I did do a Nook and Crannie on the Shetlands , but it was not Golden Age 1960's , much later in the 80's.
So we are as far north in the Golden Age as I have done.
At Inverness we got over those Firths and I did Ross Shire.
Is there any limit to where they could put wrestling on.
Well if you take John O'Groats , I don't think you would find it there. Population about 300.
The town of Wick is 16 miles away and serves that area. Population about 7000 and it had an assembly rooms with a capacity of 450 , put a ring in and I suspect 400 max.
Wick was probably just a bit easier to reach than Thurso which was a similar size town but on the top coast.
Wick even has a light aircraft airport used also by Helicopters for getting out to Orkney , Shetland and the Oil Rigs.
First wrestling out there in the boom probably 1963 and it had a few shows.
As we go through the sixties we can see that wrestling must have been judged to be financially viable.
Looks a beautiful town situated on either side of the River Wick as well. Relwyskow was the main man in Scotland and even they gave it a good go. You would expect to find George Kidd and Andy Robin and Ian Campbell.
Decent entertainment and full marks to Jackie Pallo for going up there. Below , these were great pro's that traveled about , Kellett , Dennison , Eagles , Breaks , McMichael , Ginsberg , StClair , Cox , Tony Charles.
Great effort and really , how did they make it pay. Any ideas.
When Joint began to fracture in 1974 with Dixon and others going their own way , Wick was up for grabs.
A simple story really , looking at the prices (mid 1960's) they are a little bit up , but of course you are very near the ringside. Nobody wanted to be at the back at Kings Hall with a post in the way for four bob.
Great stuff as always Ron, many thanks
Incredible find Ron.
Not just how did they make it pay. But why? What a hassle,
Credit to the independents, paving the way. When they made a success of it Joint moved in. But did Joint make money with these bills? Hard to see. Or were they willing to take a loss to queer the pitch for the independents. But all credit to the big names of Joint for making the journey.
But all credit to all of them.
It looks like car or mini bus but getting up to Wick as Mad Mac says was tough. But as it was a troupe had anyone any ideas what the accommodation would have been.
All promoters seem to be selling tickets through Jack Shearer at the Music Shop.
Within a small town maybe a guest house would be glad of a few visitors or maybe a pub with a few spare rooms. The transport and digs was really the key to the finance.
No way could Relwyskow pay each member expenses you would think.
Absolutely a troupe, isn't it, Ron? Basically the same eight that April week, with three local Scots to plug the gaps. So Dennison missed Monday and had to make up for it by working Friday, it seems.
I do see the distances but these are still four neighbouring venues and it's quite brazen to have Kellett v Graham on consecutive nights.
So the Masambula octet in November 1966 probably followed a similar but not identical route since the weekday in Wick changes. These 8 reek of tag! I bet the Aberdeen bill that week sees a couple of locals added to allow the Black Knights to face the Black Diamonds,
Relwyskow held firm with his top price 15/6 in the 21 months of JP activity we can see in Wick, October '65 to July '67. He poached Wick from the independants and then relinquished it 21 months later. Maybe this tells us he did not in fact make money out of it, because he certainly persisted with lavish bills in Hamilton in the following years. Just look here with the cheapest seat 10/-, compared with half a guinea there ringside three years earlier:
When the indies reclaimed Wick they reduced the top price from Relwyskow's 15/6 to 10/6. Makes you wonder how they made it pay. Interesting marketing decisions being made.
Once you start on this, you never stop looking for patterns! Now I see that they were even more brazen the following 1968 evening with tag partners now becoming opponents:
Dangerously sloppy, I'd say. Plenty of people would have read both Aberdeen's and Hamilton's local papers.
Intriguing to scratch at the surface of the promoter's planning. Obviously hall and wrestler costs will affect things as well as the equally intriguing logistics: could Pallo and McManus risk being seen travelling around together?
Just noticed that the Railway station at Wick is an end of line Terminus and is an incredible 104 miles from Inverness.
That's a punishing distance for the old cars of the early 1960's. I do wonder if Train may have been the way in.
However I have a nice 4 timer to show you.
I actually followed Jackie Pallo to get this .Hamilton to Aberdeen 120 miles , then to Inverness 105 miles and to Wick104 miles.
But it's pretty much a troupe. here we are 60 years later , but I guess we know how it worked these days,
Dennison was on in Glasgow on the 15th on the way back.
Look at the prices , as you get to the far north , it's a lot more expensive.
Smaller venues ------- Better View I guess.
I guess those prices made it viable.
You are right quite simply to marvel at how they managed it, Ron. Ok, they did their 25 minutes in the ring, but the whole achievement of getting there and back from England, even the north, would have taken over twelve hours. Not to mention the cost of it all.
We have to imagine it was a sell-out every time.
Pepi La Paque from Finland! How quaint. Presumably Pete or Jon.