Apologies to regular readers who may have had their fill of titles, trophies and tournaments. But I did want to make a post about this event which I have researched. The Colston Hall was a grand old venue that hosted wrestling, amongst other events, for many years. In the early 60's they had their own version of the famous RAH Trophy, known as the Colston Hall Trophy. Unlike other regional events, I have seen Charles Mascall mention this event in JP programmes (only as a minor story, but mentioned nonetheless). I believe it began in either 1959 or 1960, and ran for a few years. Like a lot of things in wrestling, it seems as though the promoters struggled to make it truly a regular event, as the month it was held shifts later and later in the year. Now, the most important thing - despite all the mentions I have found of this event, I have yet to find one image of the actual Trophy. Did it even exist? If you happen to have an image or went to wrestling in Bristol in this timeframe, please leave a comment.
Here is an updated list of known Colston Hall Trophy tournaments. Still no images of the actual trophy have been found. Please share one if you do find one:
Colston Hall Trophy (Bristol)
KO tournament in 1952 unlikely connected
…
Mike Marino 26/May/1955 Bristol
Defeats Jim Hussey in final. Confirmed as CH Trophy via programme.
…
Tibor Szakacs ???1957
Mentioned as winning the Trophy in newspaper articles, 1958
Tibor Szakacs 19/June/1958 Bristol
Defeats Ray Hunter in tournament final.
Tibor Szakacs 18/June/1959 Bristol
Mentioned as winner on August 12, 1959 poster for Trowbridge.
Lineup was Szakacs/Garfield/Apollon/Mitchell/Cornelius/Zaranoff/Da Silva/Wenzl
…
Tibor Szakacs 28/Jul/1960 Bristol
Defeats Josef Zaranoff in final. Szakacs mentioned as current Trophy holder on bill for show.
… (1961 results missing. Tibor Szakacs mentioned as 1961 winner in a DM programme)
Joe Cornelius 19/July/1962 Bristol
Defeats Josef Zaranoff in final
Tibor Szakacs 12/Sep/1963 Bristol
Defeats Hans Streiger in final
Peter Maivia 22/Oct/1964 Bristol
Defeats Paul Vachon in Final
…
Mike Marino 25/Sep/1975
Defeats Bruno Elrington in final (this may just be a one off tournament and no relation)
Mike Marino 16/Dec/1976
Defeats Ian Muir in tournament final for Trophy
…
Brian Maxine 8/May/1986
Defeats John Kenny in tournament final
I can add a bit more to your Colston Hall Trophy research Ost.
The 1955 show mentioned was previewed in the paper and confirmed as for the Colston Hall Trophy.
There was also a Colston Hall Trophy in 1958, Thursday 19th June.
Taking part were Garfield/Hunter/Davies/Cornelius/Szakacs/Baldwin/Henri Bury/Verna.
Tibor Szakacs was the winner.
Thank you Ruslan, it appears it was an event before 1959. It seems the booking was the similar to RAH with Szakacs winning frequently. Maybe then this show was for the trophy, (which would pre-date the Royal Albert Hall Trophy by one year):
Mike Marino 26/May/1955
Defeats Jim Hussey
AMAZING, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POST. Much Appreciated. I will try to find the photo or at least some results of it on BNA. Tourney Titles is one of my favorite things to research.
What a beautifully presented and worded handbill!
The quality that made sixties wrestling real.
This is the info I have on events, dates and winners. I do see some KO events before and after these, but I don't believe they are related:
Colston Hall Trophy (Bristol)
KO tournament this day 18/June/1959
Szakacs/Garfield/Apollon/Mitchell/Cornelius/Zaranoff/Da Silva/Wenzl
…
Tibor Szakacs 28/Jul/1960
Defeats Josef Zaranoff in final
… (1961 results missing or no tournament held)
Joe Cornelius 19/July/1962
Defeats Josef Zaranoff in final
Tibor Szakacs 12/Sep/1963
Defeats Hans Streiger in final
Peter Maivia 22/Oct/1964
Defeats Paul Vachon in Final