1950's Greats Still With Us

Surprised Dave Cameron did not make to this list

Lou Ravelle has a facebook page.Until very recently there were posts from fifteen years ago when he lived in Majorca.The posts have now gone and the page is almost blank.

Peter passed earlier this year

Fred Bentley can now be added to this list.

With a debut in 1948 he could have a 1940s list, surely all to himself.

Delighted to extend the list on 24th May 2024 with the inclusion of Lorant Baranyi

Lorant Baranyi

Bobby Barnes

Jon Cortez

Brian Crabtree

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Judo Pete Roberts

Blackburn Roberts

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Lee Scott

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Bob Sweeney

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Joe Murphy

Gordon Smith

On an optimistic note considering the fifties are now 65 years in the past twenty survivors is quite good

Down to the final twenty - Update of 4th March 2024

Bobby Barnes

Jon Cortez

Brian Crabtree

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Judo Pete Roberts

Blackburn Roberts

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Lee Scott

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Bob Sweeney

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Joe Murphy

Gordon Smith

Update of January 2024 at the passing of Dwight J Ingleburgh

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Jon Cortez

Brian Crabtree

Barry Douglas

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Judo Pete Roberts

Blackburn Roberts

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Lee Scott

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Bob Sweeney

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Jim Green (The Monster)

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Gordon Smith

The list continues to dwindle.

Update of 6th November 2023 at the passing of Gori Ed Mangotich

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Jim Breaks

Jon Cortez

Brian Crabtree

Barry Douglas

Seamus Dunleavy

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Dwight J Ingleburgh

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Judo Pete Roberts

Blackburn Roberts

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Lee Scott

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Bob Sweeney

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Jim Green (The Monster)

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Gordon Smith

Rick Hunter was also missing from this list

Thank you Howard, muchly appreciated

Hi Howard.

Great to hear that your father is doing well.

My mother used to write to Vic and Sally before Vic sadly passed away.

She's been wondering how Sally is.

Hello Howard, thank you for answering the mystery of the photos of Bert Royal in a mask. I was a fan of Bert Royal and always enjoyed his bouts. Could you please pass on my best wishes to Bert when you next see him and thank him for all the pleasure he gave us fans in his years as a great wrestler.

Pat Barrett passed today. He had been absent from our lists.

Unbelievable.

Just makes me wonder how many other glaring omissions we have?

Thanks, Peter, for keeping me on my toes.

This list is, almost imperceptibly, starting to dwindle.

Update of 8th November 2021

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Jim Breaks

Jon Cortez

Brian Crabtree

Max Crabtree

Barry Douglas

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Dwight J Ingleburgh

Gori Ed Mangotich

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Judo Pete Roberts

Blackburn Roberts

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Lee Scott

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Adrian Street

Bob Sweeney

Billy Two Rivers

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Jim Green (The Monster)

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Gordon Smith

I've put Judo Pete in there, Mad Mac, on your say so. Let me know if anyone disagrees.

The excellent piece of research from Ron seems to have resolved the question regarding Alan Colbeck once and for all

I'd be surprised if anyone has systematically checked these lists, it's just a collective jogging of the memory.

So many Ulstermen. Two on the above bill, the late Mike, and Séan Regan too. Never noticed that.

Update of 21st January 2021

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Jim Breaks

Dazzler Joe Cornelius

Jon Cortez

Spencer Churchill.

Brian Crabtree

Max Crabtree

Joe D'Orazio

Barry Douglas

Seamus Dunleavy

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Dwight J Ingleburgh

John Lees

Gori Ed Mangotich

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Blackburn Roberts

Bert Royal

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Adrian Street

Bob Sweeney

Billy Two Rivers

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Alan Bardouille

Jim Green (The Monster)

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Gordon Smith

Alan Colbeck

Here is the proof for Seamus.

We missed out Mike. Time to add Seamus Donlevy to the 1950s list.

Max and Brian now both appear only on this Fifties list.

Very good to note we haven't had to delete anyone for a good little while.

The list should now be up to date as of today.

Keep comments and corrections coming, please.

I think Brian Crabtree should be added if he wrestled in the 1950s. Did he? We've not passed judgement on anyone else, so why Brian. Anyway criticism of Brian has only been for his performance as a referee.

