PAUL LINCOLN'S Publicity 'Machine' was pretty Awesome!-In this Respect his Success was
down to many Factors! KEY to this Success was that he was Personally ACTIVELY Involved
and that he constantly 'Worked' on it!!-He was also regularly in Communication with OTHER
Small Independent Promoters for Business Collabaration Purposes!!-This was initially done
by LETTER-followed up by PHONE CALLS and then MEETINGS!!
We have often discussed his use of the Lavish GRANADA Leisure Circuit for his Shows
backed up by thousands of Yellow Flyers/Mini Posters for each Event!
These of course listed the Bouts for the Bills but he ALSO Produced GENERAL Posters
exclusively Promoting the VENUE for his Contests-for example-among others-I have one such for PLEASURE GARDENS THEATRE FOLKSTONE-a Bold 8" 10" er Showcasing
his Upcoming Winter Season of Wrestling on SUNDAY Nights in the Town!!-Wherever he
was Active he was constantly in the Public Eye!!
PAUL also had a hand in the Design and Graphics of his Promotional Material-Programmes
Posters etc! I have a handwritten 'first draft' for one such of these where he sketches out
his preferred format which is really Imaginative and Illustrates his Talents!
The example to follow is an Original Personally Signed Typed Letter from PAUL to R.POPE
-a Small Promoter about a proposed deal!-It's incorporated on LINCOLN MANAGEMENT
PROMOTIONS Letter-Headed Paper and Dated 1962!
POPE was a Versatile Character-who even TIME KEPT for his own Shows!!
Letters from PAUL were leaving his Offices every week and were just one of the Tools employed by this Great Wrestling Entrepreneur to advance his Business Interests!
MAIN MASK
Yes-thought I'd provide the 'other end' of PAUL'S Letter!-Note that RONALD has written up all the Mat
Programme Wrestler Info and Versatile as he was ALSO did the MC Job at this Show!
Think these Attributes helped LINCOLN's Interest in a Collaberation!
SOCIETY BOY-RADCLIFFE was on PAUL'S Roster and Tagged a few times with WILD MAN OF
BORNEO especially at his Spectaculars like DEMONTFORT HALL LEICESTER!-So would have been
'available' to POPE!
MAIN MASK
Wonder if "Reg (Big Boy) Radcliffe" was "Society Boy" (Brian Craig-Radcliffe)?
Mr Pope crops up in Dover
Do we know that Paul Lincoln was actively involved in the management of the Paul Lincoln subsidiary? It could have been just part of the Dale Martin branding, capitalising on their latest acquisition.
My personal view is that after Paul Lincoln signed up with Dale Martin, his shows despite the presence of major star names as McManus, Pallo, Logan etc, lost their former edge.I have no idea why and you list some sound reasons but if I had to speculate, and this is only a guess, I believe Dale Martin wanted to exert their control.
It was also sad that wrestlers of the calibre like Don Steadman were sidelined for whatever reason. Paul Lincoln had superb marketing skills which enabled his promotions to outshine his rivals in the golden era
of the early to mid 1960's. A magnificent feat considering all the obstacles, notably lack of tv coverage, he had to overcome.
How do you mean, Ballymoss: "he wasn't allowed?"
In my opinion he did develop his promotion over about 6 years, and very successfully.
For some reason that we still don't really know, he stopped, Not totally, but relatively, he stopped. Dale Martin seemed to recognise his talent and were happy to let Paul Lincoln Promotions continue, with names like McManus and Kellett and Pallo topping his bills, 1966 to about 1973.
I can't see who wouldn't have allowed him?
Reasons why he stopped his tremendous pre-66 momentum?
- he lost the battle with DMs?
- he lost his energy?
- he had been operating on the wrong side of tax laws and needed to stay well behind his mask in the North East?
- he wanted to develop into other areas?
We don't really know if any of these reasons are valid or if others apply.
I have always thought that one of the principal reasons professional wrestling declined in this country was that Paul Lincoln was never fully allowed to develop his vast array of talent in the skill of marketing wrestling. Instead we ended up with the cartoon Crabtree era and the demise was inevitable.
And of course Paul used to sit calmly in the foyer selling the entry tickets. Unbelievable cheek - with hindsight.
1936????? That will be one of the very earliest posters we have seen!
Thanks, yes, here's the little beauty I received in the email:
"4" north Americans on the one bill - is this a record?
This fascinating letter confirms how Paul Lincoln was such a good promoter and way in front of his sedentary rivals in the early to mid 1960's. His marketing skills were always evident, even at his smaller promotions, there was always an element of sheer class. This was achieved with a relatively small stable of wrestlers, which makes the success of Lincoln, even more admirable. He was a true pioneer.
Just remembering those days of letter-writing and how the letters always arrived the next day, even if posted late and cheekily with a second class stamp. We were so happy with this incredible technology. The quality that went into the letter-writing process has evaporated through free emailing, resulting in drivel and spam and worse.
Evocative stuff, MM, thanks.
Now have you got one from the period where Ricki Starr slips through Lincoln's fingers?
This is really neat, would be a good addition to my Lincoln topic.
So, who was R.L.Pope?