MORE MANCHESTER INVESTIGATIONS 1950's

Great work boys!

This guy Borsos pops up at the Domino Club in Openshaw. Can't be Dale Martin's Tibor can it.

A couple of things I thought worth a mention on the two bills here. I go on about wrestlers doing several nights a week in different Manchester Clubs. But here the singer Madeline Bell who I remember in the group Blue Mink a few years later, probably illustrating that these two Night clubs were linked.

And at the Dev we have some Accrington Lads including St John v Svajick who were not that prolific in the clubs.

I wonder what the set up was? They seemed to have both a stage and a ring. The seats would need to be turned around to switch viewing angle.

It comes across as demeaning wrestling a little; at least distancing wrestling from sport and setting it within a music hall bill.

Something else I came across this week is how the clubs put the wrestling on. Fred and Danny left joint to do Cape Promotions ultimately , I catch them here at the start of their time after Joint. The bill on the left is a return challenge match from a few weeks before , that bill with Streiger on shows it.

But what I am driving at is the evening schedule. Wrestling is on at 8.00 after Frank Ifield who I remember so well , but only Fred and Danny. It's timed for 35 minutes. It's then nearly another one and a half hours before Wojjoski v Black Panther at 10,00. 3 acts in the middle plus tombola. I did not know this and find it fascinating. Did they think the crowd did not want too much at once , or for the wrestling to dominate. It certainly gives the wrestlers an early and late slot in order to flip to another club. the second bout is up to 50 minutes.

Bill benny had quite a few of these clubs , not sure of this one , situated very near BelleVue in Gorton. Maybe Eddie Rose could tell us more about the schedule fitting in with other acts.

Another fascinating bit of history Ron. I hadn't thought of cinemas as venues in the context of declining cinema attendance and the pathway to demolition.

Manchester Investigations was a really good read. I wonder if there's any mileage in a Cinema Investigations, looking at wrestling and cinemas around the country.

Just to add to this thread , I highlighted in the Manchesters series how often old cinemaas were tried out for wrestling before they were demolished. This was in the later 1950's and early 1960's. One venture , the Wryton actually worked long term , most were just short ventures. Back in 1952 I found The Queens Park Hippodrome closed and demolished , but before the bulldozers moved in a couple of wrestling shows. From the opening poster I think they were planning more than three shows. Not so sure they managed it.

Great Name Turkey Lane and even though I am a Manchester Lad I have never really understood the area of Monsall. Might be wrong , but I think it is part of Harpurhey , North Manchester. Never heard of this place , built in 1904 and never a cinema , but a piece of history salvaged. Wonder who the promoter was.

One month later they tried to get a boxing and wrestling club going. It could not have lasted long , at least not at this venue.

Free Trade Hall wins it.......Belle Vue is just names, Free Trade has capital letter names.

the elusive Adam king ,Adam King had a stable of women wrestlers trained above a pub near the Bijou cinema,Adam was a barber and according to my uncle they were no Hollywood blondes, try he old Trafford barber tried in vain to generate interest but the ladies lacked how shall I say ,visual appeal.

Just found some 1935 bills for The Blood Tub , thought it was worth adding here.

Of note , Doug Clark V Barotte (Boratti) who we never found any more about. Jack Alker and Joe Carrol who came from neighbouring parts of Wigan , wonder if the Carroll's trained Jack. Many I don't know. Big shock ladies wrestling at The Blood Tub in 1935. Real pioneer stuff. Historically very good bills to have. As always "click" for bigger image.

any mention of the BELLE VUE CUP/TROPHY?

Excellent Ron. Sounds like Saturday morning at the pictures.

Going back to Ardwick I have no 1930'sbills which led me to believe that the Blood Tub only began about the time of the war. How wrong I was , having now found regular wrestling in 1934. The promoter indeed was Sam Cowan , looks like he had a minimum sixteen year run there. This article gives a flavour of the times.

Slowly we have chipped away on this thread revealing the fate of some of these old Manchester Stadiums and a bit more about a few more.

Found boxing also in 1933.

I have heard Ernie Derbyshire ran the Russell club even though to me Conroy seems more prominent. Here is Ernie as ref there for Wryton.

I'm trying to get some info in the blood tub from few remaining with any recollection,I remember being told by Bartelli it paid well but was hard.Beech had some connection with Ardwick on organisation side so did a guy who ran the gym in Leigh itvwas at that gym I heard stories bout the blood tub,the Leighgym lad was working with the guy off hag fold Atherton who lost a lot of venues to Wryton was this a small scale northern version of Lincoln coup.ill do my memories of the club's another day Ernie Derbyshire ran a few in Manchester and wanted to referee,Wryton frowned on this. Said Ernie is the guy referenced in the quality st gang Im sure Eddie will remember him.

Good work Ron. Life would have been much easier, but not half as much fun decades later, if wrestling had not been so secretive.

Further info on Sam Cowan is that Morrell did not have Cossington Street baths in Leicester as early as we thought. Cowan was the promoter in 1946 , but again preferring not to put his name on the bills. All those 1946 bills in the gallery are Cowan Bills. This proves he was a wrestling Promoter so pretty sure he was the man at Ardwick now.

Source , several instances where he pushed wrestling in the paper in Leicester.(1946)

Cohen was a boxing promoter. But I think Bartelli's author has twisted the name it is Sammy Cowan. Cowan must have owned the Stadium as he brought boxers and trainers in there to train three days a week. Yes he was there to the bitter end when the car lot took over , so considering those times , he may well have kept the wrestling all those years especially if a booker could do all the work for him.

His name does not seem to appear on either boxing or wrestling adverts.

He looks a strong bet. Worth consideration until we gat our hands on some vital memorabilia.

Here is the Count.