Lets begin at Earls Court in 1950. Five championship matches in one night. Promoter most likely Norman Morrell, he was promoting there later in the year and features Morrell men Kidd, Colbeck, Stead and Baldwin.
Not a bad night in Wolverhampton. 1968
Finally, a bit of colour in Barnsley, 1978
He definitely wasn't 30 stone in the 60s
On This Day-30TH JANUARY-We have A Cracking Bill at QUEENS HALL-LEEDS- Featuring 7!!!!!!! Bouts with MCMANUS versus KIDD as The Top Attraction!!...AND a STARR 'DAVID versus GOLIATH' Match between RICKI and PRINCE IAUKEA!!- Wasn't he supposed to Weigh 30 Stone?? JACKIE PALLO and BILLY ROBINSON On This 'Bumper' Show as well!! MAIN MASK
You're right about that being a cracking bill Main Mask. Iaukea was certainly a big lad. I don't recall 30 stones being claimed, but 25 - 27 stones was. He was bigm but even that was an exaggeration. I saw him against Leon Arras and he was disqualified. He was quite nimble for his size but overall not impressive.
Most of you who are long time readers of this site, might remember that for me, as a youngster, (as a council house lad in Sheffield) hearing that Pete Roberts was just back from Japan, or Tony St. Clair was wrestling his last match before jetting off to Lagos, was the stuff that dreams were made of. It was the early 1980's before I ever went abroad for a holiday. Now (in non-covid times) I am jetting away most weeks or months, on business.
Anyway, with the above in mind, you can see why I am still fascinated by following the travels of our lads abroad. You jet away to a foreign country, at someone else's expense, to work between 10, and 60 minutes a night, for good money.
So, it gives me great pleasure (and some degree of envy), to say that our overseas lad today, is the incomparable Billy Robinson, arguable the greatest pound for pound wrestler ever, who was working on this day back in 1971, in Honolulu, Hawaii, ending with a draw against Dale Lewis.
On our TV screens on this day, back in 1965
Ken Joyce (1) v Mike Donlevy (1)
Joe Cornelius (W) v Roy Davis
Some great bills there.
Empress Hall poster- Definitely Norman Morrell's hand in that.
All the top men that I, used to see in Newcastle, except Guy la Roche.
I thought that was interesting on the All Star bill.
Black Butcher Johnson as the Wild man from Borneo.
Empress Hall poster. Unusual to have the year 1950 printed on the poster!
We had a debate once on this very issue, as to why no years were ever printed on the posters. This one shows that sometimes it was done.
Cheers
Mick's short journey with (driver) Robby to the Palais in 1969