More than anyone else I am doing this one for SaxonWolf , he's been on here longer than I have and if I am not mistaken , a Sheffield Guy.
We touch so often on BelleVue , Liverpool , Newcastle , many places familiar to members , even Fleetwood and Morecambe or Isle of Wight. Members everywhere it seems. I don't remember Sheffield getting a hit.
Here we go.
Not even early days at the Somme Barracks. I don't know when they started but have bills back into 1949.
A great long Hall , do I assume a Drill hall that could seat 2500. If you look at the bills above , the final one bottom right is for The City Hall. I believe it was the 2nd ever bill , can't yet find the first one a week or two before.
Why the move , well , it does not look like the prices , but pictures of the City Hall inside look vey comfortable , great view.
Talking of Relwyskow and Green , the wrestling was not every week , but they also looked after nearby Rotherham. Here advertised together.
The City Hall at this stage was to showcase some events , still running side by side with the Somme Barracks. But it maybe that the City Hall was better for TV filming.
Within a couple of years though the Barracks came to and end , prices were up but no complaints on the quality of the bills.
Took a few years for Kendo Nagasaki to hit Sheffield , but when he did, What a breakthrough
Finally a couple of bills showing typical cards in 1970 with a massive 25shillings now to view. Wonderful performers that we saw so much in colour on TV.
Along the way back in 1964 the council banned tag wrestling.
I don't know what happened but it seems, to have two wrestlers outside the ring holding the strings so to speak , was deemed to put them too near the audience.
Too much of a risk that Audience and wrestler might get embroiled with one another.
I think the ban lasted a few months and was round the time of the City Hall Switch.
The City Hall maybe more secure. Who knows.
There’s many great bills there Ron! I wonder how many shots at the Heavyweight title Tibor had in his career?
A good venue and great additions Ron.
In reply to Anglo Italian.
Kasbarian could be Georges Kasbarian. Phil Lyons posted this photo of him some time back
https://heritagedocs.wixsite.com/talkwrestling/forum/memories-of-the-old-days/masks-and-memories-l-ange-blanc
Here he is at the twenty minute mark
And here's the other guy
Great stuff, thank you Ron!
Baileys and Somme Barracks were a little before my time, City Hall was my era. Somme Barracks are situated where West Street meets Glossop Road, it's only a 10 minute walk from there to the City Hall, so not too far out of town. City Hall was slap bang in the middle.
I didn't know Abbeydale Cinema (where I saw Ben-Hur!) ever hosted any wrestling, and Baileys (now long gone) was another new one on me.
A Big 'Anomaly' was Wrestling in SHEFFIELD!-It was Famous for The Council Banning
Certain Wrestling Moves/Holds in The City!-No Piledrivers-No Straight Arms across the
Shoulder-No Headbutts......
But The Bills at The SOMME BARRACKS were Generally well worth a Visit!
Below My Original Poster for 8TH FEBRUARY 1961 Featuring THE MASK versus
FARMER JOHN ALLAN!-Also an Appearance by The BRITISH MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion-TOMMY MANN!!
MAIN MASK
Did not find much in the way of other venues , but here is an example featuring the man who never worked for "Joint".
Dwight J Ingleburge
Sundays in 1970 , a club where you can have dinner and some wrestling.
Look carefully at Bailey's below for more detail of the club. Wrestling in very small print. Sunday's members and guests only. Sunday dinner and Dr Death.
I could not possibly put more than a few on , there were that many.
Some terrific Ian Campbell matches , one of my most memorable heroes for a while.
But Anglo makes the point about the Gladiator and it made me wonder about a couple I left off. Spartacus
Clearly working in tandem with Rotherham. Garfield was there
And Rotherham makes a move to The Clifton Hall.
Wonderful summary Anglo , thanks.
They're better 1969 bills than at the Royal Albert Hall. All the great sixties visitors are there, N'Boa, Quasi, Shozo and more, and the expensive Londoners all travel, Mick even at Christmas.
One name that clearly catches the eye is:
Looks like a smarty-pants near-anagram just like Jacquerez a couple of years beforehand. I wonder what this was all about?
Another new one to me, who has had a sex-change before they were fashionable, going from Christian name Giacomo (James) to Giacoma (Jemima) is:
(Surname is all over the shop, too, so googling Guglie will be useless.)
A unifying aspect of all the towns you A) research so methodically and B) present so stylishly and then C) share so generously, dear Ron, is poring over them to see what details might pop out to make any particular venue individual, different.
Like Stuttgart and Rome, my memories of visits to Sheffield years ago are of a very awkward place to get to and around, nestling in a cauldron surrounded by hills. And a tram system when there was none elsewhere was very unsettling. So I see that these barracks are settled outside the centre on a ring road. I am wondering whether the expense of these bills might be linked to a fact that this was a "captive" audience?