Cowboy Jack Cassidy

I'd forgotten to share this unusual clipping of Cowboy Cassidy training his daughter Kerina:

I worked on Jack's shows for a good number of years; he had so many around Manchester my home town. I well remember bouts versus Ian Wilson, Mark Wayne, Roy Fortuna, regular referee Dai Glynn and so many other local lads. Good days remembered with love and pleasure. Eddie Rose😍

I am one of Jack Cassidy's daughters and used the name of Patti McGoohan. Sadly older sister Kathleen aka Hellcat Haggerty died in 1999. My younger sister Christine (Chrissy) aka Lolita Loren (2nd person to use this name) also died young as did youngest brother Jimmy who never wrestled but was involved in the business. I am writing a small piece about my life in wrestling and it was good to read all the posts. Thank You All.

Jack's guns scared the living daylights out of me the first time I saw him.

Jack Cassidy did so much for charity and even holds , I believe , the distinction of promoting the last ever wrestling at Belle Vue.

Yes long after the Kings Hall had finished Jack sneaked in and promoted this show.

Just adding some Jack Cassidy items from Dave Cameron's collection:

Jack Cassidy was the dominant character in Manchester as a wrestler and a promoter and I wrestled for him many times. He ran the club scene and several halls and many us worked on his shows several times a week for a good number of years. He knew his way round the ring, too! He was as tough as they come and mixed all kinds of skull duggery with his technical skills. We all held him in respect and with affection. Eddie Rose.

His Daughters also Wrestled as RON Says!-Here's One of Them Topping The Bill

On My Original Poster For a WEST COAST Promotions Show!!

MAIN MASK

Here's a few photos of Cowboy Cassidy from the 1954 Spanish press.

I remember seeing Jack on an inde bill, and i was seconding. Whereupon his opponent upended him and sent him crashing down on top of me. I was much younger then and just shrugged it off !!

That's a mystery solved....many thanks

As we mentioned a few weeks back the old forum (which is hidden) will eventually be removed by the web hosts (they are removing the forum function from all their sites). As you know we have always given great importance to members' memories and have transferred some of the best topics to his forum. At present we are archiving the R.I.P. Topics on the old forum.

What has all that to do with this thread?

Well, the name Jimmy Thompson was mentioned on one of the adverts it was wondered whether this could be Jack's son or a figment of Jack imagination.

Well, we've just come across this post from Eddie Rose on 10th July, 2014

Jimmy Cassidy, R.I.P.

Jimmy was the son of Jack Cassidy and worked with his dad for many years

helping arrange and put on wrestling shows all over the north west. He

was also a wrestler and, even though he never attained the same stature

of Jack Cassidy, he was one of those unsung heroes of the ring that

helped the evening along with a sound and steady bout that kept the

audiences entertained.

He was a cheerful lad with a big smile and a good sense of humour and

always willing to do you a good turn if needed. He had been a taxi

driver in south Manchester in recent years. He will be much missed by

family and friends to whom we send our condolences.

Eddie Rose

Cowboy Jack went into the 1980's and was still doing tag with his mate Streiger.

Too many Tiger's for me to guess who this Jimmy Thompson was . Great anecdotes Paul , I owe Jack Cassidy a lot as I went to very few other Independent shows other than his. It was a different atmosphere.

The fact that I did do some of these shows has helped me understand the Industry better.

The bottom line was people could make money doing small shows.

Nobody ever did challenge my estimate of a 1957 debut year for Jack.

Cassidy what a character dunno where to begin couple of things been mentioned he was very early obn billed under another name I'm struggling to remember,however on turning up to a show in Rochdale Jimmy Thompson was billed I was amazed to find it was a black lad from Manchester nickname tiger.Another time billing include the outlaw doctor death and masambula,the outlaw was from wythenshawe Dr death from Atherton and I expected Ezra to be the massam tribute as he'd long since finished after the Preston accident I was gobsmacked to see a very slow almost frail Massam work that night.Cassidy hated the joint set up never quite new why but I believe he was too much the loose cannon,I thinkGraham said he was intimidating he could be indeed,went round city centre pubs with him and boy did he know some interesting characters,the clientele of the Robert Tinker one of his pubs were straight out of Shameless.Hebdid the labour club circuit as a promoter and him and streigher both in their fifties in cut of denims a pair of superannuated peroxide blondes still struck fear into the crowd with a glare.Good old Jack treated us well and paid good money the Openshaw cowboy who wasn't keen on horses what a character indeed a friend of Andrew Grimes from the M e n wanted to write a book about Jack now that would have been a good read.

The first time I met Jack was in 1963 on a bill in Morecambe. He was billed against Dominic Pye. In the dressing room before the show started, he was showing some of us his six-guns loaded with blanks and some tricks that he would do on his entrance in the ring. Very impressive for us young wrestlers.

Cheers

Jack turning out again for another charitable cause. Interesting venue.

I did some shows for Halton British Legion. Two bouts before the interval, several games of bingo in the interval, and then two more bouts. I remember Jackie Pallo getting quite impatient as the bingo games took place. He was on top of the bill and had opted to drive home afterwards so knew he had a lengthy drive ahead of him. The club secretary entered the dressing-room with a tray of sandwiches for us all and Pallo said, "How long is this bloody bingo going on for?" to which the secretary said, "Until we've taken enough to pay your bloody wages."

Just before our Time Graham there was a nightclub scene in Manchester. Some of the Manchester wrestlers did it , Bingo , Cabaret, stay late , even wrestle at two clubs in one night. Jack's mates Streiger and Carpentier were very much into this.

The Zebra Kid on the above show was Sean Regan.

Cassidy did many shows for charity; I even did one or two. But these shows were provided for a set fee so, in many ways, safer than just hiring a hall, paying the wrestlers and hoping to cover the cost from whoever turned up to watch.

My excuse is that I was in my early twenties and very much wanting to impress the wrestlers but, really, the following anecdote is quite inexcusable. I was refereeing and M.C.ing a show for Mark Wayne and, at the start of the second half, I relayed to the audience a hard luck story regarding a fictional sufferer (I forget the details) whilst the two seconds went through the audience with buckets as punters threw in their spare change. Quite a tidy sum was collected for said fictitious sufferer and Mark evenly divided the money between us all to add to our wages.

I ended up with nothing (which, on reflection years later, is exactly what I deserved) as Ian Wilson was, much to his annoyance, tasked with dropping me off in Handforth and demanded my share of the ill-gotten gains as taxi money.