George Busfield

The name George Busfield has cropped up a few times over the years. Ruslan found that he had been declared a Mountevans champion in 1950, pre-dating the formation of Joint Promotions, which was a surprise. Ruslan also supplied a photo showing the belt used by Busfield pre-dated the ones that fans of the 1960s had recognised as Mountevans belts.

The Ost supplied a photograph of him wearing the belt, following a win over the Bernard Murray. This match was in 1950, so reference to 1948 and 1949 status remains a mystery.

But this man was no big name. Hardly remembered these days and little is written about him. In fact I couldn't find anything. So I decided to do a bit of rummaging.

The earliest record of wrestler George Busfield I found was in the pages of the Leeds Mercury on 2nd March, 1936, when he competed in the Olympic wrestling trials, and again on 16th March when it was reported that a meeting of the Yorkshire Amateur Weight Lifting and Wrestling Association had nominated wrestlers for the National Championships, to be held on 28th March, which would be used as part of the selection process for the 1936 Olympic Games. Amongst those selected were George Busfield and Raymond Cazeaux at bantamweight. It was Cazeaux that went on to represent Britain.

I found a number of newspaper cuttings during the Second World War in which George, the northern counties amateur champion, was reported wrestling whilst serving a sergeant in the Royal Air Force. The British title seemed to elude him.

The earliest documented professional record I found was in May, 1948, losing to Scotland's Andy Anderson by two falls to one at the Caird Hall, Dundee. There are unverified professional contests going back to December, 1945, at Lime Grove Baths. This must have been one of George's first, if not the first, professional matches as he had taken part in the British Amateur championships just four weeks earlier.

There is evidence of frequent professional working for promoters George DeRelwyskow and Norman Morrell in the second half of the 1940's. As a fellow Bradfordian and celebrated amateur George would certainly have known Norman Morrell for many years. Professional opponents included other young wrestlers who were to go on to professional success that included George Kidd, Alan Colbeck, Jack Dempsey and Bernard Murray.

In 1951 Mat magazine published the photograph of George and Bernard Murray with the caption declaring that George had just won the British Featherweight championship by defeating Murray at Earls Court. I uncovered such a win at Earls Court on 4th December, 1950. The late historian Allan Best saw George wrestle and recalled an excellent lighter man who had some tremendous contests with fellow Bradfordian Murray. Winning a national title in 1950, reportedly under Lord Mountevans rules, made George one of the first Mountevans champions that pre-dated the formation of Joint Promotions by more than a year.

Despite his wrestling credentials Busfield failed to make a lasting impact on the professional wrestling landscape and retired at the end of 1952 shortly after Joint Promotions had withdrawn recognistion of the bantamweight division. He doesn't seem to have lacked amateur skill.

Maybe as he headed towards forty years of age George just didn't have the inclination or energy to pursue a professional wrestling career.

George

Busfield, born 28th February, 1913, died 1969.