Also known as Dark Owl
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The Father of Modern Wrestling
Even the title of legend is barely adequate for the great Billy Riley, a master of the catch-as-catch can style of wrestling and one of the world’s leading middleweights from 1911 until 1948, a period that included the All-In days and the beginning of the post war revival.
Billy Riley was arguably the father of modern day wrestling. No longer in the first flush of youth in 1930 no one could deny that he was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and he was hard enough to mix it with the best of the lighter men through the 1930s and into the post war years.
His name at birth was Willie Harold Riley, and although forever associated with Wigan, which he would eventually make his home, Billy Riley was born seven miles west at 7, Sugar Street, Leigh, on 22nd June, 1896, the son of James and Jane Riley. South Lancashire was coal mining country and wrestling was a popular pastime for miners. Although he was not a miner himself Billy wrestled with those who were.
He left school at 14 to become an apprentice moulder in an ironworks, and during his spare time he would wrestle Lancashire catch-as-catch-can style with the miners. These were hard, exceptionally strong, skilled wrestlers, and for a teenage boy it was a case of learn quickly or get hurt. Billy learned quickly and showed a natural aptitude in submission style wrestling.
The Wigan Observer of 13 June, 1916, reported a match between Billy and John Aspull of Aspull, which attracted 1,500 spectators to the Westwood Grounds in Wigan. It was reported that Billy had been trained by Billy Charnock at the White Bear Hotel. Billy took the opening fall in 11 minutes 35 seconds and took a second fall to make it two straight after 38 minutes.
In 1919 Billy challenged Billy Moores for the British middleweight championship, settling for a draw after 90 minutes of wrestling. The return match, three years later, and Billy won the title after 77 minutes of wrestling. A true pioneer, Billy, World Middleweight Champion in the 1920’s, toured the United States in 1923, followed by a tour of South Africa.
In America he is reputed to have won all his fourteen contests. During a tour of South Africa he defeated Jack Robinson for the Empire middleweight championship, which he held until his retirement some twenty three years later. Jack Robinson was a Cumberland and Westmorland style wrestler who was also proficient in ju jitsu. Wrestling authority Charles Mascall rated Ketonen and Riley respectively as the two greatest middleweights of all time.
Not one of the fabricated personalities like Norman the Butcher or King Curtis, not one of the colourful extroverts like Carver Doone or The Angel, or a future legend such as Bert Assirati, Billy Riley was a true wrestler, a real wrestler, but a man with the nous to take advantage of the opportunities presented in the 1930s. For Billy Riley the purity of wrestling may have been sacrosanct but it was always a means to an end, the end being putting bread and butter on the table. With his fifteen years experience he settled into the role of a 1930s All In wrestler.A surprise to many was that for a while Billy even wrestled in a mask and was known as Dark Owl, a persona later adopted by his son, Ernie.
When All-In wrestling came along Billy was ready to seize the challenge, and the money. He was in there at the start, defeating Bulldog Bill Garnon in the first All-In tournament at Manchester on December 15th, 1930. News reports of that first match against Garnon told of the two wrestlers taking turns at leg-twisting and arm-twisting, hair pulling and nose flattening. Garnon took great joy in banging Riley’s head on the mat about a dozen times, while the Wiganite retaliated with his strength and twisting the Welshman round and round by the ankle and wrist, to toss him across the ring until he lay spread eagled and half stunned. Fifteen minutes of this was endured before Riley stood on Garnon’s head and was declared winner.
Billy adapted to the new style of wrestling, working throughout the 1930s against men of the new age: Karl Reginsky, Atholl Oakeley, Jack Pye, Sam Rabin and Dick Wills. Some of his roughest matches were with fellow Lancastrian Jack Atherton, and whilst the two men formed a long, lasting friendship and business relationship outside of the ring there was little sign of any good feeling inside the ring.
Most newspaper reports of his matches acknowledge his wrestling skill but there are many examples of Billy mixing it as willingly as the next man. The Lancashire Daily Post reported a rough and tumble affair where Riley was disqualified in the fifth round for throwing Jack Atherton by the hair. The men continued to fight following the verdict and the paper went on, “Meanwhile the referee, having fulfilled his part of the contract by announcing Atherton as the winner departed and left the wrestlers to it.”
In August, 1931, on his home turf at Wigan’s Empress Hall Billy defeated Karl Reginsky in a defence of his world middleweight title. Riley was by far the more aggressive of the two, but it took forty five minutes of wrestling before he took the lead, going on seven minutes later to win the contest by two falls to nil. Reginsky had trained for the match in Crewe and a train was chartered to carry 200 fans from Crewe to Wigan to watch the contest.
A rare defeat in Doncaster in 1938. Billy Riley lost the British title he had won in 1922 to local wrestler Harold Angus. Angus conceded weight and took the first fall after four minutes fifteen seconds of round three with an aeroplane spin followed by a body slam and press. Riley drew level in the fourth round but it was Angus on the offensive again in round five, pinning Riley following a body slam to take the title. The British title lost he was still world champion.
Billy Riley retired from wrestling at the beginning of 1948, though as a referee he was on hand to take the place of a missing wrestler at short notice.Following his retirement from active competition, by then aged 51, Billy remained pivotal to the development of post war wrestling as a coach of greats that included Billy Joyce, Jack Dempsey and Bill Robinson, and promoter with his long time friend, Jack Atherton.
Stories abound of successful wrestlers who turned up just the once at Riley’s gym and vowed never to return because the experience was too painful. Swearing and bad manners were strictly forbidden at Riley’s gym, and a display of either would be dealt with swiftly and painfully. As for big-headedness, well that was a mistake to make only once. Forever wearing his trilby Billy Riley may not have looked the part, but hundreds testify that he was one of the greatest, and most dangerous, catch wrestlers of all time.
Billy continued to impart his vast knowledge at the gym he founded until his death.The spirit of Billy Riley survives until this day at the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club under the stewardship of one of his disciples, Roy Wood.
Billy Riley died on 15th September, 1977.
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