1 Body-Builder, says - The Wrestling Archive

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(Carital Letters. Please )
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Matman with a Mission, Eddie Capelli ..
The "Dazzler" Calls it a Day
Over the Border
Alan Colbeck Writes on Gimmicks
Terry Downs .. .
Northern Ring Gossip
The Hell Raisers
Sean Regan
Action on the Mat
Ringside Canada
Kalman Gaston
Jack Cunningham Back from the Crimea
Wrestling Notebook ..
Round the Amateur World
Bernard Murray
Mike Demitre
Around the Fan Clubs
South Aft·ican Wrestling Wakes Up
Wrestling in the South
Royal Albert Hall Report
Wrestling in the North
NOVEMBER,
1967
Trade AgentsSURRIDGE DAWSON
(Productions) Ltd .
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Dennis Savage adds
a knee jab to his arm
lever on Dave Ramsden
[Photo : G eo . Reid ]
VOLUME VII
Page
4 and 5
6 and 7
8 and 9
10
11
12 and 13
14 and 15
16 and 17
18 and 19
20 to 22
23
24 and 25
26 and 27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
No. 6
MATMAN
\Wl~U[}{] &
MISSION
By JOHN RACKHAM
(Photos: H. G . Stevens)
Tag Partner Ken Joyce with a combination
headlock on Jackie Pallo
Eddie Capelli, the popu lar Wimbledon welterweight, has tasted the triumph of being at the top.
For three years, he held the British welterweight
title, until it was wrenched from his grasp by the
South London terror, rumbustious Mick McManus.
A later occasion found Capelli meeting Wigan's
Jack Dempsey- then official champion and holder
of the Lord Mountevans' Gold Belt- in a bout
intended to establish who should have the right to
be welterweight king. Capelli sparkled in this
ding-dong contest, but he couldn't quite topple the
Northerner.
la<ter, and surprised the pundits by taking the title.
But Carpelli and Joyce were hot on their heels, and
it wasn't long before they had trampled the Murphy I
Van Lotta combination into the canvas to claim
the title back again.
Mind you, Eddie Capelli still shares the official
European Tag Team Championships with Rushden's
Ken Joyce. They originally swept that frenetic
French twosome, Les Blousons Noir, right out of the
ring to claim victory and the tag team crown. The
tag duo of foe Murphy and Fred Van Lotta launched
an attack upon the new champions some months
But a red-hot weal sears the thoughts of Eddie
Capelli, for he is ever conscious that the British
welterweight title must remain his true target. He
is naturally pleased to join with Ken Joyce in holding
down the European tag championship, but he sees
the solo challenge of the British welterweight title
as being a matter for total and individual dedication.
Page 4
Since then, many challenges have been hurled
at the partnership of Eddie Capelli and Ken Joyce,
and the pair have faced the cream of European
opposition. But they have won through, and
continue to hold on grimly to their hard-earned tag
title.
Eddie Capelli faced with the problem of how to unravel George Kidd
Remembering that he once held the title, he is
hopeful that he can make his ring future glow with
the success that will return him to the champion's
throne.
He is physically primed in preparation for his
task, training regularly and widening his sporting
activities. He is brimming with the sort of confidence
that sparks him with the urgency of battle. And he
is conso1ous of the fact that the welterweight scene
is in a state of flux with Alan Sargeant, the current
British title-holder, being challenged by new faces.
For Capelli, this represents opportunity.
Eddie Capelli's amateur career began at sixteen.
Service as a petty officer in the Royal Navy with
Northern Command probably prevented his earlier
entry into the professional ranks . As it was, he
didn't turn profess ional until he was twenty-four.
He soon hit the wrestling headlines with his tough ,
snappy style, and it became evident in the early
months of his professional career that he was of
championship breed .
He has wrestled extensively on the Continent,
but despite having met Europe's best among the
lighter weight divisions, he still turns to Britain to
name the three wrestlers he considers supreme in
this grouping-George Kidd, Jack Dempsey and
Alan Miquet. Kidd he regards as superb; the
cleverest wrestler of these times. Dempsey and
Miquet score because they ally skill with considerable toughness.
Capelli has wide sporting interests. At school,
he took a great interest in athletics. In the Navy,
boxing was added to his hobbies, and though he
rarely puts the gloves on today, he often appears
at the ringside to follow his favourites. Golf, tennis,
ten pin bowling, and stock car racing- these too
figure prominently in his activities.
Page 5
THE
DAZZLER
calls it a day!
By Russe/1 Plummer
Joe pictured with tag partner Johnny Peters
One of the most colourful and successful
heavywe•ights on the British wrestling scene, the
Bermondsey "Dazzler" Joe Cornelius has announced
his retirement from the ring because of increasing
pressure from business commitments.
Cornelius is not the first mat star to be forced
to make the choice between wrestling and outside
interests in recent months and such a flamboyant
personality will be greatly missed.
For more t han ten years Cornelius has been
consistently among the leading men of the heavyweight divis ion and he retires as undefeated Southern
Counties champion, having held the title for several
years since ·the retirement of Tony M ancelli as a
wrestler.
To get to the top in wrestling Cornelius has
fo ught an almost continuous battle aga inst injury
and more than once he has been ad vised by doctors
to quit the ring for good.
Each t ime he listened to this advice but a few
months later, when he considered t he time was right
Page 6
there was the famil,i ar dark-haired figure storm ing
into action again.
I t was in 1953 that Cornelius first hit the
wrestling headlines making his debut against some
of the top stars of Europe in one of the famous
international t ournaments in Berlin, although even
J oe himself hardly expected to start in this way.
H e was being coached for wrestling by lightheavyweight Joe D'Orazio, now equally well known
as a referee, when the latter suffered an injury just
pri or to his departure to the German tournament.
D 'Orazio simply packed Cornel1us off in his
place and the Bermondsey boy emerged from this
ba ptism of fire with colours flying and a record few
men have since managed to equal on their first
a ppearance in Berlin.
Back in Brita in and full of confidence Joe
Cornelius went along to London's Wimbledon Palais
to watch the one and only Bert Assirati in action,
fou nd h imself carried away in the excitement of the
occas ion and " jumped the r ing" to challenge the
redoubtable champion.
bid to end the knee trouble he underwent an
operation and after a long period of rehabilitation
s·tarted training for a ring comeback.
It was the Cornelius we all know and will
remember who emerged, the heavyweight star with
the flashing smile and colourful capes whose displays
against the world's best heavyweights matched his
appearance.
Although he often suffered the odd spots of
injury trouble that are the occupational hazards of
all leading wrestlers, luck was with Joe in the early
1960's and he ran up an enviable list of victories.
In March, 1964, fa ns feared the worst when the
news came that Cornelius had suffered a bad back
injury while facing the massive American, George
Bollas- the Zebra Kid- yet seven weeks later Joe
was back in full cry and gave one of his best ever
displays to beat the fabulous Frenchman Andre
Drapp, the "Lion of Lorraine" before a capacity
crowd at the Royal Albert Hall.
Joe Cornelius puts a twist on this foothold
[Photo : H . G. Stevens]
Assirati accepted and frequently found himself
troubled by hi s young challenger's speed. As so
often happens experience won the day however. In
the ·h eat of battle Comelius launched into a dropkick, Assirati saw it coming and stepped aside and
Joe went out of the ring and d id not manage to
re·turn.
Regardless of the result this single bout
established the young Londoner as a top star on
the home front and he was soon in demand on the
Continent as well, as news of his German performances became more widespread .
Then it was during a trip ·to Belgium that the
injury bug first hit Cornelius. He was facing R obert
Duranton in a Belgian hall and just as the bout
reached its climax Joe's knee went, forcing him to
retire from the contest, and as it turned out fro m
wrestling altogether for several months.
Despite breaking into show business for a time
and even appearing in a long running London
Palladium revue which starred Harry Secombe, Joe's
love of wrestling never disappeared and in an all-out
Cornelius did as much as any sin gle man to
p::1pularise tag team wrestling for heavyweights and
with his partner Johnny Peters, figured in fantastic
matches against teams such as lan Campbell and
Bruno Elrington, Elrington and the Zebra Kid, and
the Zebra Kid and A lan Garfield. Bouts which are
all remembered vividly by those lucky eno ugh to see·
them.
Throughout last winter season Cornelius was as
busy as ever fitting in dates at many of the country's
leading halls and he was winner by the odd fall of
three against hefty Irishman Pat Roach in March
at what turned out to be his Albert Hall 'swan-song'.
Away from the ring Cornelius is a shrewd
business man and for a number of years, together
with his wife Kay has had ladies' hairdressing and
baby wear shops in South London.
Now the time has come for Joe to think of the
future and while he could obviously have enjoyed
many m ore years as a top-of-the-bill wrestler, he
has decided to take the long term view.
Whether he will be able to stay indefinitely away
from the roar of the crowds and the atmosphere of
wrestling remains to be seen but all fans will wish
well in ·the future, and it will be a long time before
the " Dazzler" is forgotten.
Page 7
Physical culturist J oe Assirati sent me pictures
and stories of his cousin the legendary Bert Assirati.
I will be passing these on to readers in the not too
distant future.
A girl acting as second! That was the interesting
sight which greeted fans at a recent Glasgow show.
Delia
Thomson~one
of the keenest female fans
anywhere- got her big chance and seized the
My request for information and pictures of
opportunity without delay. Her career was short
pre-war wrestlers was promptly answered by two
lived but it's something she will remember and speak
knowledgeable enthusiasts, Jim Craig, of Larkhall,
about for a long time to come.
and Joe Assirati who is an instructor in Al Murray"s
gymnasium by St. Paul's Cathedral.
It was great
Latest recruit to Scottish rings under Joint
to hear from these two as they have such a fund of
Promotions is Wild Angus.
interesting information at their finger-tips.
experienced against the big boys he is showing some
Jim has
Although not yet very
loaned me a very fine picture of King Kong, monarch
promise and
of Far East wrestling, but the ageing King blotted
advantage he beat Farmer John Allan, o.f Halifax,
his copybook on ·his last vis·it to New Zealand, and
via two submissions. John took a fall in the second
on his return there recently only a handful of people
round.
recently, thanks
to a bodyweight
turned out to see him . In my opinion great wrestlers
like this should quit before they lose the last vestiges
Jim Hussey is seen a lot in Scottish rings these
days and this seasoned campaigner never leaves the
spectators un-moved .
His fortunes are mixed , one
week the Manchester man will win in convincing
style and the next he will "lose his head" and get
disqualified.
His popularity is doubtful, certainly
he gets the crowd shouting but usually at him rather
than for him.
