Wrestling Heritage

The seventh letter of the alphabet brings a feast of wrestling talent. There’s the irrepressible Garfield, the old timer Bulldog Bill Garnon (pictured left) and a couple of Gargantuas thrown in for your enjoyment.

Ten more names to remember from the Mountevans era, but as always you are welcome to put us right and tell us who we should have included..

Alan Garfield

Landmark heavyweight villain and real-life culture vulture, gap-toothed Alan Garfield was billed variously from Sydney and London.  With hopes of representing Britain in weightlifting dashed by the cancellation of the 1940 Helsinki Olympics, he assumed this matinee idol’s name after the war and became a major attraction due largely to the originality of his in-ring outrageousness and his transatlantic jaunts where he honed the typical English gentleman stereotype and won titles in tag partnered by Oliver Windrush and later Karl Von Schober.  With a 90% win rate at his 1954 to 1962 peak, the Alan Garfield of his final ten years that we remember was a fine vintage wine - thought too fine by Kent Walton and excluded from television post-1965.  He lost almost every later bout by falls or disqualification but won the hearts and admiration of all discerning fans through the precision performance he gave us every time.  A full profile is available in the Shining Stars section.

Gargantua

You wouldn’t get many Gargantuas in a quarter, but we’ll give you two. The first is the German heavyweight Kurt Zehe brought to the UK by promoter Athol Oakeley in his attempt to revive the all-in style following the war. Said to tower eight feet above his opponents and weighing 50 stones Gargantua fought former boxer Jack Doyle in 1952 in a match that proved such a huge anti climax that it did nothing for the reputation of promoter Oakley or the all-in style. The second Gargantua was the less exotic Jim Moran, from Leeds, who also towered over most opponents, but at a more realistic 6’7”,and weighing twenty-one stones. Whilst Moran had some skill his robotic style did little to create a free-flowing contest. The crowds liked him, though, or at least liked to boo him, and at the end of the sixties and early seventies he was a regular feature on British bills.  Read more.....

Bulldog Bill Garnon

The word solid could have been invented for Fishguard’s Bulldog Bill Garnon. He  made a name for himself as one of the Britain’s  top heavyweights in the 1930s, but his successful career continued many years post war. He wrestled many world class performers of his day, including Jack Sherry, Karl Pojello, and Dick Shikat. Garnon has the distinction of being one of the first two wrestlers to appear in the UK wrestling under freestyle rules introduced by Atholl Oakeley, when he opened the first programme at Lane’s Club in London. In the 1930s Garnon accompanied Athol Oakeley to the USA and Cuba, which was quite an achievement in those pre-war days.  In his first New York bout he defeated Wong Bok Cheung, the Chinese wrestler.  For a time  in the 1930s Garnon was British Heavyweight Champion. He  won  the title when he defeated Athol Oakeley at White City with a knockout in the last round. He lost the title to Douglas Clarke at Belle Vue, Manchester.

The Ghoul

Giant Haystacks

A man, as they say, who will need no introduction to the majority of our readers. The long straggly hair, beard that gave just a hint of a face beneath, distinctive costume, and those huge boots are all images etched on the memory of wrestling fans. All remember him ambling around the ring, defying gravity as he leaned over the top rope to abuse the fans, and then grabbing  his luckless opponent and tossing him to the canvas. Coming onto the scene in the early 1970s Haystacks, initially billed as Haystacks Calhoun, was to become a wrestler with one of the most enduring reputations of all time. Thirty years later ask any member of the British public to name old-time wrestlers and Haystacks would be in the top half dozen For a man of such size, weighing over forty stones, Haystacks was surprisingly nimble and took part in many memorable, enjoyable, but definitely not scientific, contests. A feud with Big Daddy in 1977 was part of the Crabtree short-lived seventies revival. The feud was repeated around 1982, and the two were still facing each other into the 1990s, by which time most fans had lost interest.

Ian Gilmour

With the gold boots, purple trunks and  ponchos it could only have been the 1970s! Yes, this was Ian Gilmour, often partnered by another popular middleweight, Jeff Kaye. Gilmour was born in Dumfries, but was more often associated with Middlesborough, where he made his home. Starting out on the professional road in 1957 his speed, skill and looks quickly established himself as a fan favourite. Here was a boy who looked just too good to be true. Regular television exposure established him as a national favourite, but despite his wrestling skill he was destined to remain a second division favourite who never really challenged the standing of McManus and Pallo or even the following of Royal, Faulkner and Saint. 

Abe Ginsberg

How could a black leather helmet arouse such anger amongst the wrestling public? But it did. The helmet, the leotard and the beard were enough to tell the fans that here was a first class villain even before the opening bell rang. Not long into the first round Ginsberg’s dastardly tactics would confirm the fans’ views, and soon they would be screaming at his opponent to remove the helmet. As was often the case the personality outside the ring was a very different matter. Peter Abe Ginsbergh was known as a kind, generous man, with a shrewd business brain, his wife joked that Peter would have enjoyed his funeral "He'd have loved it, with all its colour and fun - a celebration of his life. The only grievance he would have had was not charging a quid at the door."  That Abe Ginsbergh was a collector of antiques, a successful businessman, and a highly intelligent and well-read man will not surprise any of his fans. Nothing he did would surprise them, inside or outside the ring.

Butts Giraud 

Whenever a U.S. wrestling villain came to Europe to ham up the American loud-mouthedness, it invariably transpired that the man behind the meanness was in fact Canadian!  Such was the case with Vancouver’s Butts Logger Giraud, who toured Britain effectively in 1972 and returned for a second dose five years later.  Clad in the at that time largely unseen gridiron helmet and gear, and hurling really rather clever abuse all round, this was a first rate entertainer who nestled comfortably into the British style and proved the perfect adversary for the likes of Viedor, Bridges and Tibor.  Equally chatty outside the ring, but not mean at all, we retain very fond memories of Butts Logger Giraud.

Georges Gordienko

The powerful Canadian from Winnipeg was one of the most highly respected wrestlers in the world through the sixties.  On both sides of the Atlantic he was renowned for skill, strength and athletic ability. Although there was nothing in his performance to suggest it, there was always a suspicion that Gordienko considered wrestling to be a mere means to engage in his first love, which was an appreciation of the art, particularly painting. That was why he moved from Canada to Italy, and is the reason often cited for the man failing to stay in any one place long enough to achieve long term success.  He travelled the world throughout his long career, seeking out galleries and find new subjects to paint himself.  He was an artist of some renown, and his work was often featured in exhibitions around the world.  When asked about his ambitions the answer always lay outside the world of wrestling and was to become an established and successful name in the world of art.

Francis St Clair Gregory

It would be a disservice to this great heavyweight to refer to him as the father of two Mountevans stars, which he was. Fairer to state that he was one of the fathers of modern day professional wrestling. Francis Gregory was one of the greatest exponents of the Cornish style of wrestling in the 20^th Century. In the 1930's  he dominated the Cornish style but was known less flatteringly as the champion who never smiled. Gregory, from the village of St Wemm, was introduced to the Cornish style by his uncle whilst working on a farm and had his first match when just thirteen years old. Legendary amongst exponents of the Corninsh style he went on to carve a successful career for himself in the professional ring. Beginning in the 1940s he was one of the most prolific and successful wrestlers in the Mountevans era, retiring in 1963. Francis St Clair Gregory had the honour of appearing in the first televised wrestling show on British television; a bout against Mike Marino on November 9 1955 from West Ham Baths. Oh, and those other two boys he fathered? Roy and Tony St Clair of course.