Yesterday, 14th January was the anniversary of that match when Peter Preston beat Mick McManus on tv. Most probably know the story, Preston took the lead and was then expected to go down to McManus. But that didn't happen, Preston refused to go down and McManus was unable to put him away and so got himself disqualified.
Now for the mystery. It's a genuine question, someone may have an answer. As was demonstrated in lengthy discussions years ago many of us watched the match reach a conclusion on television. It was certainly seen in the North West (I would assume Yorkshire too as ABC had the weekend franchise for both areas at that time). It was certainly seen in Scotland.
Yet the report in The Wrestler magazine says that the match faded from the screens in round five. If so (or was this a Wrestler 'spin' to minimise the occasion) how did they do it? Obviously straight forward enough to pull the plug in any of the ITV areas, but how did Dale Martin intervene so quickly to get the match pulled? And why only in parts of the country? Why not everywhere? Or were some of the ITV regions more co-operative than others? I'd be interested to hear from others where they were watching, and what happened?
I was a regular at Lime Grove during the early to mid 1960's and I am unable to recall Mick McManus ever appearing at this venue. It was an excellent location because it often featured leading Northern based wrestlers who infrequently appeared on Dale Martin's London promotions. Norman Morrell was rewarded with capacity crowds. After the Preston incident I very much doubt if McManus would grace Lime Grove again. Some of the crowd could be quite quirky as they cheered such notable "heels" as Brune Elrington, Alan Garfield and even Danny Lynch.