His match with Andy Robin was a
typical example of a Hussey bout. He stayed just
inside the rules, or if he moved outside the written
word he made sure that everybody saw EXCEPT
THE REFEREE. It took 17 minutes before a fall
was gained and the advantage went to Hussey. Andy
rallied and gained his usual submission which, not
Sandy Wallace (facing) v. World Champion Dunglinson,
George MitcheU officiates
surprisingly, left big Jim in no condition to continue.
Another good win for Andy Robin and a lose for
Hussey but this time he WASN'T disqualified. That
of th eir formidable reputati ons. An other interesting
will surprise many people.
note was received about Rough-house George Baker.
Even at his heaviest he was little more than a middle-
Other results include a fourth round victory for
weight but he took on the best heavyweights and
Jim Breaks against Mike Eagers.
tamed the tough nuts when nuts were really tough!
held the Red Scorpion to a draw.
Page 8
Barry Cannon
Jackie Pallo
victor, as usual, after a good ski lful bout.
I felt
that Sandy stood just a bit too close to his tough
opponent in the earl ier part of the bout. It was good
to see as judge for thi s event George Mitchell who
won over 30 championships in his day.
box ing and
He was
wrestling heavyweight champion of
Scotland , as well as British Police champion, and
the only Scot to win the open championship.
He
was n o mean man in the throwing events either and
in 1931 set a world record in hammer throwing. It's
a pi,ty he never tried profess ional grappl ing under
the free style code he could have done very well
indeed.
Well I will probably have to mi ss this column
next month as I will be in America once more and
from there will be sending some news and views
of the big boys on that side of the pond. Till thengood grappling.
DAVE PIRIE
Wild Angus (Campbell)
[Pho to. Geo . R eid]
slaughtered Mick McMichael and Jim McKenzie
continues to win against the lighter men.
He took
two falls off Dave Ramsden in Aberdeen recently.
I took a trip to the famous Braemar Games to
watch the great Cumberland Style wrestling competition before Her Majesty the Queen . It doesn't last
very long but there is a wealth of skill displayed ,
particularly by the north country grapplers. I have
noticed that most of the leading Scottish heavies
steer clear of Dunglinson and his merry men from
the Carlisle area. They tell me they are quite likely
to pick up minor injuries in these hard fought bouts
and this will ruin their chances for the big money
events in weight throwing.
One of the best bouts
at Braemar was between world champion Dunglinson
and Fife policeman Sandy W allace with the former
Jim Hussey with an arm lever on Tony Charles
[Pho to . Geo . R eid]
Page 9
ALAN COLBECK
WRITES ON
Another example of gimmickry being successful
is the masked wrestler, put a mask on any wrestler
and immediateiy he beco-mes something of :i mystery,
until he is beaten, of course, then he must unmask.
I am sure no one could disagree that professional sport needs colour, for colour keeps it alive
and draws the crowds, colour is the big difference
between amateur and professional sport.
It is a well known fact that only the people
who understand wrestling go to amateur meetings,
a working knowledge of wrestling is needed to
understand it and the layman is at a loss.
Of the questions I get asked about wrestling
a large percentage are regarding the use of gimmicks,
there are far too many used in the game complain
the fans.
I agree that at present there does appear to be
a spate of gimmicks in our business, but let us
examine the question and see if it has got out of
hand, as our critics claim.
As far as I can see there has always been the
gimmick men in all sports and I am sorry to say
that it may have been the reporters of sport who
started it all.
When reporting on sporting events, it makes
the article all the more readable when the participants can be given a suitable nickname so as to add
a little colour to attraot the reader's attention.
Ones that spring to mind immediately are
"Brown Bomber" J oe Louis, "Manasa Mauler"
Jack Dempsey, "Typhoon Tyson", "Fiery Freddy"
Truman, "Gorgeous Gussy" Moran, and wrestling's
world famous " Gorgeous George".
Promoters and managers are quick to catch on
of course, they soon realise that a suitable nickname
creates public interest in a sportsman and so the
gimmick is born.
Everyone must agree that a name like the
"Manasa Mauler" certainly has more appeal than
just piain Jack Dempsey, so it is easy to see why
George Wagner made a fortune out of wrestling
when he dropped his own name and became
"Gorgeous George."
But professional wrestling, like all professional
sport must attract the layman if it is to draw the
big crowds it needs to keep it alive and prosperous,
therefore it must have colour in the form of
gimmicks, etc.
In the end, however, no matter what the gimmick, be it "Brown Bomber", "Fiery Fred" or
"Gorgeous George", it is ability that counts, only
ability wins matches.
-·--~-------..
It makes no difference if the winner of a
match or game has long
blond hair or has it all
shaved off, it is ability
in his own particular
sport that makes him a
winner.
For win he must
otherwise the public will
not pay to watch him. In
1 football everyone goes to
i watch a winning team,
so in wrestling, if a
wrestler loses match after
match he soon finds him._._...., self out of work no
matter what his gimmick
may be.
Having said that I
must agree that some
wrestlers carry this gimmickry too far and make it
appear to be nothing but a performing circus. But
unlike most other sports wrestlers unfortunately do
not have managers, they are, therefore, left to let
their imaginations run riot and if a wrestler feels
like entering the ring as "Santa Claus", there is
nothing to stop him except, of course, his own
common sense, which in some cases I'm afraid
appears to be lacking.
He was in championship class as George
Wagner but never became a big draw, his
"Gorgeous" gimmick helped him become one.
People sometimes ask me why I don 't get
myself a gimmick, my reply is always the same.
He had, of course, to live up to the "Gorgeous"
tag and entered the ring in resplendent gowns , had
his hair dyed blond, etc., but his actual wrestling
ability never altered.
I am highly delighted with the one I already
have, one which only a few fortunate wrestlers can
claim , my gimmick. is I'm a champion, and I
wouldn't change it for the most lucrative gimmick
yet invented .
Page 10
the same masterly contempt that he reserves for
critics and hecklers.
The up-and-coming favourite, however, has a
very pronounced peeve towards those people who
confuse him with another celebrated sportsman
bearing a similar name. Not that Terry Downes,
the ex-world boxing champion wouldn't feel
flattered.
Every year the ranks of professional wrestling
are swelled with an ever-increasing number of
ambitious young athletes. All of whom strive to
attract the eye of a critical, and frequently fickle
public. A great many hopefuls fail to make the
grade and disappear almost overnight. A few, and
only a very select few, manage to carve a niche
for themselves by sheer hard work, determination,
and that magical dash of something we call showmanship.
Despite his youth , the breezy Mancunian is not
afraid to tackle the most hardened opponents. He
has already achieved an impressive string of
victories. He recalls, somewhat bitterly, his eightround draw with the much more experienced Julien
Mm·ice. In a bout
that had the fans leaping from their seats,
h~ all but snatched
the title from the
apprehensive Frenchman.
Although he has
confined most of his
appearances to the
North, he hopes soon
to enlarge his reputation. Promoters are
fully aware of his
crowd - appeal, and
plans are afoot to
introduce him against
some of the top
Southern talent.
One such a person is lightweight Terry Downs,
a handsome young stylist from Manchester.
Supremely self-assured, both in and outside the ring,
one feels that he possesses all the proper ingredients
for success. Yet seeing him in action, most fans are
blithely unaware of the insurmountable odds that this
breezy star had to overcome before establishing
himself as a worthy contender for the title.
As a child he suffered from a protracted and
painful disease of the arm. This necessitated
numerous operations, including a very real threat
of amputation. Then as a promising amateur he
sustained a crrippling back injury which all but put
oaid to his career. Doctors advised him to abandon
~restling for a less strenuous sport. It underlines
his characteristic courage that he ignored these dire
warnings and deliberately set about regaining his
strength by joining the gymnasium at his local
Y.M.C.A.
Terry Downs is a down-to-earth text-book
wrestler. He prefers to stick firmly to the rules.
Although a comparative newcomer, he has in a very
short time, acquired a tremendous following amongst
Northern mat enthusiasts . He spurns gimmicks with
When not wrestling himself, Terry
[Pho to . Geo . Reid]
likes to watch his
He studies
television.
the
on
wrestle
colleagues
each and every move and carefully notes their
different styles, etc. He is unwavering in his determination to reach the top of the ladder and
consequently devotes nearly all his spare time to
rigorous training schedules. A keen admirer of
George Kidd, he would like nothing better than an
opportunity to meet his idol in the ring. Perhaps
the wiry Scots wizard will one day help him to
realise this ambition. It goes without saying that
a combination of these two electrifying wrestlers
will ensure the fans of a great evening's entertainment!
Terry Downs about to post
Bert Royal
JACK JACOBS
Page 11
Northern Ring Gossip
*********************************
By KEN OSBORN
The zest with which ex-lightweight title-holder
Jim Breaks, of Bradford, has undertaken to challenge
in the welterwe-ight division was spotlighted in Leeds
recently in a title bout with Alan Sargeant . Jim
really went to town showing superb touches and on
this showing was unfo11tunate to have to retire with
a bady injured nose. It speaks well for both men
when one realises that after the show the talk was
mostly about this bout when top-of-the-bill had been
a M cM anus v. Pallo meeting!
News from the heavyweight division is that lan
Campbell returned to his Leeds home late in October
after eight months in Germany.
The Zebra Kid- George Bolas- is also in
Germany whence he went after starting a Continental
tour in Antwerp recently.
While there he met Peter Maivia , the Samoan
who has also made his headquarters across the
Channel. Incidentally, did you recognise him in one
of the big fight scenes in the Bond latest "You Only
Live Twice"?
The Greek pair Sow·is Tsickrikas and George
Bouranis made their first appearance in Leeds
recently and spent the time before their bout walking
*********************************
round the corridors of the building mixing with the
crowds. They were easily recognised- wearing the
intricate and lacy "skirt" outfits which are their
national costume and which took each man an hour
to put on. (Picture shows them in part of their
outfits).
Mike Dallas, of Manchester, found recently that
there are hazards outside the ring as well as inside.
A joiner by trade, he steppd on a nail at work and
had to cancel several bouts while the wound healed .
Could it have been that he wears his ring boots at
work to keep in touch?
Roger Green, of London, is to be seen more in
Northern rings for a geographically excellent reason.
He has moved home to Leeds to take a fine arts
course at the Leeds College of Art.
I have just heard that Sean R egan, the Iri sh
heavyweight, is likely to be seen by American fans
soon. He is going to the U.S. in January for a stay
of several months and has been put in touch with
American promoters. He might do well to have a
chat with fellow -countryman lvor Barrett before he
goes, Ivor having returned from a long campaign
over there only last year.
Another Northern wrestler to return from
Germany is Bradford's Dennis Mitchell. The trip
has done him a world of good and he is as fit as
I have ever seen him in the ring. His Belle Vue,
Manchester, bout with Halifax's "Farmer" John
Allan was a beauty--despirte Dennis having to give
best in the end.
