What’s you views on Tony? To be honest I was never really big on the good guys but one day I saw him up in the balcony at Fairfield halls and as a young kid who collected autographs I asked him to sign my book which he did. He had a very easy going, pleasant way about him making me feel at ease and happily chatting to me for a few minutes. As a result of such a pleasant encounter I couldn’t help cheering for him and taking an interest in his wrestling. I can remember my Dad’s surprise when he became British heavyweight champion and also his long running feud with Haystacks. Let’s hear some love for Tony!
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And his start in the ring , well , here is a bill waiting to be beaten.
Lovely to see Tony getting so much respect. A true ambassador for wrestling and more importantly one of the world’s nice guys. What’s he up to nowadays? Anyone know?
Agreed. Tony St. Clair sent me a nice email a few years ago via the website. A real gentleman, and fantastic wrestler.
I really became aware of Tony Later in his career. He still looked the part in the ITV wrestling shows when Allstar finally got on tv. I fondly remember his matches with Bridges and Quinn. I also aw him live making the occasional appearance at the Fairfield Halls against Marty Jones and Kendo Nagasaki in the late 90's. My impression was that he was more interested in promoting wrestling than promoting himself, and was happy to put over other people. Out of the ring, he seems a real gent aswell and will often chat on facebook about wrestlers and wrestling.
Tony St Clair v John Quinn or v Rocco or v Kincaid......all absolutely top class. I think Tony St Clair v Quinn was one of the best bouts I ever saw !
Did Freddie Starr eat your Hamster, Graham?
Only kidding.
Tony St. Clair - one of my faves, he was a tall, skinny hero (in his younger days) who you just wanted to win, he looked vulnerable when he had to, and he looked angry when pushed too far by the villain, and made his "comeback".
A very well-taught, well-schooled wrestler (who wanted to be a footballer!).
In the late 70's and into the 80's years, he started to fill out and looked the part when taking on the bigger men. He said it was Mick McManus, at a Joint Promotions meeting in Leeds, who suggested that the company should make him the Heavyweight Champ, a pretty good endorsement from someone who knew the business inside out.
Tony was always in demand abroad, and did many tours of Japan (and they didn't keep asking you back if you were rubbish), he faced all of the famous names; Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu, Sakaguchi, Fujiwara, and he tagged with big US stars like Bill Eadie (Masked Superstar, Demolition Ax), Bob Backlund (former WWF Champ), Dick Murdoch, Bad News Allan, Bret Hart, Greg Valentine, Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Kerry Von Erich, and many others, plus he was a regular in the German tournaments.
Tony would occasionally pop in on here, or rather a previous version of the forum. I got chatting with him, and when he found out that I occasionally traveled to Hanover for a trade fair, he said we should meet up for a beer. Typical of my luck, I never went to that trade fair again!
I wondered why he never went to the USA, especially in the mid to late 80's when he was physically bigger, and he said he just didn't want to leave the UK. I think he would have been a huge star in the US.
Kendo Nagasaki finally got around to releasing his autobiography, and it's about time Tony St. Clair did the same, come on Tony!
Lol. I’m guessing you mean the Samantha Fox story Graham? Surely THAT one can’t be true! ... can it? I would post it here but I fear Hack would probably pile drive me!
Well, it's better than a pie posting pictures of fruitcakes. I once shared a sauna with Tom Jones when he was staying at The Thistle Hotel in Piccadilly, Manchester. There's a story to that as well but, again, probably not relevant or suitable. My Freddie Starr story is far worse than throwing someone into a swimming pool.
You still love Pantomime? ... Here it comes ... OH NO YOU DON’T!!! ...I’ll get me coat. I’m actually a professional drummer Graham, heard a few about Freddie myself. He once pushed a fully clothed Tom Jones into his swimming pool and Tom had to be held back from killing him! Never saw it but I heard Tom went absolutely mad. I wouldn’t worry about staying relevant, one fruitcake on here actually posts pictures of pies from time to time. 🙈
No, it was Richard Todd in a travelling version of Noel Coward's "The Marquise" with Glynis Johns and Barry Sinclair.
Funnily enough, my parents first took me to the theatre when I was two at The Liverpool Empire. They were worried that I might have been too young to appreciate it but I believe that i sat absolutely spellbound from start to finish. Like most children, my first theatre visit was to a pantomime and it was to see Tommy Steele and The Cavemen in 1956 in "Goldilocks and The Three Bears".
I still love pantomime and a week on Friday I will be attending Vincent Hayes' production of "Big Dick Whittington" at the Brick Lane Music Hall in Poplar.
As I have mentioned before, I am now a jazz promoter and could relate a few stories regarding Freddie Starr but, unfortunately, they would be neither relevant nor suitable.
Wasn’t it Bob Todd? As I remember him being there too. He was in panto with Tommy Steele in Hans Anderson at the time. Saw Freddie Starr in there too.
I used to go into that dining hall for a bite to eat before the show and saw both wrestlers and actors dining there as there was the Fairfield Hall at one end of the cafe/restaurant and a theatre at the other. I remember Richard Todd dining there. I said to him, "Weren't you Richard Todd?" He looked up momentarily and said, "I like to think I still am," before returning to his meal.
As for Tony St.Clair, I was a huge fan. As I have mentioned on this site before, he did my first ever promotion back in January 1976 at Wilmslow Public Hall (long pulled down). Early in the show he wrestled Abe Ginsberg then returned with brother Roy in the final bout to face Ginsberg and Lee Sharron. It is often mentioned that he beat Gwynn Davies for the British heavyweight title at The King's Hall, Belle Vue, but seems to be overlooked that he forearm smashed Gwynn who fell back with his foot colliding with Tony's testicles which resulted in a technical disqualification.
Finally, although I did not witness Tony St.Clair versus Jack Robinson at The King's Hall, I did witness Abe Ginsberg versus Jack Robinson; a mismatch caused by someone not turning up. They worked a really good bout together. Robinson was a particularly solid worker. Because he worked mainly for Joint Promotions, I was only able to persuade him to work for me once and he did a cracking little bout at The Champness Hall, Rochdale, against Woody Waldo.
Don’t think it was a great conversation as was about 12 at the time. I certainly didn’t ask him the kind of questions I’d ask him now, I just remember him as such a nice person. Used to see loads of wrestlers at Fairfield usually in the dinning hall before it started, and sometimes up in the choir seats. I remember Banger Walsh being there one time standing alone with a very stern look on his face, My Dad said it was probably a good idea to leave him alone as he wasn’t looking too friendly. I thought I’d give it a go anyway and approached him with my autograph book half expecting to return to my seat with it wedged firmly up my arse. But to my great relief he said ,Alright Mate? and signed it. Just goes to show how looks can be deceptive. Giant Haystacks was another nice guy and when you stood next to him he was the size of a small building. Don’t think I even reached his armpit!
Was never going to fail after his dad and brother. He wrestled with a smile on his face , and like Ray Steele , took a little too long to get the weight onto his frame. When he did it was an extra dimension. I missed the end of his journey and have had to catch up via youtube. He really did become very good indeed.
I was there when he had that famous bout against Jackie Robinson at Kings Hall.
A total mismatch in heights but the lads got stuck in and enjoyed themselves and still made it good value. A real challenge , I would have thought.
Must be a great guy to talk to as he bridges that gap from the peak era of great wrestlers to more modern times.
Unfortunately , from those early days , I don't have any other stand out bouts to remember except that with brother Roy , they did many great tag matches.