Douglas Clark and the beginning of British pro-wrestling

Congratulations Steve. Something for us all to look forward to.

Hello gentlemen,

I am pleased to announce the book is now available on pre-order (October 5th official release date).

Thank you so much for your help with my research - the site and some individuals are thanked and acknowledged in the book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785316826?pf_rd_r=7JAKA9ER162JFBJXW99G&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e

Steve.

No Steven , I don't think there is an official one. It was just perception.

It's a great thing that you are doing Steven. About half way through the life of this Heritage site some of us came round to thinking Doug had been missed. I don't know if it was because he split his sports and was great at Field Wrestling , Rugby and pro Wrestling or because he had to do Pro Wrestling so late.

By wrestling up to 1960 Jack Pye and Bert Assirati went down in the Hall of fame.

The balance regarding Doug has now been restored , He was our first and a long reigning champion and ambassador and will be remembered now as a Main Man.

I still say , it seems no Brit ever beat him , so powerful was he as a draw with the promoters.

The police who were present at the wrestling matches in that era were real on-duty policemen.

Police also attended boxing matches in those days.

The law enforcement officers had the power to stop wrestling and boxing matches in those times.

Ron mentioned that Tom Lurich did some promoting. This may explain why Lurich worked regularly at Leichhardt Stadium but not as frequently at Sydney Stadium.

I assumed that Lurich may have been the Leichhardt Stadium promoters' booker.

* Ron: could you please expand on Lurich's promoting activities. I am fascinated by this side of the wrestling business.

I am leaving today on a 1,500 kilometre wrestling trip (ring announcing and commentating) through the North Coast of NSW. On my return I will endeavour to contact Wrestling Heritage member, Blue Boy, whose grandfather, Pat McHugh, promoted at Leichhardt Stadium and other venues.

Cheers!

Would accept in this era real police

The great thing is now , I don't think Doug Clark will ever be forgotten

It became apparent that he was the man of the 1930's.

Also he was 45 years old on that 1936 tour and I would say in pretty good condition.Had there been this type of wrestling in the 1920's he would really have dominated.

My understanding is that Lurich actually did promoting as had Clark in England and to that end I think they tried a few stunts out. One match was stopped by the police , it got so out of hand. I wonder if they were real police (or WWE style fakes)

Ron that video is pretty special. Well done and thank you.

You can read some of the reports in New Zealand Papers here.

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers?snippet=true&query=douglas+clark+wrestling&start_date=01-01-1936&end_date=31-12-1936

I hope this link works as it will be a treat for Steven.

It's great sparring with you Ed , but here I have Doug and Lurich and Lurich is in trunks , not tights and also short ankle boots.

https://commerce.veritone.com/search/asset/8859817

Hope the link works , but it was Doug Clark that lost to Cowboy Russell

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WHDT19360804.2.18?end_date=31-12-1936&query=douglas+clark+wrestling&snippet=true&start_date=01-01-1936

Thanks gents. I am merely going to mention that he wrestled in NZ, no more than that. I‘m covering the Lurich angle in more detail. I plan on just captioning the arm-bar pic with something generic - “Douglas Clark in All-In” wrestling action”. But I think I will say that the second picture is Lurich, as it will assist my narrative that those matches got down in the trenches!

I’m sorry to be a naysayer but I don’t think that either photo features Tom Lurich or George Walker.

Lurich almost always wore long black tights in his matches. It was his signature look.

I agree with the Ost that Walker had a very distinct appearance. Walker’s hair was very closely cropped above those distinctive ears and it was quite curly/wavy on top.

I’m not sure that the second photo is from Australia. I have never seen an image (photo or film) of an Aussie match in which a referee wore a long sleeve jumper.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Douglas Clark’s NZ loss to George Walker, as reported in the Brisbane Telegraph (above in Ron's post), was just hype. If Dave Cameron and the Ost can’t find any matches for Clark in NZ then Douglas may not have wrestled there. As Ost mentioned, it may have been Jack Clarke.

The plot thickens, however, as Ron’s research has uncovered these matches:

3 August 1936 in Auckland, NZ Cowboy Rebel Russell (AKA Rebel Rob Russell) defeated Douglas Clark

8 August 1936 in Auckland, NZ Douglas Clark vs Sam Leathers - result not known

Can the Ost please clarify whether the 3 August 1936 and 8 August 1936 matches in Auckland may have perhaps been Jack Clarke matches?