Souris Tsickrikas
and
George Bouranis
Dennis and his wife, by the way, have gone into
the catering business . He and his wife recently
catered for four affairs in the day and Dennis then
went off to Belle Vue to wrestle!
Beards are still gaining in popularity among
wrestlers with Wild Angus being the latest to display
facial "fungus". Others coming to mind are Eric
Cutler, Abe Ginsburgh and Don Stedman plus, of
course, the best bush of the lot adorning the rugged
face of "Mr. Scotland" himself, Ian Campbell.
Page 12
asked about his disappearance. He is still trying to
climb through the ropes whenever possible but it is
becoming increasingly difficult.
Turning from those missing to those likely to
return to Northern aotion, Steve Veidor, formerly of
Ellesmere Port is returning North. He went originally
from his home to London but has now moved again,
this time to Nottingham, so watch out for him at
Northern venues.
Continentals coming in any time now (if they're
not already in, that is) include a super newcomer
from Cuba. He is Cuban heavyweight Luc Barreto
wh o combines a wonderful physique with some very
skilful moves. For reasons best known to him he
prefers this ring name, his real name being Lucas
V aliente.
Les He/cones D'Oro- the Golden Falcons- are
also due in anytime from Peru to add to the spice
of the tag-team business.
Hungarian representa,tives coming in, too, have
been here before but are welcome for all that. They
are the rumbustious heavyweight Josef Kovacs and
the extremely skilful light-heavyweight Josef Molnar.
Mick McMichael body slams his opponent
[Photo . Geo . Reid ]
Getting away from the transcendental claptrap,
one of the best places to meditate is the river bank.
Keen angler Mick McMichael, from Doncaster, does
a lot of fishing and decided after careful thought to
shed some weight. By strict dieting he has already
got rid of about 1-! stones. This goes admirably
with the "home tan" which he got- and which rivals
anything from the Riviera- in his own back yard
in late summer.
Television dates in November include two in the
North, Liverpool Stadium on Saturday, November
4th, and City Hall , Sheffield, the following Saturday.
Hemel Hempstead (Nov. 18th) and Watford Town
Hall (Nov. 25th) complete the month of wrestling
viewing.
Mick feel~S so much better for both weight and
tan considerations that he defeated title-holder Alan
Sargeant in Manchester by a single fall in six rounds
but lost the return title bout. Take heed any
challengers- Alan is a different proposition with his
title at stake than he is normally- and he goes some
even then!
Peter Preston, of Brad ford , was fortunate to
escape with only cuts and bruises in a car accident
a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately his car was
not as lucky by a long way.
Business for Bill Howes is booming. His venture
near Bolton is so successful that he has had to forego
many wrestling dates and thanks all fans who have
Luc Barreto
Page 13
THE BELL RAISERS
=========================================================byBOB LEONARD
"Now, Kurt!"
Karl von Stieger's shout rent the air above the
clamour of the crowd, as he stretched out an arm
to tag his brother into action. But with the tag
made, Karl didn't release the struggling grappler
beneath hrim, nor did Kurt von Stieger rocket through
the ropes to the attack. Instead, a well-oiled plan
went into furious action .. . Karl held tight to the
leglock that pinioned hi s man to the canvas , while
Kurt began to climb the turnbuckles . . .
Thud! Like an avenging angel, Kurt von Stieger
swooped off the top rope, plummetted to the matand Karl's struggling victim- with one knee cocked
just right. The knee drove home, to the back of its
target's neck, smashing his face into the sweat-soaked
canvas. In a flash , Karl deserted his victim,
scrambled through the ropes as Kurt took over.
Savagely, Kurt hauled the dazed grappler to his feet,
snared him in a front chinlock, then heaved backward with all his might. The stricken wrestler
pinwheeled over Kurt's shaven head, crashed to the
mat .. . and lay there, barely moving, as von Stieger
planted a knee on each of his shoulders for the fatal
press.
As the official pounded out "three", the arena
erupted into a maelstrom of frenzied fans. They
stormed the ring, churned around the apron as the
victorious von Stiegers buckled on their silvermounted title belts, then paraded around the mat's
perimeter with arms held aloft. Jeers assailed their
ears, debri s flew through the air at them, and several
fans tossed folding chairs over the ropes, narrowly
missing the bearded German barons. "Animals! "
they screamed . "Go back to Germany!"
It's like that every night for Kurt and Karl von
Stieger as they go about their vicious brand of
grappling warfare, and some nights it gets even hotter
under the glaring ring lights. "We've been assaulted
by fans, hit over the head with chairs, purses, bricks,
boards, even shoes, attacked with knives and even
guns! But you'll notice one thing- we just keep on
winning!" Kurt grated out the wards as he tugged
off hi s Iron Cross-adorned ring boots, in the relative
quiet of the pair's dressing room.
"Right! " interjected Karl. "Let the fa ns scream
all they want, and we'll just win that many more
matches. Let them have their favourites, their pretty
boys- we'U just take the winner's share of those
main event purses!"
If you're getting the ~dea that "the win's the
thing" for the von Stiegers, you won't be far wrong
. . . . basically, they're well-conditioned , skilled
athletes, but their approach to their sport is far from
Page 14
Kart and Kurt von Stieger wearing their
North American tag team title belts
sportsmanHke. They rip and tear their way through
a bout, taking a half-dozen punches to score one,
and once they've gained the upper hand it's usually
curtains foT any opposition. Kurt, the shorter and
bulkier of the pair, leans .toward a kicking attack,
spiced with shattering punches, to set the stage for
a von Stieger victory. Then, he's liable to come on
strong with a neclcbreaker, knee-first leap from the
top rope, or a brain-busting suplex to wind things up.
Karl , on the other hand, favours an attack
stressing nerve holds, knee drops, and plain oldfashioned choking- then that deadly leap from the
highest strand , followed by a quick press, to clinch
the win. Frequently, the pair will use a sadistic
variation of the rope leap, as one drapes an opponent over the middle rope, then holds tight
to his feet to leave him suspended in mid-air, the
remaining von Stieger rockets off the ropes to land
dead-centre with his knees thudding into the helpless
victim's back. "No man has withstood that, and
come back to win," chortles Kurt. "In fact, most
of them won't wrestle us agai n under any circumstances!"
What is there in the background of the Teutonic
terrors that makes them savages the instant they
enter the ring? One clue could be in their early life:
they were born and raised on the tough waterfront
of Hamburg, Germany. "We fought for everything
we got there," recalls Karl, "and if we didn't get
something, we fought harder and dirtier the next
time, to make sure we did. And once we started
wrestling, we just kept on fighting the roughest way
we knew how . . . we didn't know any other way to
do things. "
Kurt was the first to start a mat career- and
he didn't waste any time with amateur contests to
hone himself for the big t1me. Fighting to stay alive
in the bleakness of post-war Germany gave him all
the toughness he needed, and what he lacked in
instinctive ring ability, he made up for with sheer
savagery. It was that way for Karl too, once Kurt
enticed him into the ring. He blazed through every
match with ~he ferocity of a half-starved gorilla; in
fact, rumours are rife that more than one matman's
injuries were so severe after facing Karl that he was
never again as effective in the ring.
The belting brothers are strangely silent on the
matter of injured foes. "Let's just say that there
are some who have regretted facing us ," Kurt growls
laconically, " all wrestlers are tough, but some arc
tougher!" And that's as far as the oair will commit
themselves.
Another clue to their ferocity crops up when the
brothers talk about their experiences in Mexican
rings. "Down there," Karl narrows his eyes
expressively, "it's kill or be killed- and I don't mean
by other wrestlers, either! The fans are wilder than
anywhere else. You rough up one of their heroes,
and right away they're after you. There were many
times we left the ring, grabbed a steel chair each,
and battered our way out of the arena.
Karl swoops down to rescue Kurt from
a full Nelson by Dave Rubl
The reason the vicious von Stiegers departedhastily, so the story goes~from the Mexican mat
scene is another facet of their life that remains veiled
in mystery. Some contend it was because of their
gangster behaviour inside the ropes , others point to
a fracas with fans in Mexico City that left more than
a few injured. But their detractors are quick to
point out it was fear that drove the German barons
beyond Latin borders- fear that they'd be ganged
up on in the ring, and publicly humiliated by the
worst whipping of their lives.
"Sheer idiocy! " they both explode. "We left
because we ran out of competition- nobody wanted
anything to do with us once we'd showed them
what tough wrestling is like. What was there to
stay for? We decided to come to Canada, because
we'd heard there were some wrestlers here who
thought they were tough. And we specialize in
showing wrestlers that they don't know the first damn
thing about being tough!
Kurt unleashes the fury of his neckbreaker
on Leo Burke
The bashing brothers burst on the Canuck ring
scene early in 1967, and lost no time in setting up
a storm of controversy over their rowdy methods.
So incensed did the grappling public become over
the pair that they were barred flrom competition for
30 days- but that didn't bother the von Stiegers.
They promptly headed for ·the northern U.S., where
they belted out win after win to annex the North
American Tag Team Championship. And then they
came back to Canada, snarling mad and ready to
defend the belts.
Continued on Page 27
Page 15
s
E
A
N
R
E
G
A
N
Page 16
Sean Regan uses a knee spread on Roy "Bull" Davis
[Photo : H . G. Stevens]
Sean Regan with an arm lock on Pat Roach
[Photo : H . G . Stevens]
Hot tempers and Irishmen are almost as
synonymous as amorous Latins and indolent Arabs !
National traits can sometimes be excused, but they
can seldom be denied. Let's face it, few people
seem to enjoy a brawl more than the Irish, and
they love to get involved in one. It isn't surprising,
therefore, to learn that Sean R egan feels in his
element whenever such an opportunity presents
itself in the ring. He regards a good punch-up as
exhilarating as a tonic!
By the time Sean managed to convince the poor
woman that he wasn't intent upon murdering her,
he was very nearly a goner! He recalls fainting away
to the sound of an approaching ambulance bell.
When he awoke he found himself surrounded by a
group of grave-faced medical-men who appeared to
be debating his chances of survival. Fortunately,
his superb physical condition stood him well. With
the aid of some pretty, and understandably attentive,
nurses he soon made a rapid recovery.
This six-foot red-headed power-house from the
Emerald Isle, however, claims that he orefers clean
and honest sportsmanship to some ~f the more
unsavoury methods employed by many of his
adversaries. Seeing him in action is both a
memorable and exciting experience.
Sean R egan is an exceptionally erudite man.
He reads voraciously. His current hobby is browsing
amongst the many quaint out-of-the-way bookshops
that he chances upon during his travels. He boasts
a fine collection of first-edition works, and the
shelves of his Crawley home are lined with many
examples of his wide and diverse tastes. Novels
by Trollope and Deighton jostle with the wellthumbed tomes of Jung and Bacon.
