Wrestling Heritage

L

L opens the door to more than a baker's dozen of international talent and French-sounding names.

L’Ange Blanc

The original Spanish White Angel who wrestled in Britain in the early sixties and appeared on ITV one Thursday lunctime in  1974.  Extremely popular in French rings, tagging also with Michel Chaisne, the man behind the mask was Francisco Pino Farina , father of Ricardo Torres (q.v.). 

Won his Royal Albert Hall match against John Carlo but knocked out by Kendo Nagasaki at Belle Vue Manchester in September 1975.

Jon Lapaque

Leicester tearaway who turned pro in 1961.  A regular in televised tag matches alongside brother Pete, and also with Tommy Lorne in The Rockers.  Fared better in local halls than on the small screen and the brothers had verdicts over established teams such as The White Eagles and The Dennisons.  Their tactics didn't go down well with the crowd, particularly in Digbeth where they were always assured a hostile reception.

Pete Lapaque

A World of Sport regular right up until 1988's final bell.  Frequently disqualified in tag action alongside brother Jon, or as The Rockers with Tommy Lorne.  Disqualified even in single combat against Steve Logan.  Career highlight must rate as the family's sole tv success when Pete defeated Ricky Wiseman.  More information under Autographs - Tag Teams.

Dave Larsen

The wunderkind of the Paul Lincoln set-up seemed headed for high places as 1966 dawned.  He featured at home as the blue-eyed golden boy, struggling against villains and particularly regular foe, Steve Haggetty, and even had the rare honour of victory over Tony Charles at the Royal Albert Hall.  Lincoln wrestlers had a pathway to Paris and it was in France that Larson wrestled as Batman.  But he seemed to go part-time a couple of years after the 1966 merger and eventually disappeared from the scene completely in the very early seventies.

Maurice LaRue

The blond Australian bombshell strutted and preened himself as he enraged the fans on the way towards frequent disqualification. Heavyweight La Rue came to Britain in 1970 as part of a world tour which included North America, the Far East and South America. Despite  having been Australian light heavyweight champion La Rue’s wrestling skill was rarely in evidence as he over-relied on rule bending tactics. The man behind the hair colouring was Australian Norman Lowndes, who returned to the UK in the 1980s with the name Wild Red Berry. 

Scarface Laval

20 stones French villain who appeared in Britain at the start of the seventies.  Originally he came to the ring dressed Mafia-style as Al Capone, see right, but later assumed a full-length villain's gown.  Defeated Judo Al Hayes in the 1971 Royal Albert Hall Trophy Tournament, losing out only to Steve Viedor in the semi-final.  That's Viedor's boot, left.

No surprise to see Paris-hopping Hayes once again linked to a French visitor.

 Ski Hi Lee

6’10” heavy-drinking heavyweight from Houston Texas who was a regular rabble rouser in Britain through the mid sixties.  Born in 1921 as Robert E Leedy, Ski Hi Lee had been a two-time NWA Canadian Heavyweight champion in the early fifties before coming to Britain.  Tagged occasionally with Swiss Rene Lasartesse.  A former circus strongman and rancher, bewhiskered and bewhiskyed Lee featured regularly on Paul Lincoln bills, as well as in The Man From Uncle.  When not eating razor blades and letting his back be used as a dartboard, it was out of character Lee who represented the wrestling fraternity at West End charity gala nights.

John Lees

Memories of John Lees are of a fine wrestler who never quite made it to the first division and television commentator Kent Walton drooling over his muscular frame. No offence intended to either men, who were both excellent practitioners in their own field. Lees did indeed have a muscular frame, which led to numerous body building achievements, culminating in the 1957 Mr Universe title. In the wrestling ring he was a skilled wrestler who lacked the flair to lift him to the very top. Remember, though, that this was an age when the heavyweight division was brimming with talent, and although he may never have been number one John Lees was more than capable of holding his own with the likes of Joyce, Robinson, Davies, Wall, and anyone else you care to mention.   

Le Petit Prince

Diminutive French lightweight who caused a stir on his trips to the UK in the early seventies.  The man from audincourt near the Swiss border had an amateur wrestling and gymnastics background and combined the two to give acrobatic displays that left many heavier opponents bewildered.  Feuded in England with Zoltan Boscik, honours ending up largely even.  One of the many wrestlers whose immediate family have conveyed further information to this site in order that we may build a permanent and accurate record, and this entry was updated April 2008.

