NORMAN WALSH-MINI-SPECIAL FOR BERNARD!

Thanks to The Ost. All contributions welcome.

A card from my collection:

You’re more than welcome Bernard!!!

Thanks to Les and Ron.

Isn't it funny? I had been asking for this information for a while and then we get 2 people able to help me. Thanks again folks.

At the time of his car accident, Norman Walsh had the Dog and Gun pub at Knayton near Thirsk.

Norman Walsh car crash in 1965, happened on the A172 at Nunthorpe just south of Middlesbrough, at the top of Dixons bank at the junction of Brass Castle lane. Apparently a car pulled out of Brass Castle lane and collided with Normans Jaguar. Resulting in Norman and his wife being quite seriously injured.

A pleasure Bernard.

Still no information on Norman's car crash? someone somewhere must know what happened when and where. Please if any relative knows, shed a little light on this mystery.

I could have watched Norman Walsh, Dave Armstrong and Billy Howes until the cows come home. As I don’t have any bovines, that means forever!

Welcome to Heritage James. Those bills I put up are not in fact Posters.

They are newspaper bills that I collect and graphically enhance.

They are digital and I have no hard copies of anything.

You may be familiar with the term "Screen Grab" and you could in fact get yourself a high quality print of any.

I have 40,000 bills and when we get a query for a little known wrestler , I can often knock out 20 or so. In the case of Norman Walsh who was such a busy and well known wrestler , there could be many hundreds. No way can I filter them and get them all.

You get private collectors on ebay etc selling posters and programmes

Here are three of decent quality. the match with Thesz was probably a career highlight.

Below Walsh and Marino in 1956 with ref Les kellett.

Photo of Norman Walsh and a couple of bills from towards the end of Norman’s wrestling career.

Does anyone know of a company or person who would be selling memorabilia?

Some very early ones although I have him in 1947. the Eldorado one , Walsh won the British and European Championship that night. (Light heavy)

And 1971 in Grimsby one of the very latest at the end of his career.

This is my great, great uncle! Trying to research his career with my son. If anyone has any newspaper cuttings, information or promotional poster they wish to sell, please let me know. Thank you

Lol it's short for murdoch so dont worry.this was 1 poster of 4 that my papa kept in a box for many years ,I've recently had them framed because there in good condition I'll post pics of the other 3.

Welcome Murd. Stay around and offer more. But don't harm Bernard, he's precious to us.

Thanks Murd 75. I hope that's not short for murder.

I'd better be good!

Thanks again MM. Keep looking in your treasure trove to help others . Wonderful store of goodies !

Thanks MM. Well do you believe it?

Please can you tell me the promoter involved with that write-up in the programme?

2 points stick out for me.

Different spelling for Manny Moritz.

On the 2nd page " the weight divisions were changed and standardised in KILOS.Norman Walsh became the British champion at the new 14 STONE

13 POUNDS limit of Mid Heavyweight".

Typical ! Change to KILOS but quote in Stones !

This is very interesting MM. At least I know that he went to South Africa, and that's as near the truth as you will get. As for the other stuff being discovered lately ,no-one will ever know the full truth.

That's brilliant Mr. Ost. Thank you.

It's amazing what turns up when You ,MM and Ron get together with a little help from Hack and Anglo.

I'm learning a lot more now than I ever did just in Newcastle.

We never got some of these publications . The only ones that I remember are "The Mat" and "The Ring" which was mainly about American boxers and wrestlers.

Another one for you Bernard, about the time he changed weight classes (or was moved by the promoters):

Hi MM Thank you so much. I never realised that there were so many published photos of Norman.

I believe that he was British Lightheavyweight champion and became too heavy to continue to hold that title.

Some say that they think Morrell created the Midheavytitle for him and allow someone else to take the Lightheavy crown over, Ernie Riley possibly.

Wilkipedia said Les Kellett, then Dennis Mitchell then Riley.

Thanks to all.

Someone on this site once said "The more you know ,the less you understand."

Now MM going back to my post a day or so, do you think that the belt worn in the picture of Johnny Allan could be the British title belt?

Thanks to Ian and Hack.

Now MM, even the promoter (Johnny Allan) did not claim to be World Champion then, only (and I say only !) British and European.

This must be the time that Marino held the World title, although I read that Allan held it for a few months, between Walsh and Marino.

Hi all, i think Allan and Taylor were promoting together at that time. Hope that helps.

Regards to all Ian.

Hi guys , some weeks in 1970 Morrell seemed to be sharing the City hall.

The poster below shows the Independent Promoter

It slips my mind who this is but I am sure Hack knows.

Hi MM. Re City Hall.

Different type of poster, no prices on the later one.

Are you sure?

Hi MM. Help please !

Can you tell me the promoter for the bill at City Hall Newcastle, Oct 26 1970?

Also, Have you got a bill that shows Johnny Allan as World Champion to put up please ?

Thank you.

Hi All. As a better author than me said "curiouser and curiouser"

I think that the belt shown on many pictures on this thread is the British Mid Heavyweight title belt from JP.(Morrell originally).