Ost: I don’t think it’s Sam Leathers in either of Steven Bell’s photos. Do you have any images of Rob Russell please mate?

Cheers!

Interesting, that wrestler is listed as Jack Clarke in the official 1937 recap. I will dig some more. In any event, neither referee resembled any of the referees in NZ at that time.

Accuracy is problematic and it is looking at best that Steven Bell perhaps should just use the photo's with a bit of speculation. I have tried "best shot" and can see that I could easily be wrong , but that leaves nothing.

Clarks 1936 tour finished in the second week in September. He did a short stint in New Zealand in August. Walker came over to Australia to work with Lurich and others. I don't think he did very long.

He did make the papers though , and one article claimed he had beaten Clark.

Clark did make the New Zealand papers going down to Cowboy Bob Russel in a poor match , afterwards Clark claimed he had Influenza . (Auckland August 3rd)

I went through the results, and talked to Dave C, and I can't find any matches of Douglas Clark in New Zealand. George Walker worked for the opposition in this timeframe, but even still, we believe we have comprehensive results for them too.

I would say most likely not George Walker, he was very distinctive looking, especially the ears.

This is the other one I have - presumably from the same match. I am going to write that this is Lurich, as it looks very stiff and I have read that their matches got pretty brutal.

When you say he was hidden from history for a long time - that was the impression I was getting. He is barely mentioned in ”Blue Blood on the Mat”, whereas relative mid-carders are talked of more highly. Should we assume there was a genuine - non-kayfabe - bitterness between himself and Oakeley, and that his why his legacy was shunned so much?

Is that to say we don't think the picture is in England Ed.

Trouble is we are working from pictures. I was even wondering Chick Knight if in England.

Our individual research has revealed the matmen that Douglas Clark wrestled in Australia in 1936 and 1937. Of those wrestlers, I believe that it's not George Pencheff, Con Grivas, Jack Britton, Fred Atkins, Wong Buck Cheung, Harban Singh, Hori Tiki, Jack Higgins, Billy Meeske, George Walker, Tony Lamaro, Ted Pickrang, or Edmund von Kraemmer.

Perhaps our friend, The Ost, can advise whether it was one of Clark's opponents in New Zealand.

Cheers!

Fair play Ed , I was hoping you would come in on this as I was by no means sure.

If it is in Australia and I wondered about the refs attire then it has to be 1936 or 1937.

To me it does not look like anyone else I can think of on that tour.

Could it be an English venue.......I don't know.

With the greatest respect to my mate, the incomparable Ron Historyo, I don't think that it's Tom Lurich (caught in Douglas Clark's wrist lock and arm stretch) in the photo.

Could Steven Bell please advise some details about the photo - location, year, etc? :)

Thank you!

Do we know anything about the photo. Is it in Australia.

I am not certain but I think Tom Lurich.

Hair looks about right and physique , can anyone else give an opinion.

Hi guys - hope you all had a great Christmas! Does anyone know who Clark is wrestling in this photo?

Hi Ron. In your intro to your piece on Doug’s Australian tours, you mention 365 wins, 2 draws and zero losses, with no falls against. Is that believed to be his total record at the time? I have him giving some falls away in matches won 2-1 or in the draw with Irslinger.... thank you.

I have read a lot about Clark and Irslinger agreeing to an immediate rematch following their draw in Leeds, Oct. 1931, but cannot find any evidence that it did. Do you have any evidence whether it happened or not? Thank you.

I use a version of the British Newspaper Library online and digital which is subscription.

Once you have that you can filter searches so for example Doug Clark /Wrestling/1930

The newspapers this then throws at you are quite various. Most are very local papers.

Thanks Ron. The above information about Doug’s C&W wins circa 1930 you have provided - may I ask where that is from? If I view the original text something else of use may jump out at me...

Thanks.

Steve , I can't claim copyright on these , but they are a long time ago.

For me , I am never offended if people want to use my research.

1926 might be the answer as in 24 and 26 Doug was Photoed as champ with Lord Lonsdale.

Not something I have ever looked at in any detail and could not have told you what the main yearly events were. Grasmere gets talked about a lot.

Not sure if this helps but in August 1929 Doug is described as (a) Grasmere Champ and International rugby league player , but all this was in the past.

This was at Holme Sports . Bill Knowles of Cockermouth was described as the World Champion.

In this tournament Doug beat Hayhurst first , then Knowles and then J T Brewer in the Final.

I can't tell you if this means Doug took the World Championship.

