During the roaring 20s basically there was no pro wrestling in England. The downfall of rasslin started even before the WW1. First of all it happened when the Music Halls style was exposed as being not a competition but rather an exhibition. Yet in the 20s English amateur wrestling had experienced a real boom. In the mid 20s in East Lancashire the Lancs Am Wr Assn took over the local wrestling and produced the greatest generation Lancashire ever had that included famous J. Reid and Co.
And yet here's a rare find of pro rasslin in the 20s. Ron need you. Who was that George Hennington of London? Any connection to East Lancashire or he was a 100% Londoner?
Thanks for these links
The Years of Wrestling series will explain more Peter. Names are mentioned there that show the links with the earliest years of the Twentieth Century.
As a valued contributor I'm sure you've looked at the Years of Wrestling series, which begins here
https://www.wrestlingheritage.com/1930
and in the decades before that Ron's series of Wrestlers of the Golden Age, i.e. pre Heritage years in the early twentieth century
https://www.wrestlingheritage.com/tributes
Always wondered when All in Wrestling took off in 1931 with venues all over the country were the wrestlers appeared from. This thread helps explain alot
Having looked at this before , it was the Alhambra age that finished in 1910 and wrestling in London was much reduced.
In Lancashire some of the most publicised bouts had graduated from just a local fields to Football Grounds with Turnstiles to collect the money.
Atherton FC was one such ground , never a football league club of course.
Another was Springfield Park in Wigan. This period continued certainly up to 1920 with people like Job Shambley wrestling.
Not much evidence that it was as prolific in the 1920's.
Hack, the last heavyweight champion catch as catch can wrestler of Lancashire Amateur Wrestling Association was Geo Gregory of Bolton. In my records I do refer to him simply as the last champ, the first being Adam Ridings of Bury, Lancs, the famous "Dockum" of Bury.
Hack, thanks. Here's the chronology of wrestling in East Lancashire:
Up and Down Wrestling and Fighting Combined (original all-in), since Civil War times - early 1800s, prize wrestling
Intro of modern Lancashire catch wrestling, since 1820s till 1914 (WW1), prize wrestling
Intro of amateur catch wrestling in E. Lancs, 1920-1935, the glorious years of LCAWA. Joe Reid Era.
Now re the field fights. Always was prize ring, since 1600s. Another thing is pub wrestle, amateur in its nature, for pint o beer, or for 6d, each backs himself. Pub wrestling which 100% represented Lancs wrestling traditions existed in 2 forms: standing catch for a 'thrut' and up and down catch/wrossle for "capturing" opponent on the ground.
A nice bit of work Ruslan.
We were long ago brought up to believe pro wrestling ended about 1908 and didn't start again until 1930. Even in the years BR (Before Ruslan) we had realised that life wasn't quite so simplistic, but you are the one with the interest, energy and knowledge to improve our knowledge. Years ago we found instances of organised 1920s Lancashire wrestling that I would have described as professional. What about the run of the mill 1920s Lancashire wrestling that took place on an ad-hoc basis in the fields on a weekend afternoon, where would that fit in the amateur-pro spectrum?
Great stuff Ruslan, that is my home city, Sheffield.
The British Legion building would be long gone now, I think Townhead Street is all offices (solicitors and the like).
The article from Tuesday the 9th of May mentions Carbrook, Tinsley, Darnall and Attercliffe, which are all areas in the city (it is a big city).