Look at the belt in the photo of Norman in the A-Z. If that is the World belt then this one surely is the British belt. The two are different in size and shape.

Thanks MM, yes Norman was still (JP) British title holder until a car crash in 1965, according to Wikipedia. Marino did not get the belt until 1966.

Johhny Allan held it between those two.

Hi MM . It might be a bloody nose, but he did have a small moustache.

The picture isn't clear enough to really see.

Didn't Norman go over to Independents before 1963?

He would have certainly lost any title bestowed on him by Morrell then.

What I wonder is this.

Norman Walsh tours South Africa. There is no real news that gets over here.

Norman Morrell sees it as an opportunity to invent a British version of a world title and nobody can prove Walsh did not really win it in South Africa.

Some belt Morrell had in his collection was used from time to time to keep all this alive.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree.

You are most welcome Bernard , you are the father of this Forum and also the King and Champ.

The belt is a mystery. Walsh had a long run as advertised champ , but it was advertised as and when required. (along with anomalies)

I dug myself in on Maritz with my doubts only to find he seems a very worthy career wrestler , I even think he did USA , but it was finding his time here that mattered. Certainly a Wryton connection.

Youtube wrestling has a long way to go , even Albert Wall is not on there.

I know I must have seen Norman on TV as I watched all through from 1959 ,. but I don't remember everyone. His career also ran very late although I don't think he was so busy near the end.

Hi All. Just imagine, a thread for my interest, people working hard to help me understand some things and the majority of people on this site never saw Norman wrestle and can't see him because he isn't on any youtube that I know about.

I am honoured folks ,thank you !

The postcard and the tour of S Africa must have been about 1953/4 and I never saw Norman Walsh wear any belt in a ring and I saw him many times.

Bernard , do we agree that the tour seems to have been in 1953. Would that be when you got the postcard.

Also , I have the guy here now , Maritz was at Hanley four times January to March 1948.

It looks like he was working for Wryton , I also found him a handful of times at the New Brighton Tower in the exact same 3 months.

A fifth match at Hanley also billed him as actual Heavyweight champ of South Africa.

Seems to be the real deal , they even had lapel badges with him on in South Africa

By the way, I read on here a long while ago that he beat Mannie Maritz in S A , because prior to that I thought that it was the European MH belt.

I believe that a wrestling historian who came on here called David Mantell, supplied the information, but I can't be sure.

Now Ron is asking Who Is Mannie Maritz?

There is an article on Manie (different spelling) Maritz in the A-Z, but the timeline does not seem to line up with items on this thread.

Well I know that the tour of South Africa took place, because Norman's wife, Flo, sent me a postcard from his favourite city over there-Pretoria.

She commented on the distances between cities and said that there were lots of big American cars on the roads out there.

Norman's favourite car was a Buick straight 8 , for old car afficionados.

For further information on that tour when he returned with a belt,(which one , subject to discussion), superb tan and a white dressing gown , read his write up in the A-Z.

Yes they chopped and changed his champion title from British to Europe to World , even light heavy , almost at random.

If he was awarded the world title it looks like it was in 1953 , strange that it was not that often advertised.

There is something very fishy here. I just don't know but it smacks of when Doug Clark became a world champ after beating Gerstmens.

Although Gerstmans had a wrestling pedigree , he just was not active , no way wrestling every week or even month , he was just planted there to make Clark look good.

After that Clark was seldom billed as World Champ.

I can't see that this Walsh title had any real lineage.

O.K. Mike Marino ends up with it.

Who was Moritz.

In February 1954 a Dale Martins bill has Walsh returning from a triumphant tour of South Africa. It does not say he is World Champ , but this does roughly date the tour.

So what we have is the photo Bernard has never seen before with Moritz in South Africa in a 1960 publication (Aberdeen)

Is this not a very old photo. The timeline confuses me.

I can show you Walsh billed as World Champ at Junior Heavy from 1954 to 1960 and it could be more than that , but this may be enough to make my point.

Query to all the knowledgeable ones out there.

I know that Norman toured South Africa for 6 weeks.

Do you think that he went there and Mannie came back with him, or do you think that Mannie was over here first and arranged for Norman to go over there?

Sorry MM , you said an Aberdeen programme.

I think that the belt in the last programme was the British Midheavy title belt.

I also think that the belt shown in the A-Z is the World Midheavy belt, worn when he came back from South Africa,where he beat Mannie Maritz, BUT at first I thought that it was the European belt at that weight and some people agreed.

Thanks MM. I wish him well on that!

Last time I only wanted to see a photo of The Ghoul (John Bates) without his mask, and look how long that took !

Thank you MM.

In the 2nd program, photo on the right is a photo taken very early in his career.I have seen that before.He was about Light Heavy then and I think that it was taken at Scarborough. There was a little hut place on the seafront . I went there once when I was about 14-15 and bought a photo from the display outside.

Now all you have to do is to find some footage on youtube for me !

Here's that Man again!-Two for the Price of One This Time!!-1961!!

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