For me the Best MASKED HEAVYWEIGHT Wrestler before 1945 in this Country was undisputedly
BLUE MASK!- His Run went from 1935 until he Retired from The Ring Undefeated and Never Unmasked
in 1947!-Native to The NORTH EAST and a Former Miner and Rugby Player-This Huge Heavyweight was
well over 6' in Height and had a Massive Pair of Shoulders and Colossal Upper Body Strength!
He was the Main HOODED Visitor to NEW ST. JAMES HALL between the Mid '30's until he Retired in 1947!-The Man behind the Mask came from a Pugilist Lineage!-His Paternal Grandfather had been a
Bare-Knuckle Fighter and his Grandfather on his Mother's Side was an Exponent of CUMBERLAND and
WESTMORLAND Style of Wrestling!-When he left School he Toured the Country with a Boxing Booth
before Taking-On the Very Physically Demanding Job of a HEWER at CHOPWELL Colliery!
When ATHOLL OAKELEY Revived Wrestling's Fortunes in the 1930's this Man thought he could do very
well in the Sport so he Joined STAN POWTON's Gym at HEATON and began his Training!
Not long after The BLUE MASK Emerged wearing a Thick Wool BLUE Executioners HOOD and Matching
Singlet and Tights Combo! Rumour later had it was that he would Don his BLUE MASK in a Toilet
Cubilcle of The STRAWBERRY PUB on GALLOWGATE next to NEW ST.JAMES HALL-and then Stride
thru the Thronging Crowds to Enter the Arena!
One of his Greatest Victories came on SATURDAY 13TH JANUARY 1940 in a MASK vs MASK Contest
when he Defeated and Unmasked the hitherto Unbeaten GREEN ASP!-at the NEWCASTLE Hall!
BLUE MASK Fought and Defeated All the Top Wrestlers of the Day and Below I List some of these
Contests from My Extensive File on him Starting with My Original 1944 Flyer against a Frequent
Opponent-DAVID ARMSTRONG!
MAIN MASK
Here is Bob Silcock in 1939 as Red and Blue. His identity was revealed by George Gregory probably several times over.
Handy when one was in the wash.
Bob Silcock had a neat trick , he also wrestled as a red Mask.
Definitive? Erm?
I'll give you that Beckham and Silcock seem to be the only two worthy Blue Masks. Silcock's plus is that he travelled. Beckham was admittedly a top biller in Newcastle , and that's not to be sneezed at, but he was localised.
Ian first revealed that the Newcastle Blue Mask was Ted Beckham back in June, 2014. He was a main eventer at Newcastle until 1943, so quite an achievement. But he was localised and there were others.
Ron Historyo unmasked another Blue Mask, a much better known and widely seen man than Beckham.That was Bob Silcock, who you can read about in On The Trail of Bob Silcock. After a long unbeaten run Silcock voluntarily removed the Blue Mask, with advertised appearances that he would voluntarily unmask in the ring, a blueprint for Count Bartelli’s tour unmasking over a quarter of a century later.
Beckham seems to have continued wearing the mask until 1943. Not the end of the Blue Mask, though. Relwyskow Promotions featured a Blue Mask in Scotland in 1947, Blue Masks in Yorkshire and Cheshire in 1948. More Beckham or Silcock? Or a third, fourth and even fifth Blue Mask?
Hi MM. You mention that Dave Armstrong was a frequent opponent.
Both in the ring and at Stan Powton's gym in Heaton, where they both trained.
HI once again Adrian. Yuo are right in saying was a great stadium Ithink it was a boxing &wrestling arena origially. All tired seating & a balcony all the way around. The atmosphere was fantastic, equal to areans like Liverpool.Pretty rough crowd especially from the balcony when anything & everthing could be thrown into the ring ( some articles not reaching the ring ,POOR CROWD.
I did go a lot to the city hall, some good bills but just the same. Must go now as my wife shouting upstairs (jobs to do).
Thanks for replying
BBye for now Ian
Hi again Adrian, i think i did not really let the cat out of the bag as many of on the site will have and read this great little book anyway. Hope i can be forgiven for my dasterdly deed.
You are one of my site favourtes, Ian
Hi Adrian, just read your article onthe BLUE MASK. An awfull of this information is found in HEADLOCS & HANDBAGS which was all about one of the most famous venues in the country, ST. JAMES HALL NEWCASTLE. Hin name mentioned in the book was TED BECKHAM.Inthe book he thought to be miner from Chopwell. This i can verify becaus my wifes late father worked in the same pit as he did and rembered the name quite vivedlly.
Kind regards for all you do for this great site.
Keep well, Ian
And now a Snapshot of some of BLUE MASK's Bouts at NEW ST.JAMES HALL
NEWCASTLE During his Heyday:-
Vs.-HARRY BROOKS- SATURDAY-11/11/1939-SATURDAY-23/12/1039
Vs-DAVE ARMSTRONG-SATURDAY-3/6/1939-SATURDAY-30/9/1939
Vs.- JACK PYE-SATURDAY-23/3/1940-SATURDAY-12/10/1940
Vs.- VIC HESSELLE-SATURDAY-1/6/1940-SATURDAY-15/6/1940
Vs.- CLEM LAWRENCE-SATURDAY-13/7/1940-SATURDAY-16/11/1940
Vs.- SMASHER GREEN (Great Name!)-SATURDAY-1/5/1940
Vs.-HARRY PYE-SATURDAY-17/2/1940
Almost a Dozen Unbeaten Years for this Superb MASKED HEAVYWEIGHT!
One of the Best Ever!! Above Programme Cover Below!
MAIN MASK
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