Wrestling Heritage

Milan Prica

A great entertainer and a familiar figure around the wrestling halls of the north East of England. Always the good guy, sometimes the comedian, and more a local hero than a national star Milan Prica brought his own style of entertainment to the appreciative wrestling fans of northern England in the 1970s.

Born in the Lika region of Croatia, at the time Yugoslavia, Milan Prica and his brother moved to the UK as teenagers.  It was the late 1950s and the family settled in Leeds. With some amateur wrestling experience in Croatia Milan made contact with Leeds promoters Ron Farrar and Al Marshall, owners of Ace Sports Promotions.

Always searching for young talent Al told us that they were impressed by the youngsters ability and enthusiasm. He obviously needed preparation for the pro ring and it fell to Al to train the young Croation. When Al and Ron felt the time was right Milan made his pro debut, many of those early contests being in Ace Promotions shows.  Al Marshall remembered Milan to us as a good, clean wrestler who always did his best to please the fans. Ron recalled Milan’s attempts to introduce comedy into his bouts, not always with success! A part time wrestler Milan combined his wrestling commitments with daytime work as a mechanic.

One of the few who usually wrestled barefoot Milan Prica remained a regular worker throughout the north, working alongside the likes of Mike Demain, The Liquidator, Bob Courage, Hurricane Smith and The Doc.  Mostly working for members of the British Wrestling Alliance in the 1960s and 1970s Milan Prica was always popular with fans. He was even proclaimed European welterweight champion in British Wrestling Alliance halls.

After retiring from the ring Milan could still be seen in the ring officiating as a referee.  He was to continue as a motor mechanic for the rest of his working life.

In June 2020 Milan was diagnosed with an advanced stage of lung cancer. He was told he had only weeks to live, but that was without the battling willpower of Milan Prica. He lived for seven months until he died peacefully at home, with his wife and son besides him, on 6th December, 2020.

Nicky Prica

A Yorkshireman of Croatian heritage, that’s Nicky Prica, son of Milan Prica, who still lives in Leeds at the time of writing (2021). 

In his late teens Nicky joined his father in the wrestling rings of the North East, working for the independent promoters in public halls and clubs. On occasions he would wrestle alongside his father in The Internationals tag team. Outside of the ring Nicky’s full time job was as a Youth and Community Officer.

Page added 17/01/2021