Brian Crabtree - victory pose

Brian Crabtree was a clown, he had an ego that had to be fed to the expense of the bouts in a lot of cases. Not popular at Newcastle City Hall, he was booed on entering the ring and regular barracks throughout the evenings bill. To be honest him doing the victory pose on a defeated wrestler is a bloody disgrace, it shows disdain for your employees and shows the respect the Crabtrees had for a lot of the roster.

I remember one TV match in which Crabtree got in the way even more than usual at the end of a round, falling over Marty Jones who was trying to get to his feet and back to his corner.

When any pretence that wrestling was legit, or even nearly, had gone, the Referee Bryan type of persona may have worked for some. But it’s noticeable that many of us found him synonymous with our loss of interest.

Never mind Catweazle, it was “Popular referee Bryan and his funny antics.” Nepotism at work as the other referees didn’t indulge. The wrestlers were probably told they had to put him over. I bet they loved that. Not.

You might well be in the minority here John M but in the real world of 1970s wrestling I sense you were in the majority and most wrestling fans of the time enjoyed his behaviour.

I only saw Max Ward on TV but he was another I couldn't take to. Lots of shouting and blustering, also guilty of wanting to be part of the show.

I sense that I am in the minority here but I found Brian Crabtree's style as a referee to be an entertaining addition to a normally already enjoyable bout. I preferred a bit of life and action from the referees. I also enjoyed watching Max Ward, who often seemed to be as much a star of the bout as the two wrestlers.

Terry, just because Brian Crabtree was on TV most weeks, just because he was the boss's brother, does not make him a great referee. For decades referees had played a serious role, in the shadows of wrestlers, making wrestling a seemingly credible competitive sport. As the man in the spotlight Brian Crabtree maybe did more harm to wrestling than his brother Max.

Brian Crabtree,The Brother of Big Daddy & Max Crabtree The Promoter of Dale-Martin-Joint Promotions & Brian as the referee and MC from 1970's & 80's for World of Sport ITV also his bark worse than the bite and Brian lost his temper with Giant Haystacks at Huddersfield Town Hall Yorkshire in March 1987 and Haystacks grabbed hold of Brian throw him on the floor when Gil Singh won in round 2 over Haystacks.

The Great Referee & The MC for Professional Wrestling Shows ITV World of Sport Brian Crabtree,The Wonderful Man of Yorkshire.

Terry Christie,Sunderland

Brian’s antics in the ring, especially as a referee caused a distraction from the wrestlers themselves.

All those referees down the decades who worked diligently to appear to represent authority, striving to be invisible most of the time, but in fact there to help the wrestlers shine; their entire legacy ends up tarnished when one referee decides he's worthy of taking centre stage.

I seem to recall seeing this......

Tell me when it's over

I didn't see it, but by then wasn't paying much attention. Sounds feasible. More so, sounds likely.

What a hideous thought. I am relived to say I have no recollection of that and hope nobody provides a photo, it would about do for me.