Gentleman Jim Lewis

Mancunian Jim Lewis was known as Gentleman Jim, though his style failed abysmally to reflect the nickname. It took only the swagger of an over-confident champion, the flicking of the blond hair and the slow-motion use of the mirror and comb as he preened himself for Jim to have the crowd at fever pitch. Then the bell would ring for the first round. The blind-side moves, blatant punches and more of the swagger would confirm that here was the villain of the night. Keep in mind that all this took place at a time when the likes of Adrian Street and Bobby Barnes were still at home doing their homework. A claimant of the World Welterweight title on and off for the best part of twenty years Lewis could mix it with the best of them. His clashes extended beyond the wrestling ring as he was the first secretary of one of the various short lived attempts by wrestlers to form  a union, which led to a period in exile amongst the independent promoters. Lewis was a fine wrestler, one of the greats amongst the likes of Dempsey, Colbeck and McManus. Here at Wrestling Heritage we believe his union activities did present an obstacle which prevented Jim Lewis becoming one of the biggest names in television wrestling.  

Luther Lindsay

One short 1961 visit to the UK was sufficient for us to select American Luther Lindsay for our A-Z.  Few visitors, if any, could boast a KO win over Mike Marino at the Royal Albert Hall, or destruction of Josef Zaranoff on television. World Heavyweight Champion, Lou Thesz, said of Lindsay, 

“the best black wrestler ever. Luther had a fantastic body and limitless energy to compliment his skill. Like many other industries, wrestling was not open to African-American wrestlers during his career, so it was an amazing accomplishment for Luther to even learn his craft. His place in history is not because he was black; it is in spite of the  fact he was black."

Lindsay died, aged 48, from heart failure following a match against Bobby Paul on February 21^st, 1972.

Steve Logan

The vaguely neanderthal appearance gave Steve Logan little choice, he just had to be a villain. Obligingly, he sneered at fans from behind his straggly hair, showing obvious pleasure from the delivery of lethal forearm smashes and the application of each submission hold, of which there were many. Despite being overshadowed by his high profile tag partner many consider the Brixton hard man, Steve Logan, to be far more versatile and exciting than McManus. Without the burden of a seemingly invincible record to protect Logan was the one who could  take the chances to leave open the possibility of defeat, though it rarely happened. Defeats that did occur were often the result of disqualification, but they served only to add to his fearsome reputation, and for fans of the sixties and seventies that meant he was the hardest of hard men.

Dennis Lord

Look how he’s changed. Popular sixties and seventies star of British wrestling Dennis Lord has swapped the world of weird and colourful characters of the wrestling ring with the equally weird and colourful characters of his 007 roadshow, which features Bond movie lookalikes available for hire. Dennis hadn’t planned a life as a professional wrestler, nor as the lookalike Bond villain Jaws come to that. Events just seemed to transpire which brought him to work in Ron Taylor’s wrestling booth. It was a demanding start to a wrestling career, taking on challengers from around the country, numerous bouts a night and never being quite sure what lay around the corner. He was in good company, learning the trade alongside Big Pat Roach amongst others, and has many happy memories of those early days. With experience under his belt Dennis was persuaded to try his hand in the professional ring, a career that was to last the best part of a decade. He was an immediate success and soon began to gain regular work on the independent circuit. Fans loved him in fast, technical bouts, but seemed to like it even more when he gave away weight to tackle some of the best villains on the independent circuit, the Wildman of Borneo, Klondyke Bill and Doctor Death amongst them. Stardom always seemed on the horizon, but Dennis’ aspirations were shattered when a serious road accident in 1976 brought a sudden end to his wrestling career. By now wrestling was in his blood and when Dennis recovered he returned to the business as a promoter, putting on quality shows around the country. Invariably crowds began to fall away, a sign of the times, and Dennis re-considered his business opportunities. He decided to move further into the entertainment business, assembling a group of characters you’d probably prefer not to meet on a dark night, and started an 007 roadshow of Bond lookalikes.

Danny Lynch

The blond Yorkshire-billed heavyweight (though Manchester, Lancashire claims credit for his birth) was known as Dangerous Danny, and anyone seeing him in action was in never left to wonder why. He was one of the most aggressive wrestlers of the sixties, tearing into opponents with a ferocity rarely seen elsewhere. When opponents retaliated Danny’s forehead had a tendency to open up and the flow of blood added to the excitement. Danny was one of the early British globetrotters and took his special brand of hard-core violence across Europe, to the Far East and to North America. In 1969 he defeated Dave Ruhl in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to win the Calgary version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title, ending Ruhl's fourth reign. It’s easy to say a wrestler was unique, but in Danny’s case the word is fully justified.