It's a fact Anglo

Just noticed “Robin Logan” of Bermondsey. Was it the ”Iron Man”?

Just going back to the 1963 Cup Final Day results.

Another example of the promoter doing a poor job. We've seen bills with three NCs and three DQs. But here there are five 2-1 outcomes.

2-1 was precisely the result that sceptical viewers took aim at - "It's always 2-1."

This was a high-profile show but clearly nobody was taking an overview of the five results.

Haha, nobody wanted to lose 0-2 on tv!

And yes Hack, Ron - what a fascinating outing for Boscik on a high-profile TV bill. Whatever can have been going on there? PL and DM were at all-out war. Too unbelievable to be true ... but apparently true.

Queen's Birthday Update 2020

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Zoltan Boscik

Jim Breaks

Dazzler Joe Cornelius

Jon Cortez

Spencer Churchill.

Max Crabtree

Joe D'Orazio

Barry Douglas

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Dwight J Ingleburgh

John Lees

Gori Ed Mangotich

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Alf Rawlings

Bill Rawlings

Blackburn Roberts

Bert Royal

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Adrian Street

Bob Sweeney

Billy Two Rivers

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Alan Bardouille

Syd Cooper

Jim Green (The Monster)

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Rudi Schumacher

Gordon Smith

A shame there remains so much uncertainty, particularly of those we often discuss such as the two Roughnecks.

Please continue the discussion and add more names.

As always in wrestling and especially poster , we can never be sure.

At least we have Boscik in 1959 and what an unexpected place to find him.

Pleased to find Boscik in the 1950's , I was not sure if we had pegged him, but he was not on 50's list.

Looks to me like 20th Century may have been his first promoter.

Got him another 2 times in December 1959. This promotional name is associated with Max Crabtree , but a write up in the paper states that it was Ken Matthews , and also the Baths at Wombwell had a 1000 capacity. One article suggested the promoter being disappointed with a crowd of 500 , but having been to many Jack Cassidy shows , I would say that was pretty good.

Clearly the Crabtree's are involved. The first bill below at Mexborough , Max Crabtree was the promoter and he was pleased with a 400 gate at the Drill Hall.

Good find Ron, we didn't have evidence of 1959 matches. This is what it says in his Personality Parade tribute, a suggestion of late 1950s but we had no evidence until now: "By October, 1957, 23,000 Hungarian refugees had arrived in Britain from Poland. Zoltan was one of them and began training under a National Coal Board scheme for refugees. The future must have seemed promising, but with 4,000 Hungarian miners in the country questions were being asked in the House of Commons and there was growing unease about the feasibility of British mines absorbing the newcomers.

With prospects of a mining career diminishing Zoltan found work at an ICI factory in Huddersfield. The location was just right, because it allowed Zoltan to pursue his amateur wrestling interest at Ted Beresford's gymnasium. Zoltan had begun wrestling in Hungary three years before leaving the country. As regulars at Beresford's gym he befriended a number of young professionals, making their way in a sport that was rapidly gaining popularity and had recently gained television exposure.

Three years later the name Zoltan Boscik was becoming familiar to wrestling fans up and down the country, or at least those who watched their wrestling at independent shows run by opposition promoters Tommy Whelan, Tony DeMarto, Frankie Price, Cape Promotions and, of course, Paul Lincoln."

I have seen Bajko Lazlo also reversed as Lazlo Bajko. I can find him a couple of years earlier, working on a Morrell bill at Bradford against Don Branch. Then at Wakefield for Morrell against Dicky Swales, March and July at Grantham for Morrell against Brian Trevors and Fred Woolley, and more Joint shows in 1958 against Chic Purvey, including Dale Martin shows against Pall, Ken Joyce and Bob Archer O'Brien. In October, 1959 he went over to the independents. On 8th January Bajko andy Zolly are on the same bill at the Caledonian Road and I did find him tagging with Zolly.

He disappears in 1966 but then reappears for Joint in 1971, where I find him working around a dozen matches.

According to the accompanying notes Lazlo Bajko (i.e. reversed) is on this footage in the first match

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/wrestling-parson/query/Sinners

The age seems about right, and this would tie in with him fleeing Hungary in the wake of the 1956 uprising.

Update of 17th April 2020

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Jim Breaks

Dazzler Joe Cornelius

Jon Cortez

Spencer Churchill.

