Very interesting new addition by Ron Historyo today. Great research as always. Looking forward to the rest of the series hope we don't have long to wait for part 2.
It's a great read and refreshing to locate the very birth of such a major phenomenon.
So the Black Devil was Jim Wango...that's interesting for his story which I had pieced together several years ago; and his tragic end.
At the start there seemed to be a small pool of stalwarts before Assirati and Clark had their huffs. But it was almost all heavyweight, they just didn't have enough smaller wrestlers and seemingly presumed the public didn't want the lighter guys. This would prevail until Kidd in the fifties and then especially McManus and Pallo in 1962. Yet Billy Riley was in there. He was a welterweight, wasn't he? Yet regularly billed against heavyweights. Have I missed something?
We so often consider Kathleen Look for her non-male novelty value. What really strikes me in the read is how clever, wily, she was and how she brought the whole show forwards. By 1936 she had lightweight and middleweight bouts; and then of course the unbelievable Coronation Week. Great analysis Ron of the pecking order according to clout but more importantly cost. You are in Miss Look's head as you write!
Jack Alker was billed much earlier than 1939.
What a wonderful surprise at the very end to see the carefully compiled rogues gallery and all their mugs to bring the story to life.
I am left wondering about Oakely's role, why he was content for Miss Look to take the limelight, even when he had stopped wrestling. But I think we have to look outside Belle Vue. These guys must have been at it throughout the country and Oakely probably had a Miss Look in every city. Belle Vue gives us a large scale microcosm on the national scene.
Wrestling was so special that it resumed on 31st November 1931!
It's a great read and refreshing to locate the very birth of such a major phenomenon.
So the Black Devil was Jim Wango...that's interesting for his story which I had pieced together several years ago; and his tragic end.
At the start there seemed to be a small pool of stalwarts before Assirati and Clark had their huffs. But it was almost all heavyweight, they just didn't have enough smaller wrestlers and seemingly presumed the public didn't want the lighter guys. This would prevail until Kidd in the fifties and then especially McManus and Pallo in 1962. Yet Billy Riley was in there. He was a welterweight, wasn't he? Yet regularly billed against heavyweights. Have I missed something?
We so often consider Kathleen Look for her non-male novelty value. What really strikes me in the read is how clever, wily, she was and how she brought the whole show forwards. By 1936 she had lightweight and middleweight bouts; and then of course the unbelievable Coronation Week. Great analysis Ron of the pecking order according to clout but more importantly cost. You are in Miss Look's head as you write!
Jack Alker was billed much earlier than 1939.
What a wonderful surprise at the very end to see the carefully compiled rogues gallery and all their mugs to bring the story to life.
I am left wondering about Oakely's role, why he was content for Miss Look to take the limelight, even when he had stopped wrestling. But I think we have to look outside Belle Vue. These guys must have been at it throughout the country and Oakely probably had a Miss Look in every city. Belle Vue gives us a large scale microcosm on the national scene.
Wrestling was so special that it resumed on 31st November 1931!