In 1930 at Musgrave ,Brewer was described as Champion with Clark and Knowles as ex champions. but is that Champion of Musgrave Games or what.

Knowles won.

Later that summer Clark beat Knowles at Holme

Looks like Doug won again at Keswick soon after this.

But near end of August 1930 Knowles beat Clark at Grasmere

A week later at Whittingham show Clark finishes 1st ahead of Knowles and is describes as World heavy Weight Champ.

So this stuff is seasonal and the question is , if you were a champ , are all bouts risking your title or did they have non title bouts. Were you the venue champ or World champ.

Or was just Grasmere the special one.

Hello again all.

This enquiry is for anyone but especially for Ron, as he maybe best suited to help.

I have seen and heard Douglas described as both a 3-time and a 4-time Cumberland & Westmorland World Champion. But there were two annual recognised events that crown the sport its “Champion”: the Grasmere Games and the World Championships. Do we know which counted towards his tally, and do we think the complication of the two separate tournaments is what is causing the discrepancy with his total?

I know he won the Grasmere title in ‘22 and ‘24 and must‘ve won one of them in ‘30 to be declared the current C&W champ going into the ‘31 “All-In” tournament.

Do we know any more specifics about what exactly he won in C&W ‘25 through to ‘30?

Thank you in advance

Steve.

Hi guys. I know this is a long shot, but I dont suppose we have a Cumberland & Westmorland historian on here do we? Or know where I may find one? I have tried a few email addresses I have found on websites but have had no replies...

This topic is fasinating

Oakeley and Assirati as they were in 1931.

A few shots of George Modrich

Right gents, after finalizing the content of what I want in the main body of my book, I have decided to feature the following of Clark’s matches:

• his q/f of the 1931 tournament versus Modrich

• the final of the same tournament against Oakeley

• his one minute destruction of Johanfesson

• both of the June 1931 battles with Assirati

• the Irslinger draw in leeds

• both matches against Gertsmanns which led to the World title victory

Any info or pictures of these matches would be great, or any interesting pics of any of the above wrestlers.

No rush, the writing is still very much in its infancy. But thank you in advance.

You did see Bear Wrestling used as a way of attracting the blood thirsty in the early 1930's , sometimes known as American Bear Cat Wrestling. Hull was a typical place where they could get away with it. A Hard northern town. These things had to be toned down for the most part to get round the councils.

By 1931 Irslinger is on the way out. Still a valuable name to put on the poster, but he is mostly putting people over or drawing bouts.

The bout was a 1-1 draw and sounded to me like a well worked exhibition . When they got on the floor Irslinger was allowed to showcase plenty of holds , probably not seen in England in 1931 whilst in standing Clark was using his Westmorland Hip tosses etc.

Irslinger used hammer lock and bar lock on neck , scissors and bolsh.

Irslinger got a submission in round three and clark a fall in round five.

There was talk of a return match and Islinger wanted indoors but I don't think it happened.

Johanfesson was to challenge the winner and indeed did fight Irslinger soon after and Clark many times.

Hi guys! Do we have any info on Clark’s encounter with Irslinger in October 1931? I have seen a poster but not much else in the articles in the site. By my reckoning, Irslinger was regarded as the World Champion at that time. But Clark didnt win a claim to the World Championship until he beat Gertsmanns two years later? Who won the Clark/Irslinger match in Leeds and how? Thank you in advance.

I can't give you a perfect answer , but I would advise caution on such a common name .

It will be of interest if you read this write up that I have cut and pasted from the Heritage A-Z

It hints of a Robinson Dynasty going back to the Lakes.

Tiger Joe Robinson

Years before the great Billy Robinson cut a swathe through British heavyweights there was another Robinson who for a time was one of the most talked about grapplers in town. Joe Robinson came from a wrestling family. 

His father and grandfather had been world champions in the Cumberland and Westmorland style and Joe also took the title to make it three generations in a row. Joe's father, Professor Jack Robinson, was also an early judo and jujitsu exponent who claimed the jujitsu championship of the world having beaten Leopold McLaglen, brother of Hollywood film star Victor McLagen. 

After emigrating to South Africa with his wife and baby son Joe, Robinson Snr continued his career in wrestling and judo, claimed the Lightheavyweight Championship of the British Empire and lost the title to Billy Riley, and raised a large family who would all go on to make a name for themselves in the combat arts. 

When Joe returned to UK in his early twenties he was a fully grown heavyweight confident of beating anyone in the world either in the wrestling ring or on the judo mat. Initially working for Athol Oakley, Joe won the European Title from Axel Cadier in a memorable contest at the Royal Albert Hall in 1952. 

