After many years collecting bills I finally have some from Inverness. 375 miles from Manchester and sad to say , I have never been. The Empire Theatre was a 1912 Picture House , eventually used as a Theatre. It had a balcony and I think the whole thing sloped down to a stage. 1100 capacity gave it some sort of equal standing in size with the Wryton Stadium. But could it be equal in the quality of wrestlers that it could tempt to travel up there.
At the dawn of the 1960's Max Crabtree gave it a go , so influential in Scotland. My old friend Sitting Bull who I found in Madras was there. Shirley before he was famous , or was he famous as an alternative champion back then.
Early Andy Robin was up there. Good effort from Wall , Dennison and Breaks to go up there.
Champion Billy Joyce , Pallo famous as Mr TV. Kidd and Colbeck. Top Scotsman Ian Campbell. Kellet for sure.
Zebra Kidd.
The Hawaiian Prince , Mick McManus made the cut and super pro's The St Clairs and Royals. Albert Wall no doubt would have travelled with John Cox . Ricki Starr too.
An open air show at an alternative venue from the Opposition featuring Girls that went on to have great careers along with Broco Jack who got just about everywhere.
Conclusion must be that Joint promotions could do a show with about 1000 spectators putting in top liners with a strong mid card and still make money , and bring wrestling to Inverness. Great Effort. Nowhere was ignored.
"Shirley before he was famous" or you could say infamous
Thanks for bringing this one back up.
How did I miss it? All these gems.
Unlike Ron I have been to Inverness. Six or seven years ago I went on the sleeper train as my birthday treat. I'd wanted to go for more than 50 years, since the posters told me that was where Wild Angus Campbell came from. (I had realised this was nonsense some years earlier but the attraction remained).Twentieth Century Promotions took those wrestlers a long way north. Especially Fred Van Lotter and Roger Green, who they were good enough to add his home town to his name. Maybe I should be named Hack Leyland to distiguish me from the lesser known Hack?
The Twentieth Century name had disappeared by 1963 but I guess it was still Max Crabtree in charge as Max had returned to the Joint family (for a short time anyway).
Who was The Blue Angel? Was it Jim Stockdale?
Ron asks was Shirley famous back in 1961? Well I'd say that those who watched independent shows in the 1960s were in an alternative (but definitely not inferior) world to thos who watched only Joint, and Shirley would be a big name in 1961.
By the middle of the decade look well and truly Joint shows.
Who was the Mr Britain that Ezzard Hart found to tag with? (I'd like to think it was another name for Zimba).
I'm happy to see the independents move in in 1966, but that Johnny Allan weren't no Farmer.
In 1974 we have "Dirty Dave Larsen." So hard for me to believe. Where did you go wrong Dave?
Thank you for putting up the posters, they’ve brought back lots of memories. I remember that Honey Boy Zimba was a a no show against Adrien Street as he’d supposedly been in a car crash.
Going into the 1970's Rose Street Hall was actually the Drill Hall, so I would expect a capacity of a few hundred.
DJ Mask mentions 70's shows. Rose Hall also hosted McDee Promotions.
(Click for larger image)
Some outdoor shows in 1972.
And finally Jackie Pallo working the Social Club. A long way from home.
Great shares and lovely presentation, thanks Ron.
I don't much fancy Dennison v Starr, a bit of a mis-match weights-wise.
Fascinating to see Cowboy Jack in 1964 on JP bills. We discovered him last year also in 1964 right down the other end of the country for Dale Martin a couple of times in Brighton. He's also on the 1966 indy bill!
I suppose we will never know how he came to wrestle for JPs nor why his stint was so brief.
It seems that Mick never had anyone do what he wouldn't do.
Sadly the Empire Theatre was before my time in Inverness but I did attend some of the Rose Street Hall bills in the 1970’s. Jackie Pallo also organised a couple of shows in Inverness at the social club of a local football ground but can’t remember if it was at the Caley or Clachnacuddin.
Just thinking about the Crabtree's making the journey up there, in 1961. It's before I was born, so I can't say what the road system was like, but checking today, it would take you six and a half hours, by car, from Halifax, and eight and a half hours, by train. I would think it would take you considerably longer back then. So either the venue was worth it, in terms of revenue, or it was an additional night on a tour, so you were closer to there, the day before and the day after?
The Empire closed in November 1970 but wrestling did continue and in the heritage list of where we watched wrestling Rose Street Hall, the Town Hall and Bught Park are also listed so there may well be other posters out there almost certainly independent shows.
Bit of an odd matchup in 1965 with Roy St. Clair and Alan Colbeck? Andy Duncan was (presumably) Andy Robin?