Think Most People Know that My Favourite Wrestling Bout is a MASK versus MASK Contest!!
It didn't happen very often-but just occasionally 2 MASKED Wrestlers found themselves in
Opposite Corners!!..Then One of them had to go!!-In These Matches The Wrestlers weren't just
Fighting for Their Purses!-They were Fighting for Their Professional Lives!!
It was even better when 2 CAREER Top Masked Men came into Conflict and One had to be The
Loser!!-One such Contest took place at The VICTORIA HALL HANLEY On MARCH 4TH 1961!!
THE Masked Wrestler in This Country in the 1950's was The Peerless COUNT BARTELLI!
Then in DECEMBER 1959-A New KID on the Block Arrived-to be Specific-The ZEBRA KID!!
He had been Wrestling as a Masked Man for 10 Years!!
It was going to be Inevitable that These 2 'Giants' of The Masked Ranks would have Collide
sooner or later!!
Below is My Original WRYTON HANLEY Programme for This Epic Nite!!
BARTELLI Tells Us that he Trained Longer and Harder for This Match than any Other to Date
and to ADD to The Excitement-ONLY ONE Fall/Submission was needed for the Win!!
A Glory Nite for One!!... For The Other.......
MAIN MASK
Well spotted Main Mask.
Thanks again Hack. This was the clipping I remember seeing.
This is all I can find James. No report of the first match referred to
This newspaper 4th May
And a letter from 26th June
I think that the paper reported that Jack was about to unmask Bartelli when he was disqualified. Again memory and tricks?
Many thanks Hack -- what's a couple of weeks or years ?
You're right, or sort of James.
I've just popped down the library. This second unmasking wasn't the second. It might have been the third, fourth, fifth or whatever. We know Bolas was a serial unmasker.
It wasn't the late 1950s, but 17th February, 1961, two weeks before the Bartelli unmasking.
Here's your Liverpool Echo of 16th February James
One week later the newspaper reports
Another mention a few weeks later
No results from Ray Plunkett but he does list the 17th February show
LIVERPOOL ....J.Pye v Zebra Kid .... Mitchell v Walsh .... R.Williams v A.Cadman .... Stockton v Montorro
I think Jack Pye unmasked him in the late 50s at Liverpool Stadium. It was in the Liverpool Echo. But, of course, memory plays tricks.
"The ZEBRA KID had been Beaten for Only the 2ND Time in This Country!!"
You're not expecting me to actually read this stuff are you now Main Mask?
Well, I'll go t' foot of awr stairs.
When I started reading this thread I thought here we go again. Another double knock out, draw, inconclusive result in any way possible is on it's way. But no. Main Mask has come up trumps. We have the result. We have the evidence. George Bolas did become a multiple unmasker - is this the first time?
Well done Main Mask, a splendid addition.
Really neat set there with the programme and the newspaper clippings MM, much appreciated for sharing that.
In 1960 they must have practiced a lot , here are a few.
These artifacts are truly what Heritage is about. I am sure I have always underestimated how great Bartelli was. I never saw him masked and he was old even in the 1970's. He may have been sheltered with mainly Wryton , but there was so much wrestling in those days and Wryton territory stretched down to Birmingham , also North Wales as well.
Bolas unmasked generously that night as did Bartelli in 66.
Wonderful moments.
Horst Hoffmann knocked out! Big surprise there.
So great that these matches could feature in the local press, and with no cynical edge to the wording.
An Action Shot from This Epic Contest!! COUNT BARTELLI Bodyslams
The Huge 24 Stone ZEBRA KID!!
WOW!!
MAIN MASK