Although he has been a professional for quite
some time, Sean Regan is only just beginning to
achieve international renown. He has, of course,
wrestled all over the Continent, and in Germany his
name is well known and respected. German
audiences have a marked affection for the broadsmiling, broad-shouldered Gael who has beaten
nearly all their top grapplers.
Sean too admits that, outside the U.K. German
mat-enthusiasts are the most knowing and wellbehaved. He loathes any sort of ring-side
hooliganism and reserves hi~> pet hate for those selfappointed critics who continuously accuse him of
fighting in "fixed" matches.
Where many of his colleagues are content to
ignore this libel, Sean is inclined to be touchy. He
conceeds that a certain amount of light-relief can
be entertaining, provided it is kept within reasonable
bounds; but he bitterly resents the eft-repeated
falsehood that wrestlers enter the ring with a wellrehearsed routine and a previously arranged verdict.
He cites an alarming list of injuries that he has
sustained during some of these so called "fixed"
encounters. They include cauliflower ears, torn
ligaments, splintered ribs, as well as sprains and
bruises too numerous to mention!
With disarming modesty he overlooks the time
he was hospitalised for nearly three months, due to
a mishap that occurred whilst driving home one
foggy winter night. His Citroen car skidded on a
greasy patch and crashed into a ditch! Sean suffered
a broken collar-bone and extensive cuts to his face.
With blood pouring from his wounds he managed
to stagger u p to a nearby farm-house. Unfortunately,
the sole occupant was very old and suspicious, she
took one look at the bleeding figu re in the doorway
and promptly had a fit of hysterics !
R ather surprisingly, the dyed-in-the-wool Irishman delights in quoting long passages from
Shakespeare ! His quaint brogue adds a special
piquancy to Hamlet's rather morose soliloquy. As
if all this isn't enough to dispel the common
misconceptions about his race, Sean is also a keen
cricketer and an avid devotee of the Coronation
Street telly-serial!
Despite the gruelling demands on his time and
stamina, the effervescent Sean still manages t:> snatch
a few minutes every morning for his Yoga excercises.
After his regular cold-water shower he stands on his
head. This posture might look comical but, he
claims, it flushes the brain with blood and enables
one to t·hink more clearly.
Because of his many business commitments,
Sean has been obliged to limit his appearances to
the London area and the South East of England.
However, Northern mat fans will soon have the
pleasure of renewing his acquaintance. Dale Martin
Promotions Ltd. have finally persuaded him to
extend his activities and quite a number of local idols
are going to have to look to their laurels!
Sean is extremely anxious to meet up again
with /an Campbell, the burly, bushy-faced Scottish
heavyweight champion. He has never forgotten, nor
forgiven him for his humiliating defeat at the annual
R oyal Albert H all tournament. After a knee ja@ by
Campbell he couldn't properly regain his composure,
Campbell landed a hay-maker and sent the staggering
Sean down for the count. Defeat comes hard to the
Irish, and this particular boyo is thirsting fo r
revenge! A re-match promises him an opportunity
to live up to his reputation.
JACK JACOBS
Page 17
TOP LEFI':
Hans Streiger side headlocks Bill Robinson
[Photo : H . G . S tcven s]
TOP CENTRE:
Honeyboy Zimba puts a leg spread on Docker Don
Stedman
[Photo : H . G . Steven s]
TOP RIGHT:
Ted Heath with a knee drop on Ron D avis
[Photo . G eo . R eid]
BOITOM LEFT :
Kendo Nagasaki holds Steve Veidor with a neck twist
from a bove
[Photo : H . G . S teven s]
BOITOM RIGHT :
Masambula with a figure four leg lock on .Ray Oarke
[Photo . Geo. Reid]
IT'S A BRAND NEW. RIP ROARING SEASON AS BOB LEONARD REPORTS DIRECT
FROM
carefull y picked bouts that would bring him along
at just the right speed. But the tall kid just couldn't
seem to make it into the big leagues.
T hen, just as suddenly as he'd approached Hart
for an initial tryout, the tall young grappler vanished
. . . without a trace anywhere, it seemed. Hart
telephoned promoters across Canada, with no results .
T hey hadn't been asked for matches by any youngster from out West, they said, but they'd let him
know if the kid showed up in their territory. And
that's where the mysterious disappearance of young
Archie Gouldie ended; he was simply nowhere to
be fo und .
Six years went by, and in time, Stu Hart almost
forgot the young grappler he'd schooled . . . until
a grating voice over the long distance wires jarred
his memory. "Stu, this is 'The Stomper' calling. May
be you've heard of me- I've been doing main events
in Kansas City, San Francisco and a few other places.
I want t:) come -in there, and see what the opposition's
like!" "The Stomper"? Hart had heard there was
some hulking grapp ler by that name meeting and
beating all corners across the U.S. , but he'd never
met him , or even seen pictures of him . What's more,
the voice on the phone sounded vaguely familiar.
The Stomper rams home an Atomic Drop to
Roberto Gonzalcz
He calls him self, simply, "The Stomper" .
"Come on in," Hart responded, "but tell meyo u so und familiar. Did you wrestle under any
other name? " "Yeah," rasped the caller. "May be
you' ll know me when you see me . .. because I know
you. In the meantime, just round up the best men
you can find, and I'll be there to make mincemeat
of them!"
A half-dozen years back, he was just another
gangling young wres·tler out of the heart of the
western wheat-and-beef country- Calgary, Albertawho just co uldn't seem to make it over the hump
into main event matches. He wrestled lots of
openers, just as many special events, and every now
and then, a semi-final contest. Oh, he had a fair
amount of ring skill, all right. Stu Hart, the veteran
Calgary promoter who brought him into man's oldest
spo11t, made sure of that with gruelling daily workouts, miles-long runs both summer and winter, and
And that's how the conversation ended- with
"The Stomper" signed, sealed and delivered for
prairie ri ngs. A week or two later, Hart met an
incoming jet to pick up his new-fo und main event
man- and came face to face with a hulk of a man,
6ft. 4ins. ai1d 19st., that just couldn't be anybody
but long-lost Archie Gouldie. Only now, he bore
the single and ominous name of "The Stomper" ...
and he was a far cry from the mediocre matman
of six years earlier, so Hart found out the first time
hi s former protege slammed into action!
DATELINE WESTERN CANADA:
Page 20
A "Texas Rules" 12-man Battle Royal was
"The Stomper's" initial outing, a dog-eat-dog brawl
where th e so le method of elimination was to be
pitched over the top rin g rope to the arena floor.
Two-man alliances were speedil y formed, but "The
Stomper" took no part in them . He just waded into
the fray , pi tc hing anyone he could lay his meat-hook
hand s on over the top strand. It's likel y h e would
have come out the last man standing, but as so
often happens, gang warfare prevailed, and three
gra pplers combined to hoist him out of contenti onbut Hart noticed they had more than a lit1le trouble
persuading "The Stomper" to exit the hard way!
This man was double-tough , no doubt about it!
With the Battle Royal out of the way, "The
Stomper" settled down to steady annihilation- he
a!l but decapitated s punky Buck Rayburn, a flashy
American entry; slashed hi s way to victory over
Canuck star Gil Hayes; then s·tomped two-fisted
powerhouse R oberto Gonzalez, an ex-boxer from
Madrid , Spain, into the mat. Handicap competition
was no problem , either. Carded against both Hayes
and Raybum in one bout, with the only route to
victory lying in scoring a fall against each man
wi thout dropping one himself, "The Stomper"
ra mmed through to drive both men into the canvas
within fifteen minutes.
What's next for the bull-necked murder
machine ? Hart doesn't exactly know, so overwhelming has "The Stomper" been thus far in the
new season . One thing is sure, though: "The
Stomper" himself wants to beat every man in the
sprawling West, whether or not they subscribe to
hi s own murderous ring theories. He has no loyalty
to hi s fellow ruffians- instead, he wants only to beat
everyone around. And that's something that a man
like "The Stomper" might just do!
**************
Tag team warfare, always red-hot in Hartland,
has zoomed to new highs this season, with a new
combination providing the rabble-rousing impetus.
The Beast, without a doubt one of the toughest
competitors ever to appear here, has paired off with
smaller but just-as-savage Karl van Stieger. Both
are well-versed in the rougher side of tag team life:
The Beast paired here formerly with his manager,
cane-carrying Mr. Rudy Kay; while bearded Karl
von Stieger held the North American Tag Team
Title with brother Kurt here early in 1967.
The dangerous duo's initial outing brought them
up against the time-tested partnership of Iron Dave
Ruhl, the Canadian heavies titlist, and Australian
mat wizard "Sundowner" Bud Cody, in a three-fall
semi-final that exploded in the late stages. With
falls split, Cody and Ruhl were well on their way
to a win, but murderous double-teaming by The
Beast and von Stieger reversed the trend- with the
final result being a win for the bad boys, via the
di squalification route when referee K eith Megson
thumbed Cody and Ruhl out for straying into action
together once too often. That did it for Cody and
Ruhl- they vented their wrath on Megson with stiff
punches that decked the official, then shouted for a
"no di squalification" re-match. The bout is being
signed as thi s is written . .. and with di squalification
losses waived , anything could happen when the four
slam into each other, this time under the R egina
promotion of Bob Cooke and AI Hasenfratz !
Gil Hayes is heading for defeat thanks to
Mr. Robust's piledriver
Again thi s season, Stu Hart earned hi s title of
the West's best " purveyor of ponderous pachyderms''
when he imported titanic Stan "Moose" M ykietowich
to do battle under his banner . . . and titanic is
hardly a sufficient word for the monstrou s Minnesota
mauler! Standing almost 6ft. Sins. and tipping the
Toledoes at an even 20st., "Moose" is one of the
largest men to appear here in some time, and he
uses hi s crushing weight to the best advantage every
time out. Style-wise, he's mean all the way,
depending on his favourite "cork-screw hold"- a
knuckle ground savagely into his foe's temple- for
most victories; but punishing his enemies also with
stomps of his size 13 brogans, sledgehammer fists
and thundering kneedrops.
Page 21
Just as scient,ific as "Moose" is savage is
Canada's own Gil Hayes, a compactly-built powerhouse who owns one of the better bodies in matland.
While still a comparative newcomer to wrestling's
big leagues, personable Gil has proved he can hold
his own against most competition in the heat of
battle ... and he'll have plenty of chance to prove
his ability further as the season wears on. Tag team
thoughts could be entering Hayes' mind, too, with
the return to prairie rings of lightning-fast Chicagoan
Leo Burke, the most improved all-round grappler of
1967 here. Burke and -Hayes could co mbine into
one of the most effective two-man machines ever seen
here, considering their youth and ring savvy--"to say
nothing of a top draw for female fans , none of whom
c::JUid fai l to be dazzled by Hayes' blond good looks
and Burke's dark and handsome features!