Max Crabtree

Joe D'Orazio

Barry Douglas

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Dwight J Ingleburgh

John Lees

Gori Ed Mangotich

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Alf Rawlings

Bill Rawlings

Blackburn Roberts

Bert Royal

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Adrian Street

Bob Sweeney

Billy Two Rivers

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Alan Bardouille

Syd Cooper

Jim Green (The Monster)

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Uncertain whether still alive

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Rudi Schumacher

Gordon Smith

A shame there remains so much uncertainty, particularly of those we often discuss such as the two Roughnecks.

Please continue the discussion and add more names.

Now pinned to the start of the forum.

Of this list we already have full page tributes for:

Bob Anthony, Jim Breaks, Dazzler Joe Cornelius, Barry Douglas,Dwight J Ingleburgh, Gori Ed Mangotich, Al Miquet, Alf Rawlings, Bill Rawlings, Frank Robb, Johnny Saint, Tony Scarlo, Roy St Clair, Adrian Street, Bob Sweeney

These have entries but with memories from fans, contact from the wrestlers or family members we could improve their Heritage presence:

Bobby Barnes, Jon Cortez, Spencer Churchill, Max Crabtree, Joe D'Orazio, Ray Fury, Horst Hoffmann, John Lees, Al Nicol, Lou Ravelle, Blackburn Roberts, Bert Royal, Dean Stockton, Billy Two Rivers, Alan Bardouille, Syd Cooper, Jim Green (The Monster), Peter Kaye, Sean Regan, Bobo Matu, Joe Murphy, Rudi Schumacher, Gordon Smith

This list will now require further revision

And another, Grant Foderingham died in 1998.

On a brighter note, Bob Sweeney is still with us.

Another one bites the dust.

`The real L'Ange Blanc died in 2006

This site has acknowledged Bert Royal as the only 1940's great still with us. For the first time that may be the case

Following the sad death of my friend, Dicky Swales needs to come off that list.

Surprised Tony Vallon was not listed

Joynson was not active in the 1950's

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/11310466.angela-kellys-me-and-my-sport-colin-joynson/

Nice to debate it , and such a good wrestler who is still with us. One who could even give us a good book. certainly is quiet about his own memories.

If he goes to the Bridges , I wonder if he is up to being approached.

The evidence is there...... he was with Wryton here in Lancashire.

I read somewhere once that Pete Roberts travelled up to the Wryton gym in Bolton every Sunday for 3 years to be trained by Francis St.Clair Gregory. I think that I might have read this years ago in a posting on a website forum by Tony St.Clair, who spoke very highly of Pete Roberts.

Well Peter,

Here's the list.

You, everyone, pipe up with comments, please.

Update of 8th February 2019

Bob Anthony

Bobby Barnes

Jim Breaks

Dazzler Joe Cornelius

Jon Cortez

Spencer Churchill.

Max Crabtree

Joe D'Orazio

Barry Douglas

Ray Fury

Horst Hoffmann

Gerry Hoggarth

Dwight J Ingleburgh

John Lees

Gori Ed Mangotich

Al Miquet

Al Nicol

Lou Ravelle

Alf Rawlings

Bill Rawlings

Frank Robb

Blackburn Roberts

Bert Royal

Johnny Saint

Tony Scarlo

Roy St Clair

Dean Stockton

Adrian Street

Dickie Swales

Billy Two Rivers

Uncertain whether active in the 50s

Alan Bardouille

Syd Cooper

Jim Green (The Monster)

Colin Joynson

Peter Kaye

Sean Regan

Andy Robin

Uncertain whether still alive

Grant Foderingham

L'Ange Blanc

Bobo Matu

Joe Murphy

Rudi Schumacher

Gordon Smith

Bob Sweeney

Please continue the discussion and add more names.

IIRC, Alan Colbeck had been reported as having passed on some years ago only for a recent (at the time) picture of him with his grandson to subsequently appear, but that was several years ago. He must be quite an age if still with us.

Ray Fury is almost certainly still alive. He was at the Kent Reunion a few years back, and if he had died since then the Reunion would almost certainly have known.

Alan Colbeck is a mystery. We have had reports both ways but not found anyone who knows.

is young alan colbeck still with us

This list will now need to be updated