By 1942 Top Class Wrestling had been Showing at KINGS HALL BELLE VUE MANCHESTER for a Dozen Years under Lady Promoter KATHLEEN LOOK and was a very
Popular and fast-becoming Iconic Venue!
But BELLE VUE had a 'Rival' Arena in MANCHESTER-which put on some Great Shows
during the War Years-ARDWICK STADIUM!!
Dubbed the 'BLOOD TUB' for the Copious amounts of Claret that were almost 'Obligatory'
in every Show-Punters were Treated to Regular and Frequent Events including a BILL........
wait for it.....on NEW YEAR'S DAY 1943!!
Up and Coming Wrestlers like BILLY JOYCE were often present on Weekly Rosters!!
ARDWICK STADIUM-and BELLE VUE afforded a Beleaguered and War-Weary Public the
Chance to 'Escape' the Worries of a War Torn Nation!
So while the GERMAN 6TH ARMY and 4TH PANZERARMEE were Freezing to Death in
the Hell of STALINGRAD-Wrestling Fans were shouting,cheering and booing in another
BLOOD TUB at ARDWICK STADIUM MANCHESTER!!
Below some very Rare ARDWICK HANDBILLS!
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The New Years Day event started at 3:30 pm.Considering that New Years Day did not become a Public Holiday in England until 1975 how many ardent fans left work early to attend? Possibly the crowd was mainly servicemen on leave anticipating a bloodbath!
It could be that there are no pictures of Ardwick Stadium.
The sight of blood stained seats must have proved a compelling prompt to convince fans of the authenticity of the fights. Also interesting to note that members of the Armed Forces in uniform got reduced prices
When Anglo Italian and I visited Al Marquette a few years back he talked about going to the wrestling at Ardwick Stadium when he was young. He referred to the blood stained seats and called it the Blood Tub. Apparently the phrase was originally used in the 18th Century in reference to the Prince of Wales Theatre in Salford (Guardian 17/01/09).
Thanks for the link to this fascinating article. Pleased to see that Professional Wrestling played its part in the fight against facism
If you read the Years of Wrestling in the 1930s you will see that the Daily Worker often supported wrestling.
The newspaper championed Harry Rabin as the Workers Champion. Harry frequently appeared wrestling at the Workers Gala Days organised by the socialist movement in the 1930s. On one occasion he travelled to Paris to compete as Britain's only representative in the Anti-Fascist Sports Festival.
A Working Class Hero
Interesting that the proceeds went to the "Daily Worker Fighting Fund".It was banded for a while during World War Two when the Soviet Union/Germany were allies but promptly changed its mind after Germany invaded the Soviet Union and supported the war effort
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You can't beat old original stuff , Your collection is like Gold Dust.
I am not absolutely sure that Belle Vue had weekly wrestling for most of the 1930's. It had some right from the beginning but I am pretty sure Kath Look only did a handful of years.
The other big rival , but again only at the end of the thirties was the Free Trade Hall.
What did stand out for me was that at Ardwick we had inflation 1942/1943.
All the prices went up the year after your Programmes. I did not expect that.
The Programme of Shows....CHRISTMAS DAY 1942!!!-BOXING DAY 1942!!
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