Mystery, too , is part of Western Canada's new
ring season- but it looks like it could be quite a
while before fans get to see just who is hiding under
the jet-black hood of hard-driving "M r. Robust",
one of the strangest types ever to show locally. The
masked man precedes his matches with a session of
kangaroo-hopping around the ring, snarled threats
in the direction of his opponent and the referee, and
- any time he can get away with it- a sneak attack
on his foe before the bell. Ring announcers come
in for his particular attention, too, unless they
announce him just as he wishes- and once the bell
has rung, it's as likely as not he'll drag hi s opponent
through the ropes to bounce his skull off the
announcer's table, or wrap the microphone cord
around his throat for a quick strangle sess ion.
through the ropes to the floor, to the delight of the
roaring crowd! The impromptu scuffle might just
mean that Rosetanni has made his decision, and
lending even more weight to the theory was hi s
almost-sportsmanlike behaviour during his bout.
Does the leopard change his spots? May be not, but
then again, Vie Rosetanni is no leopard!
More and more new names, it seems, are penetrating Canadian grapple circles- and the latest is
a baby-faced Southerner out of Nashville, Tennessee,
scaling 16st. on a 5ft. lOin. frame . He's Norton
J ackson, a speedy matman who appears to be a
rapidly rising star with a solid rfuture ahead of him.
Not too much has been seen of Jackson thus far,
but preliminary g11mpses indicate that he could
develop along much the same lines as classy Leo
Burke- who started here at about the same stage
in his mat development- to become a solid ringman.
One thing is sure for Norton Jackson- his curlyhaired good looks will s tand him in good stead with
the fairer sex.
Jarrin ' Johnny Foti, former two-time Canadian
ring king, now makes his home in Calgary and will
be almost a permanent fixture on Stu Hart's all-star
cards in the Stampede City. Although semi-retired
to devote more of his time to painting, John has
stayed in his usual magnificent physical shape and
just could be the only man rugged enough to stay
with the likes of "The Stomper", "Mr Robust", et a!
... and then again, he could have ideas of slapping
his brand on that Canadian crown for a third time.
The strange "Mr. Robust" , though, can battle
it out with the toughest of them . . . he backs down
from no one in the heat of action, continually
staying on the offensive until he b ores in for the
kill. He's particularly proficient with nerve holds,
comes on strong with fists and feet, and depends
on a spine-snapp1ng piledriver to administer the
coup de grace. Will he unmask if he'IS defeated , in
stra ight falls? "A senseless question," he sneers.
"There isn't a man here who could do it, so why
bother to think about unmasking! "
Will he or won't he? We mean Vie Rosetanni,
the Italian-American from ColumbuiS, Ohio, who
proved such a hell-raiser here earlier in 1967. The
latest word is that vicious Vie just may not stay
that way- he's been thinking long and hard about
revamping hi s ring style and sticki ng to the straight
and narrow from n ow on. The latest indication
came when Rosetanni came into the ring for his
match, just as hulking "Mo'Jse" Mykietowich was
on hi s way out of the squared circle after suffering
a di squalification loss to Buck Rayburn .
Now normally, the tougher element of grappling
will always stick together through thick and thin ,
preferring to vent their spleen on the sport's more
gentlemanly types. But Mykietowich · flatly told
R osetanni to stay out of the ring until he left.
Rosetanni took swift exception to the rebuff- he
clipped "Moose" in the chops, then, fired him
Page 22
Norlon Jackson about to post Vie Rosetanni
We!cfJme
bacK . ..
KALMAN
GASTON
Back from his seven-week holiday in Budapest
comes Kalman Gaston the handsome young
Hungarian midd leweight. A sentimental journey
indeed, for Kalman spent much of the time visiting
the places and faces that he had not seen for many
years.
Of course, after so many years away from home,
most of his time was spent with his family and
friends, but every spare moment he could find in
the evenings found him at the famous Honved Sports
Club where he gained so much distinction as an
ama·teur wrecstler before coming to England. Visiting
the club on his first night in Budapest to pay his
respects to his old wrestling coach, he fo und himself
stripped almost naked and forced on to the mat
to wrestle. T he youngsters that had joined the
club since he had left had heard all about him, and
what a great success he had made of his wrestling
career in England, and were eager to put him through
his paces. His coach who is shortly to retire from
active teaching, begged his former star pupil to take
over the job, but, of course, Kalman who's future
plans lay in England had to decline the offer. He
was greatly impressed by the way of life in the Old
Country and says that he has never seen Budapest
looking more beautiful, or deserving of the description of "The Paris of the Balkans."
As he had made the journey by car and had
plenty of room for luggage, he took this opportuni ty
to bring back all his amateur wrestling trophies and
medals, and an impressive collection they are.
Kalman Gaston with an arm lock on Pasquale Salvo
[Photo : H . G . Stevens)
I t's just as well that he had the worn, for just
as he was about to leave, all the members of his
old club turned up to see h im off and brought with
them presents of wrestling b oots, trunks and gowns,
all made for him as mementos of his stay. Yes it
will be a very elegant Kalman Gaston that graces
our wrestling rings these coming winter months.
R eturning as he d oes, rested and refreshed from
his holiday, he now intends to concentrate on the
object that has been uppermost in his mind of late,
and that is to get himself matched with the fiery
South Londoner, the Southern E ngland Welterweigh t
Champion, Mick McManus.
Certai nly such a match would meet wi th the
approva l of most wrestling fans, and if Kalm an and
hi s "lucky" new boots could pull off a victory, then
wh at a perfect finish to his sentimental journey! !
BOB SCALA and
LAURIE STEPHEN
Page 23
Back in England after a 17-week stay in T urkey
where he has been filming in "The Charge of the
Light Brigade" comes the popular T hi rd Man and
former barefoot wrestler, Jack Cunningham.
Fortu ne certainly has smiled on our Jack these
past few months, he has made (!uite an impact with
the film parts and T.V. Commercials he has been
making of late, but this part he plays in the "Charge''
looks like the beginning of big things.
Costing over £8,000,000 to make, no expense
was spared to make sure that the right people were
chosen for the right part, and for the part of The
Sergeant Farrier alone 180 men were on the final
short list. All expert horsemen and stars in their
own right, and it was Jack Cunn ingham that was
finally chosen.
Jack Cunningham's famed Monkey climb
Jack
Cunningham
BACK FROM
THE CRIMEA
By BOB SCALA and LAURIE STEPHEN
Page 24
Jack, son of a well-known South African Race
Horse Trainer, was brought up with horses and this
stood out a mile at the final selection.
He tells us that all his fellow stars in thi s
" Wood/all Films" epic are keen wrestling fans,
T revor Howard, Harry Andrews, David Hemming,
J ill Bennett, Vanessa Red grave, etc., etc., all have
different tastes, and that it would surprise us to
know just who they cheer, and who they are inclined
to boo.
As The Sergeant Farrier, Jack was in charge
of all the horses, floggi ngs and helping the Medical
Officer with the amputations, and he tells us that
we can expect to see some of the most realistic and
bloodthirsty scenes ever filmed, when the "Charge"
opens in the West End of London early in the New
Year.
He has nothing but praise for his fellow stars,
all of whom took part in the actual charge, refusing
to let stunt men do the dirty work for them. "They
did it all themselves," said Jack, "they were just
like wrestlers". Praise indeed! ! ! Of the 550 horses
loa ned by the T urkish Army, 3 died in the charge,
and of the 4,000 Turkish troops engaged as extras,
many received injuries. "It was the most wonderful
A welcome break during filming
experience of my life" said Jack, speaking of the
actual charge that took ten days to film.
ham, as Jack is known in the film game, to take
things easy, but this is not the case.
In Istanbul during the recent earthquake, Jack
and his party had a very narrow escape, when seven
people were killed and many injured , in a nearby
Hotel.
Whilst waiting for the next plum pa11t that he
has been offered, to go into production in the New
Year, Jack has already accepted wo11k for T.V.
Commercials, AND refereeing wl'estling.
Back m England, Jack has spent 5 weeks
winding up the final shooting of "T.C. of T.L.B."
at Aldershot, and then popped over to Paris for the
final work on the sound track. Now with everything
safely in the can you might expect Chris Cunning-
We can only hope that he does not carry out
his threat to shave off the wonderful set of sidewhiskers that he grew for the part of The Sergeant
Farrier, before wrestling patrons have seen them in
all their beauty.
Page 25
Wrestling
NfJteIJfJfJk
PAGES TURNED BY
RUSSELL PLUMMER
The 1967 winter season hardly had time to get underway
before several of the official British title holders were hard at it,
defending their championships successfully in action-filled contests.
Among the busiest have been mid-heavyweight king-pin
Mike Marino and the lightweight monarch A/an Miquet, the latter
having repulsed two challengers already!
Geoff Portz, the Shipley star whose major comeback
objective was to regain the title he was forced to relinquish through
injury last year, spent most of the summer chasing Ma·rino, the
man who collected the title and belt in open competition almost
a year ago.
Portz, now wrestling as well as ever finally got his chance at
Newcastle, but old maestro Marino pulled out all the stops to
hang on to his title b y the odd fall of three. The Anglo-Italian
star was again successful when the pair subsequently met in a
return contest with a £250 sidestake.
Both !on and Peter Cortez, the Dulwich tag team stars were
given championship opportunities on the same bill at Nottingham,
Alan Miquet beating P eter by two fall s to one for the Bri tish title,
while the incomparable George Kidd knocked out J on in defence
of his world crown.
Close up view of Mike Marino with
a back hammer on Roy "Bull" Davis
[Photo : H . G . Stevens]
Miquet, now wrestling as well as at any time in his career,
despite shedding weight to compete regularly among the lightweights, also saw off A drian Street's challenge in fro nt of a
capacity crowd at Bristol's Colston Hall.
The Huddersfield flier, now based in London, confirmed his
form at Newcastle last month by toppling Kidd in a non-title
bout, afte,r which he immediately challenged the Scotsman to put
his championship on the line in a return.
Is Jackie Pallo after a crack at Clayton Thomson's middleweight title? Th is seems to be the Highbury star's weight class
these days and " Mr. T.V." certainly seemed pleased with himself
after beating the Scotsman at Yarmouth.
Jackie has twice tried to avenge his Albert Hall defeat by
Mick McManus only for each contest to end with the referee
bringing in a double disqualification verdict. D oes this mean the
end of the feud? Not on your life- Pallo is still pestering
promoters for another clash with McManus.