When Oakeley retired from promoting Joe moved over to Joint and for a time was topping the bill up and down the country. A promising career was cut short by a serious back injury sustained in a French ring. After hanging up his trunks Joe concentrated on film work, including a staring role opposite Diana Dors in A Kid For Two Farthings, and teaching judo and self defence. 

Tiger Joe Robinson died 3rd July, 2017

With thanks to Ray Hulm for contributing this A-Z entry for Tiger Joe Robinson.

Ray is author of The Bad Old Days Will End. 

Hello again guys. My research is going very well! A query though: During Clarks Cumberland and Westmorland days, he had a long (albeit friendly) rivalry with a “Jack Robinson”, from Newcastle. In the semi-finals of the 1931 pro-tournament, he was due to wrestle a Robinson from Newcastle, whose name I have seen appear as “Joe Robinson”, “J. Robinson” and “J. J. Robinson”. I dont suppose we know whether or not these were the same person or not do we?

Fascinating reading the replies to this thread

Gerstmans was born in 1885 and was in 1912 Olympics. Didn't win it I don't think. He was pretty old to be bringing into pro wrestling at it's birth in Britain.

They tried him in USA in 1922 , and he was billed a little over 15 stones.

19 stones for the Clark fights in 1933 , he was pushing 50 by then.

Douglas Clark was the last professional heavyweight champion at catch-as-catch-can wrestling style, he won that title at the open to all British citizens tourney in London in 1931, and received a silver cup emblematic of the British Championship. Defeated Atholl Oakeley in the final match.

Due to the nature of Professional Wrestling (being "worked"), it is sometimes hard to piece together who did what, and when, because of the desire (by promoters and wrestlers) to keep the smoke and mirrors, and sleight of hand, in place.

As has been said, no one is better placed to help you with your research than Ron, on here, with additional "belt and title" information from Ruslan.

Douglas Clark appears to have held a version of the British Empire Heavyweight in 1933, and was recognized as the same title holder, in Australia, in 1936. There are many versions of the "Empire" titles, with most "Empire/Commonwealth" countries having their own version (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa).

Clark is listed as European Heavyweight Champion in 1938.

Clark is listed as British Heavyweight Champion from 1931 to 1944, with a blip in 1936 when George Gregory is listed as Champion (although notes say this could be because Clark no-showed for a scheduled defence of the belt, and subsequently, "won" it back afterwards).

Clark is listed as English Heavyweight Champ in 1933.

To be fair, you can take some of the dates above with a pinch of salt, maybe Ron can confirm some of this.

Good luck with your book, and please let us know when it is released.

Hello Steve. Thanks for joining us. You've got an expert helping you in Ron Historyo. We doubt if you'll find anyone more knowledgeable about Douglas Clark, anywhere.

You can also find information about Douglas Clark on Heritage at

https://www.wrestlingheritage.co.uk/douglas-clark

For general knowledge about 1930s wrestling read our Years of Wrestling series

https://www.wrestlingheritage.com/timeline

Once you've digested that lot and have specific queries email us at the website and Ron, Hack and Anglo Italian will help you out. It's important we preserve this history.

As a young man when he came lodging in Huddersfield I notice he was a Woollen Weaver which I did not expect although the town is famous for it's textiles. I assume Rugby league brought him to Huddersfield and the job was to support him whilst playing Rugby.

Interesting Man and story. Always on here if you need to talk again.

Nice if you could mention Wrestling Heritage in your book. His significance as a wrestler was one of many things we have found out.

I did a research on Doug and his two trips to Australia late in his career.

https://www.wrestlingheritage.com/wrestlingambassadordouglasclark

He was awarded a belt after he beat Gerstmans for a version of the world title

The belt is now in the Imperial War Museum , Manchester

Anything Doug did after 1930 would have been worked unless done in County games.

No matter what the type of wrestling.

Doug worked for George DeRelwyskow and also was a promoter himself.

It is my belief , such was his standing that after turning pro , he did not lose to any British Man.

I think he simply would not agree to it.

I am sure you will be aware Doug originally was a Rugby League International and a Coal merchant.

In 1939 Doug lived at 45 Storths Road and gave his date of birth as 2nd May 1891 which was about a year more than I had previously thought.

And whilst a famous son of Huddersfield he was born and raised in Ellenborough in the Cockermouth District , his dad also a Coal merchant.