into steep decline Max was appointed manager of most of the Joint Promotions circuit. New faces, creative matchmaking and the higher profile of championship matches resulted in renewed interest amongst the fans. The reprieve was short lived and by the mid eighties audiences were at an all time low with Max continuing to promote until 1994.

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Beginning his working life in the coal pits of Yorkshire Shirley Crabtree followed in the footsteps of his brothers and father, and entered the world of professional wrestling. He wrestled under various names such as The Blond Adonis, Mr Universe and The Battling Guardsmen. After becoming  the independent promoters British Heavyweight champion in 1960 he was harassed  by Bert Assirati, who resented him claiming a title that he believed to be his own.. In this first phase of his career Crabtree tended to rely on his strength though did show more wrestling skill than when he returned to the ring in 1972,  and soon to be transformed in to Big Daddy a couple of years later. Emotions run strong when the name Big Daddy is mentioned. Fans in equal parts seem to admire him as the man who saved wrestling in the mid seventies or destroyed it in the 1980s. Following a transitional period Big Daddy was firmly established as the Uks favourite wrestler by 1976. Wrestling became a diminishing feature of any Big Daddy bout and over-exposure led from Daddy arguably recruiting a fresh wave of fans to driving them all away, and the eventual withdrawal of television coverage.

Read our extended tribute  Ringsport Gold: Big Daddy

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He was known as Romeo Joe and with good cause; here was a man who could charm the opposite sex in the world of wrestling and the world outside, resulting in numerous marriages and a big fan following. He charmed the fans for well over a quarter of a century, an accomplished wrestler with an entertaining, downright funny style. Many of the comedy moves used by various wrestlers in the seventies and eighties could be traced back to their originator, Romeo Joe. In “Send In The Clowns” Eddie Rose recounts the story of Joe mesmerising the fans when he took on “The Invisible Man,” the best possible substitute the harssed promoter could find for a wrestler who had failed to turn up. Even in his  twilight years he was still a star performer. Though what the admirers would have thought had they known that for many years  after the bout he was off back to his chip shop in Gidlow lane, Wigan, we can only imagine. Colourful trunks at a time when plain colours were the order of the day, flowers to throw to the female fans and kisses blown  to the masses.  Joe was a man who seemed to have time for everyone, the most demanding of fans or the younger wrestlers needing a bit of guidance in the business. Romeo Joe tagged with Les Kellett on television and beat Bernard Murray at the Royal Albert Hall. His biggest wins came in the charisma stakes because there were few that brought more colour and fun to the world of wrestling than Romeo Joe.

Discuss Romeo Joe Critchley

When he started out with the independent promoters, following an amateur grounding at Bolton Harriers AWC,  Pat Curry was billed as “Smasher” Pat Curry of Canada. On occasions they even threw in a Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title for good measure. These are our fondest memories of Pat, a young, energetic, all-action golden boy in raucous bouts against the likes of Angus Campbell, Dominic Pye, The Ghoul and The Wildman of Borneo. In 1969 he caught the attention of the big promoters and signed to wrestle for Joint Promotions. The energy and skill were still there but, as was so often the case, Joint Promotions failed to capitalise on their new asset and Pat did not receive the push many Northern fans thought he deserved. That’s not to say that he didn’t have his moments. Pat was mixing it with the very best – Wall, Davies, Howes, Nagasaki and the like. His all-action style suited Kendo Nagasaki, a frequent early seventies opponents, to provide some exhilarating bouts. He even donned a mask, took the name Red Devil, and was ceremoniously unmasked after being knocked out by Nagasaki at Nelson in October, 1970. Career highlights must include appearances at the Royal Albert Hall, more than a dozen television appearances, the destruction of Hans Streiger to take the European Heavyweight Title at Liverpool in February, 1978, and an unsuccessful challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship against John Quinn in 1984.  Some members of Joint Promotions re-named Pat as Pete Curry, possibly to avoid confusion with the post war North American heavyweight, but to us he will always be Smasher Pat Curry.

Discuss Pat Curry 

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The original and best known Polish Eagle, Cracow's Johnny Czeslaw was genuinely poular with all fans and could breathe life into the dullest of opponents.  We struggled to take him seriously when he played the villain's role.  Weighing in around the fourteen stone mark he was well placed to face all the great names of his era which spanned twenty years from 1957.  We were always puzzled that this man that crossed the Iron Curtain failed to travel to the far north of Lancashire and Yorkshire, but we loved him nevertheless.  An occasional tagster with Ivan Penzecoff, and the most profuse of sweaters and grunters - but his vaguely gystapo-style shouts of "Schwein!" were always well received.  Blazered Johnny Czeslaw was notable for always watching as much as he could of the other bouts... or perhaps he didn't like the dressing room atmosphere?  He also genuinely seemed to enjoy his wrestling.  Anyway, we all know this smiling shaven headed matman, so Wrestling Heritage is particularly pleased to post this rarity of Czeslaw with hair.

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