Jackie Pallo tries to turn Chic Purvey for a
Boston crab
[Photo. Geo. Reid]
Page 26
Bearded heavyweight Black Angus conti nues to cause some
upsets as h e gets to grips with the home heavyweight talent,
a lthough his tactics have led to several disqualifications. On
occasions when the mighty Scat has kept within the rules he has
shown himself to be a hard man to beat as evidence a straight
falls victory over Steve Veidor.
It is good to see Lou Marco as a master of
ceremonies at many of the halls where he was once
in action regularly as a referee. One evening recently
Bradford wrestler Barry Cannon suffered a nasty leg
injury at a hall where Lou was officiating and it was
fascinating to see the unftappable manner in which
Marco directed operations as the injured man was
taken to the dressing room.
It is worth saying here that spectators should
always think for a moment before rushing to the
aid of an injured wrestler, unless, of course, they are
qualified to do so.
Danny Lynch's recent absence from the ring has
made little difference it seems to the ability of the
blond Yorkshire "danger man" to dish out and take
punishment, although wisely he is not accepting too
many bookings at present.
Another recently "retired" heavyweight, Australian Ray Hunter is training again and hopes to be
able to fit in a few contests in Southem halls as the
winter progresses.
The first extensive Southern tour of that Oriental
man of mystery, Kendo Nagasaki produced a number
of contests that were little short of sensational with
Westminster judoka A I Hayes probably coming as
close as anyone to toppling the colomful masked
star.
It is to be hoped that Nagasaki can be persuaded to come south aga in in the not too distant
future where the American Outlaw is the only
masked man to have been seen with any regularity
lately.
THE HELL RAISERS
Continued from Page 15
ferry and Bobby Christy, the globe-trotting
California pairing who'd won a string of titles over
the years, arrived on the Canadian scene just about
the time Kurt and Kar! re-invaded the nation- and
it took scant days folf the fourso me to mix it hot
and heavy! The Christys tossed down the gauntlet
first, cancelling a scheduled bout to battle the von
Stiegers- and lost when Kurt kayoed Bobby with
his fearsome "Death Dive" off the top strand of the
ring. A special return bout saw the foursome stalemate, as did a third and fourt h encounter. And in
between, the Germans lopped off the heads of every
team that sallied forth against them . .. including
some of the best combines on the scene.
But, as a ll good things must, the von Stieger's
reign as kings of the continent's tag teams came to
an abrupt end. T he Christys did the trick, with their
vaunted sleeper hold, the irresistible lullaby the
Germans claimed could never work on them. "We
were jobbed by the referee," they chorus, "but we
don't really mind, because next time we wrestle for
the title, we' ll make it worse than ever for our
opponents."
"Jelf·ry got his puny sleeper on Karl," Kurt
p ointed out, "and just as Kar! was about to escape,
Bobby slugged him over the head, then HE put the
sleeper on, without even tagging! The referee was
watching me all the time, and he didn't even see
the switch- so what kind of loss was it? No loss
at all, really- and when we wrestle for that title,
it'll just be to take back something that's rightfully
ours!"
Ironically, the Christys blew their claim to the
title by losing a hard-fought bout to The Beast and
Bob "Bruiser" Sweetan, who still hold the crown
at this writing. But Sweetan is wrestling in Arizona,
and The Beast is in Canada again- AND he's tag
teaming with Karl von Stieger, while Kurt is busy
mangling opponents in the U.S.! What wi ll happen
if Kurt and Sweetan re-enter the Canadian scene ?
Will the von Stieger- Beast combine come apart
at the seams, to explode as the German barons
challenge fo r the title " that's rightfully ours"?
"I'll tell you this : I'm wrestling with The Beast
because he's the best partner around right now. He's
t:mgh, almost as tough as us! But if Bob Sweetan
comes back here, Kurt will retum and we'll take
our title back!" vowed Karl.
Angus Campbell gains a submission from Dave Bryson with
[Photo. Geo .
a straight arm lift
R eid]
And a ll of that leaves a segment of the Canad ian
tag team situation normal- all fouled up! Only one
thing is certain- IF Bob Sweetan returns and Kurt
von Stieger is called into play at the same time, the
four-man picture could explode into a million pieces
.. . and the bragging barons from Hamburg could
be in for trouble!
Page 27
WORLD
THE;1;
By EDDIE CA LDWELL
The Poland versus Northern Counties match
fully lived up to the advance publicity, and the result
was very much as expected. The Poles won seven
of the nine bouts, the remaining two being drawn.
However, the result could have been a little more
respectable with some luck. The incomparable Albert
Aspen looked to be a winner all the way against
Olympic bronze medallist Trojanowski, and both
St{l/1 Gilligan and Tony Shacklady wrestled too well
to lose. Wally Booth, at middleweight deserved a
draw but because of official leniency hi s opponent
Grab just held on to win.
I t is doubtful whether a full national team could
have improved on the res ult, but the main differences
between the two teams were experience and fitness.
T he home lads are fit, and indeed some of them
train fantastically hard , but the Poles had just that
little bit more. A word of congratulation to the
officials and to the organising committee which
included Jimmy Savile, George de R elwyskow,
A rthur Green, Ted Beresford and Norman Morrel,
all of Joi nt Promotions Ltd. Bert Jacob praised
the work d one by these gentlemen, without whose
effort the venture would never have got off the
ground .
The Northern Counties team was as follows ;
fan Turner; Bury A.W.C., John Speakman , Barton
A.W.C., Tony Bell, Bury A .W.C., Wafter Filling,
Bradford A.W.C. , Albert Aspen, Bolton A .W.C.,
Andrew Bailey, Manchester Y.M.C.A ., Stan Gilligan,
Bartcm A.W.C., Tony Shacklady, Ba rton A.W.C. and
Wally Booth , Bolton A.W.C.
Word has reached us from the World GrecoRoman championships in Rumania, where two
British wrestlers competed. Tony Shacklady, of
Barton A.W.C., was eliminated by the European
champion, A kar, of Turkey, and Finlay Buchanan,
of Scotland, went out to Novakhatko, of Russ ia.
Both boys wrestled whole-heartedly and received a
terrific ovation from the spectators. The team award
went to Russia, with Hungary second.
T hree November dates for your diary now.
Page 28
Firstly, if you live in the Edinburgh di strict why
not go along to the Milton Club on Royal Terrace,
on Sunday, November 26th, and watch the Clarke
trophy tournament. This is a top-class competition
and the wrestling begins at two-thirty. The London
Senior championships will be held at the Durning
Hall , Forest Gate, on November 18th, and on the
same date an open Junior tournament is scheduled
for the Basi ldon Boys' Club at two o'clock.
Basi ldon is perhaps the busiest wrestling centre
in the country at the moment, and much of the
credit must go to Ted Rayment the secretary. Here
are the results of a competiuion held in conjunction
with the local ca rnival, with prizes presented b y the
carnival queen.
Featherweight- K. Hayward, Vi king.
Lighrweight- G. Pullen, United .
Welterweight- A. Cooper, South Essex .
Best Wrestler- S. L ee, Ri singhill.
In Brent another exc iting day's wrestling at
Roundwood Park, where the mayor presented the
prizes, and the spectators were in the region of
fifteen hundred .
Lightweight!. Pullen, United .
2. Phillips, Viking.
Middleweight!. Grinstead, Red Britannia.
2. Rahim, Risinghill.
What a busy lad Graham Pullen is nowadays.
The former Manco (Manchester) wrestler certainly
devotes a lot of his time to wrestling and must be
moving into line for the Mexico Olympic team at
lightweight. T hat is, of course, Stan Gilligan
permitting . . .
Finally, a tragic note to finish on. May I extend,
on behalf of everyone in amateur wrestling, our
deepest sympathy and condolences to Dave Currie
(Manchester Y.M.C.A. club secretary) and his wife,
whose younger son died whilst on holiday.
By TONY FLOOD
Some wrestling fans like their ring favourites
to be as tough as nails and aggressive, while others
demand that the grapplers they go to see should
be more skilful and stick to scientific wrestling. But
for those who like a combination of both Bernard
Murray, the bald-domed Yorkshire lightweight, can
have few equals in the lower weight classes.
He has beaten some of the best men in his
division by virtue of his ruggedness , yet he is
basically classed as "a skilful wrestler" and JS
referred to by those who know him well as
" Wrestling's Box of Tricks" .
Murray gained many successes in the late 1950's
and one of his most notable achievements in recent
years was reaching the final of the Television Trophy
for grapplers of under twelve stone in weight in
March, 1966. The final, in which he met Jon Cortez,
of London , was televised from the Royal Hall,
Harrogate, and lived up to expectations as a skilful
and thrilling contest.
The more experienced Murray had a stone
weight advantage, but youth was on Cortez's side
and after fa lling behind to a fall following a backdrop and shoulder press in round two, Cortez came
mare into hi s own. However, Bernard seemed to
be having things all his own way until Cortez
grabbed a surprise fall in round four.
The end came in round six. Bernard threw Jon
on the ropes and on the rebound Jon gave a flying
tackle to pin Bernard and win the bout.
Despite the fact that Jon beat Bernard on that
occasion, there is a lot he could learn from the
Yorkshire combat expert. Bernard has, in fact,
taught a number of present-day youngsters to wrestle,
including the York giant John Cox.
Murray also used to teach unarmed combat to
the Bradford Police Force, so it is obvious to see
that his skill is highly respected .
When I met Bernard he told me that he could
at one time have poss ibly taken up a different sport
however. He was , in his younger days, a very useful
fo otballer and was also keen on boxing, athletics
and swimming.
But he decided to stick to wrestling and became
a very successful featherweight in the amatem
ranks. Bernard won the Northern Counties title as
well as walking off wirth several club trophies before
becoming a professional wrestler.
Bernard Murray held in a figure four leg lock by
AI Miquet
[ Photo' H . G. Stevens]
/
/
MIKE DEMITRE
Alth o ~gh he was always billed from Sparta in
Greece, M1ke spent most of his childhood in the
Uni.ted States where he was educated, first turning
up m Europe as a wrestler in the late 'thirties.
takes a sentimental journey
Before the world was plunged into war in 1939
D<!mitre had done a lot of wrestling in Paris where
he picked up. the European junior heavyweight
t1tle by defeatmg veteran Hungarian Stan Karolyi.
With this title and a magnificent championship belt
that went with it, Demitre jumped right to the top
in 1946 and 1947 when wrestling resumed on a fair
scale in both this country and France.
Demitre added world honours to his list of
achievements in 1949 at the start of an eight-year
reign as the junior heavyweight champion, a
championship which unfortunately was allowed to
become lost in general confusion in rather more
recent times.
That famous Northern great The Farmer,
George Broadfield, from Dewsbury bmught the title
t::> Britain in 1948 when he defeated Canadian Paul
Lortie, Demitre stepp•ing up to relieve him of the
crown a year later at Morecambe.
Then the action came thick and fast for fans
in all parts of the country as Demitre went successfully through a list of challengers that sounds like
a wrestling Wh o's Who! Never far away from the
head of the queue was Black Butcher Johnson ,
master of the exciting "La Savatte'' tactics, another
Greek later to become a successful London
restauranteur, Milo Popocopolis, and , of course,
Britain's own Vie Hesselle.
Mike Demitre watches for a submission in this
contest between Ron Oakley and Vie Faulkner
Mancelli , the " Blackfriars Thunderbolt", Ernie
Kingston, the New Zealand leg scissors specialist,
the late Bob MacDonald from Scotland and
Australia's A !an Garfield were just a few more who
chased Demitre in the early 1950's.
When Mike Demitre was appointed referee of
a Dale-Martin bill at Peterborough recently it
alm::>st marked the start of a sentimental journey for
the former Greek wrestling star.
Demitre faded from the scene as a wrestler more
than a dozen years ago after losing his world honours
to Mike Marino, a man who probably today holds a
p::>sition comparable to that of Demitre in terms of
popularity and reputation.
Regular wrestling presentations at this East
Anglian city have now reverted, after a break of
some 15 years, to the local Drill Hall, and it was
there that Demitre, in his wrestling hey-day, had
some of his greatest contests.
Nowadays as he paces the canvas watching some
of the modern mid-heavyweights going through their
speedy and often intricate moves Demitre must
wonder to himself just how he would fare against
them , if the clock could be turned back.
In th ose days South African, the late Maurice
L etchford was the promoter and although a comparatively small hall, the bills presented there
compared with any in the country.
The same thoughts often go through the minds
of spectators too, and I think that Demitre would
be just as big a star today had he been born 20
years later. His was the sort of skill that would
stand up to the most severe tests in any day and age.
The roar of the crowd in those familiar
surroundings must have brought memories flooding
back for Demitre, and Mike quickly discovered that
the fans had not forgotten either.
It is a great thing that men such as Demitre
and Tonv Mancelli have been able to out their vast
knowledge of wrestling to a different use now that
their days of active competition are over. What a
lot would have been lost to the sport if they were
not!
Page 30
But Demitre still has an important job to do,
and stands no nonsense from any unruly contestants,
however big they may be. Perhaps it would be
wise for some of the budding villains to remember,
next time they try to push their luck with Mike
Demitre, that they are dealing with a man who has
already made sure of his place in wrestling's "Hall
of Fame".
RUSSELL PLUMMER
Around
the
Fan Clubs
with RUSSELL PLUMMER
Wrestling fans throughout the country have
recently rushed to the defence of their favourite
televised entertainment and needless to say the fan
clubs are leading opposition to suggestions that
regular wrestling sessions are to be dropped from
the Independent Television schedules.
The man who has incurred the wrath of fans,
young and old, is Mr. John McMillan, general
manager of the Rediffusion Television company who
takes over as I.T.V. Director of Sport next year.
Mr. McMillan recently told newspaper columnist
J ames Pettigrew that he cannot possibly accept
wrestling as a sport and made it clear that he sees
no place for it in the regular Saturday afternoon
sports programmes.
I think Don Ford, president of the Four Stars
Fan Club summed up the feelings of most wrestling
followers in his last newsletter. "I always thought
that the television programmes were put out for
the enjoyment of the viewers and it was the job of
the backroom boys to produce programmes the
viewers wanted to see. Let us hope that if Mr.
McMillan has decided to wield his axe, the millions
of viewers will write and voice their opinions,"
said Don.
Jack Mawdsley of the International Wrestling
Supporters' Club has gone even further. He is circulating petition forms to his members and when
they are returned it is Jack's intention to forward
them to I.T.V.
Other clubs are also urgmg their members to
let the television authority have it and already the
regional office of the television programme weeklies
have been flooded with lette rs.
I heartily endorse Don Ford's comments,
although no one seems to have thought of presenting
wrestling at a time other than Saturday for a long
session. Most fans agree that the short mid-week
programmes are hardly long enough to really capture
the atmosphere of the bouts, especially when one of
the two bouts shown is usually cut.
An hour or 90 minutes of wrestli ng late on a
weekday evening would even allow fans to watch
their favourites in the flesh at local halls before
returning home for another session with the "telly."
Certainly mid-week wrestling would be a good
deal more entertaining than some of the so-called
dramatic presentations my regional independent
television company have offered lately!
Returning to the fan club scene the Four Stars
organisation is still pulling in new members and
the recent addition of Gillingham's Wayne Bridges
to the list of those supported seems to have been
highly popular with the existing members.
The club's third newsletter maintains the
standard set by its predecessors and again includes
a specially posed photograph of one club's supported
wrestlers.
If any I.W.S.C. members have a good command
of German, Jack Mawdsley might be able to use
your ability to sort out several inquiries from that
part of the world. "I haven't heard any German
since my Air Force days 17 years ago, and it is a
bit rusty now, but I'm getting by," Jack told me.
This club is also receiving requests for information from F,rance and every part of this country.
Now their total has passed the 200 mark and
applications are still comi ng in steadily.
British fans who remember the tour of Greek
colossus A rion Manousakis a couple of years back
may be interested in an American fan club for the
21 stone, 6ft. 6in. giant from Athens.
Now going great guns in East Coast States
billed as Spiros A rion , the " Golden Greek" has
appeared in bill topping tag team action with Bruno
Sammartino at Madison Square Garden this year.
Arion and Bruno are both supported by a single
fan club organised by Mike Medungo, PO Box 177,
Glen Cove, New York 11542, who will be pleased
t::> send details to anyone interested over here.
Page 31
South
African
Wrestling
Wakes up!
Frikki Alberta and Wilhelm Hall
There are signs at last that the wrestling scene in
South Africa is going to wake up and follow the
trend set by Great Britain back in the mid-1950's.
It was around that time that wrestling was given a
great boost by the arrival in Durban, Johannesburg
and the other cities of such men as Sky Hi Lee. The
fans raved about this American giant and his name
was even included in one of the local folk songs.
Other mat men also found the going good over there,
but suddenly it died down.
Fewer wrestlers visited the country and it was
left to the locals to kee9 the grappling game in the
public eye. lan Campbell was one of the rare big
names to go over there and he attracted a large
following everywhere he went. The patience shown
by mat fans in that part of the world seems to be
paying off, for the sport is beginning to climb back
again and I am willing to bet that it will not be
long before some of our top names are hitting the
trail for a safari around the big halls of South Africa.
Wilhelm Hall is still the country's idol and
recently gained even more popularity in winning two
out of three bouts against visiting Spaniard Car/os
Rocha, the last bout ending in the fiery Spanish
grappler being disqualified when both men had a
fall.
Three other South Africans well known in thi s
country, but keeping their wrestling engagements to
Page 32
within their own land, are Fred Van Loiter, the
tough, rough-house light-heavyweight, who often
used to team uo over here with Australian Frank
Hurley in a rio-tous tag combination, Gerhardt De
Jaegar and Frikki Alberta.
Gerry, as he was usually billed, pulled off one
of the fastest, if not the fastest drop-kick knockout
ever seen in this country when he smashed his
opponent to defeat within 11 second of the opening
bell- and that includes the count!
fan Wilko, who stopped off on tour here last
year and wowed audiences with his 6ft. Sins., 22st.
frame, is also doing the rounds in his home country.
Greek star George Passilaris has just announced
his retirement from the wrestling ring in South
Africa, where he intends to marry. However, with
wrestling in the blood, it is easier to talk about
hanging up one's boots than to actually do it, so
time will tell.
South African mat fans are hoping to hear of
some more American matmen visiting their rings ,
it would be good to be able to tell them that some
British stars are on the way. How about it lads?
B. R . BALE
WRESTLING
REDFORDS HIRE
Corn Exchange
BEDFORD
DUNSTABLE Queensway Hall
BERKSHIR E
NEWBURY
READING
Corn Exchange
Town Hall
BUCKINGH AMSHIRE
AYLESBURY Assembly Hall
Wilton Hall
BLETCHLEY
HIGH WYCOMBE Town Hall
Adelphi
SLOUGH
IN THE SOU TH
LONDON AREA
2nd & 4th Monday
3rd Thursday
1st Tuesday
2nd & 4th Tuesday
3rd Monday
2nd Thursday
2nd Monday
2nd Monday
ALBERT HALL
The Town Hall
CA TFORD
Granada
EDMONTON
Baths Hall
LIME GROVE
SHOREDITC H
W ALTHAMSTO W
Assembly Hall
The Town Hall
WEMBLEY
Pala1s
WIMBLEDON
Granada
EAST HAM
Znrl Wednesday
1st & 3rd Monday
4th Friday
7.30 p.m.
1st & 3rd Tues.
2nd & 4th Wednesday
2nd & 4th Thursday
2nd & 4th Monday
Every Thursday
1st Werlnesday
MIDDLES,E X
Playhouse
FELTHAM
1st & 3rd Thursday
NORFOLK
CAMBRIDG ESHIRE
CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
GT. YARMOUTH
ht Thursday
DEVON
PLYMOUTH
EXETER
Forum Cinema
Civic Hall
ESSEX
Corn Exch.
CHELMSFOR D
COLCHESTE R Corn Exchange
SOUTHEND- ON-SEA
Kursaal Ballroom
Baths
ILFORD
GLOUCEST ERSHIRE
CHELTENHA M
Town Hall
3rd Tuesday
3rd Thursday
2nd & 4th Tuesday
1st & 3rd Tuesday
2nd Wednesday
3rd, 4th, 5th Thursday
1st & 3rd Monday
HAMPSHIR E
BOURNEMO UTH
Winter Gardens
SOUTHAMP TON
The Guildhall
SOUTHAMPT ON
Pier Pavilion
2nd Thursday
1st, 3rd, 5th Thursday
NORTHAM PTONSHIR E
Civic Centre
CORBY
NORTHAMP TON Drill Hall
PETERBORO UGH Drill Hall
4th Wednesday
2nd, 3rd, 5th Friday
1st, 3rd, 5th Thursday
OXFORDSI DRE
Town Hall
OXFORD
SOMERSET
2nd Wednesday
Pavilion
Blake Hall
Colston Hall
1st & 5th Wednesday
1st Friday
2nd & 4th Thursday
BURY ST. EDMlJNDS
Corn Exchange
The Baths
IPSWICH
1st, 3rd, 5th Thursday
Every Friday
BATH
BRIDGWATE R
BRISTOL
SUFFOLK
SURREY
Fairfield Halls
Dorking Halls
Civic Hall
Granada
CROYDON
DORKING
GUILDFORD
KINGSTON
SUSSEX
2nd & 4th Wednesday
1st & 3rd Tuesday
1st, 3rd, 5th Wednesday
EASTBOURN E
HASTINGS
HOVE
WORTHING
Winter Gdns.
White Rock
King Alfred
Pier Pavilion
WALES
KENT
FOLKESTON E Leas Oiff Hall
Pier Pavilion
HERNE BAY
MAIDSTONE
Agricultural Hall
Winter Gardens
MARGATE
The Casino
ROCHESTER
TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Assembly Hali
Baths
ELTHAM
2nd & 5th Wednesday
1st & 3rd Saturday
2nd & 4•t h Saturday
2nd & 4th Tuesday
HERTFORD SHIRE
BISHOPS STORTFORD
Rhodes Centre
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
Pavilion
The Town Hall
WATFORD
Hippodrome
Corn Exch.
KING'S L YNN
Corn Exchange
NORWICH
2nd Monday
1st & 4th Friday
CARDIFF
Sophia Gardens
WILTSHIR E
1st & 3rd Saturday
1st Tuesday
2nd & 4th Friday
Winter Gardens
BANBURY
SWINDON Locarn.o Bailroon1
1st & 3rd Monday
2nd Friday
HEMEL HEMPSH.AD Pav.
Town Hall
W ATFORD
Every Tuesday
4th Wednesday
1st Tuesday
3rd Tuesday
2nd Saturday
2nd & 4th Thursday
Every Saturday
1st, 2nd, 3rd Monday
3rd Friday
3rd & 5th Wednesday
2nd & 4th Monday
TELEVISIO N SHOWS
3rd Saturday
4th Saturday
Page 33
ROYAL ALBERT HALL REPORT
RUSSELL
PLUMMER
Angry Scenes as Tag Contest
Ends in Disqualification
Five policemen had to clear a way for Johnny
Yearsley through the angriest Royal Albert Hall
crowd I have ever seen after the Welshman and his
partner Danny Lynch had been disqualified in the
main event tag team contest against the Mexican
champions Charro and Buddy Mantes.
The bout lasted barely eleven minutes and there
were no falls when Buddy Mantes broke clear of
Yearsley with blood streaming from a bad cut over
his left eye. Referee Tiny Carr obviously doubted
that the cut had been inflicted accidentally and
disqualified Yearsley and his partner.
Angry spectators surged towards the ring and a
number of objects werre thrown . After several
minutes Lynch made a dash to the dressing rooms
and for a few moments the situation looked like
getting out of hand. Then five policemen came into
the arena and forced a way for Yell!rsley through the
jeering crowd.
In the match itself the Mexicans were given
little opportunity to show what they were made of.
Lynch and Yearsley had a big weight advantage and
their tactics brought two public warnings before the
bout was eight minutes old.
Although not always appreciated by the crowd
because of its lack of speed compared with some of
the bouts that had gone before, the major heavyweight contest saw Tibor Szacaks given a surprisingly
tough time by young German Wolfgang Starck.
Making his British debut, Starck reminded me
in many ways of the great Horst Hofjman in the
early days of his career, and the young Berliner
extended Szakacs for almost half an hour before
goi ng down by the odd fall.
As Starck snatched the lead before the end of
the first round with a flying double leg shoulder
press, it was difficult to believe that he has only
three years of profess1onal experience behind him.
It was some 12 minutes before Szacaks levelled
with a shoulde,r press in round three and the match
cou ld still have gone either way before Szakacs
slowed Starck with a chop and grabbed the winning
folding body press.
The six rou nd matching of Southern England
middleweight champion Peter Rann and popular
Johnny Kwango came to an exciting climax when
Page 34
AT
THE
RINGSIDE
Police Escort Johnny Yearsley
to Dressing Room !
the coloured wrestler equalised with a leg lever
subm ission in round five . The advantage switched
f,rom man to man in the final frantic five minutes
without either of them being able to get the allim portant thirrd fall.
For non-stop action and sheer wrestling skill
the clash of young Hungarian Zoltan Boscik and
British welterweight champion Alan Sargeant will
take a lot of beating, and it was the lighter Boscik
who made much of the running.
He came off the ropes in a perfect break-fall to
take Sa,rgeant down for the first fall in round three
and went close with several other pin fall attempts
before bhe champion pulled out all the stops to win
with a fifth rou nd drop-kick.
Oscar Verdu the mighty American globetrotter
returned from a late summer t'fip to Spain to face
Ireland's wrestling schoolmaster Sean Regan in a
match that quickly became a battle between Verdu's
tremendous strength and Regan's agility and speed.
A series of drop kicks paved the way for Regan
to level the contest in round three, but Verdu, who
had gone ahead five minutes earlier, extracted the
deciding submission in round four.
The opening contest was an interesting youth
versus experience affair wibh Cardiff's up-and-coming
Dave Morgan challenging wily old campaigner
Charlie Fisher. More than once Charlie steadied up
his eager young foe with some crunching smashes,
but it was Morgan who snatched the only faH
required for victory with an overthrow and shoulder
press in round five.
A feast of heavyweight action is promised in
the next Royal Albert Hall bill on November 15th
when five of the evening's seven contests will be
from the upper weight class. A fo ur man knock-out
tournament to decide who succeeds foe Cornelius as
Southern England champion will put "Judo" A!
Hayes , Bruno Elrington , Wayne Bridges and
"Docker" Don Stedman in opposition, all four
having won regional elimi nating contests.
Much publicised Jim Osborn, from Oregon,
U.S.A ., starts his British campaign with a severe
test against the one and only Geofj Portz, while the
main event sees the A lbert Hall debut of the
mysterious Kendo Nagasaki, Japan's masked heavyweight who meets Cheshire's Steve Veidor .
WRESTLING
IN THE NORTH
CHESHIRE
ALTRINCHAM Stamford Hall
2nd Monday
7.30p.m.
Market Hall
1st & 3rd Fri.
7.30 p.m.
Baths Hall
Every Monday
7.40p.m.
Baths Hall
1st & 4th M<.m.
7.30 p.m.
1st & 4th Thurs.
1st Friday
4th Thursday
Every Monday
2nd & 4th Friday
3rd Wednesday
Every Friday
7.30 p.m.
DERBYSHIRE
DERBY
DURHAM
DARLINGTON
LANCASHIRE
Public Hall
BARROW
BLACKBURN
King George's Hall
The Tower
BLACKPOOL
Wryton Stadium
BOLTON
The Stadium
LIVERPOOL
MANCHESTER
King's Hall, Belle Vue
MORECAMBE
Winter Gardens
Imperial Ballroom
NELSON
7.30 p.m.
7.15 p.m.
7.30p.m.
7.30 p.m.
7.00 p.m.
Every Saturday
3rd Thursday
7.30p.m.
4th Friday
2nd & 4th Thurs. 7.30p.m.
LEICESTERSHIRE
LEICESTER
De Montfort Hall
1st Thursday
4th Wednesday
7.30 p.m.
CLEETHORPES Pier Pavilion
Market Hall
LINCOLN
Music Hall
ABERDEEN
Drill Hall
DUMFRIES
Caird Hall
DUNDEE
EDINBURGH
Eldorado Stadium
Town Hall
FALKIRK
Town Hall
HAMILTON
GLASGOW
Kelvin Sports Arena
Town Hall
KIRKCALDY
Town Hall
PAISLEY
City Hall
PERTH
2nd & 4th Tues.
3rd Friday
2nd & 4th Tues.
7.30 p.m.
7.40 p.m.
7.30 p.m.
Every Tuesday
3rd Saturday
2nd & 4th Mon.
7.30 p.m.
7.30p.m.
7.45p.m.
1st, 2nd, 4th Fri.
1st & 5th Thurs.
3rd Thursday
2nd & 4th Wed.
7.30 p.m.
7.30 p.m.
7.30 p.m.
7.30 p.m.
1st Thursday
2nd & 4th Fri.
Every Saturday
2nd Friday
4th Thursday
Every Friday
7.40p.m.
7.30p.m.
7.30p.m.
1st & 3rd Tues.
7.30 p.m.
Every Monday
2nd & 4th Tues.
7.30 p.m.
7.30p.m.
4th Thursday
1st & 4th Tues.
7.40p.m.
7.40 p.m.
STAFFORDSHIRE
BRIERLEY HILL Public Hall
Jubilee Hall
BURTON
Victoria Hall
HANLEY
STAFFORD
Baths Hall
WILLENHALL
WOLVERHAMPTON
Civic Hall
7.30 p.m.
7.30 p.m.
WARWICKSHIRE
BIRMINGHAM
Embassy Sportsdrome
Civic Hall
SOLIHULL
7.00 p.m.
2nd & 4th Sun.
1st, 3rd, 5th Wed. 7.30 p.m.
Winter Gardens
MALVERN
SkatiD!t Rink
WORCESTER
7.30 p.m.
BRADFORD St. George's Hall
Victoria Hall
HALIFAX
Royal Hall
HARROGATE
YORKSHIRE
NORTHERN IRELAND
King's Hall
3rd Tuesday
NORTHUMBERLAND
NEWCASTLE ON TYNE
St. James' Hall
Every Saturday
6.45 p.m.
Everv Thursday
4th Monday
7.30p.m.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
NOTTINGHAM
7.45 p.m.
7.30p.m.
WORCESTERSHIRE
LINCOLNSHIRE
BELFAST
2nd & 4th Tues.
lst Friday
SCOTLAND
CUMBERLAND
CARLISLE
Festival Hall
Regal Cinema
TROWELL
WORKSOP
Victoria Baths
HUDDERSFIELD Town Hall
HULL
Madeley St. Baths
Town Hall
LEEDS
Baths Hall
ROTHERHAM
The Futurist
SCARBORO'
Baths Hall
SCUNTHORPE
SHEFFIELD Somme Barracks
S.S. Empire
YORK
Th e above venues and dates are co rrect at the tim e of go ing to Press.
Unless oth erwise stated the tourn:am ents listed are fo r No vember, 1967.
SEE LOCAL PRESS and POSTERS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
7.30 p.m.
Every Monday
7.30p.m.
1st Sunday
2nd Monday
7.45 p.m.
4th Tuesday
7.30p.m.
lst & 3rd Tues.
Every Tuesday
7.45p.m.
1st & 3rd Mon. 7.30 p.m.
2nd & 4th Wed. 7.30 p.m.
7.45p.m.
4th Wednesday
Everv Wednesday 7.30 p.m.
7.30p.m.
1st & 5th Wed.
1st & 3rd Mon. 7.30p.m.
'I
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BERNARD BRADFORD