Was Mick McManus ever an Independent worker?

1944 is a possibility. Ron's 1944 Belle Vue Gallery is comprehensive but I can't see McManus, though Fuller was a regular. Not all matches are shown for every show so Mick could be there. Prior to 1952 there was no Joint Promotions (and DM joined in 1953) so prior to that Mick would be an independent.

That's very interesting, William. Can you share date and details of that Oakely bill at the RAH? Because by November that year Dale Martin had taken the Albert Hall. Your bill may hold more clues as to what was going on, especially as Dale Martin trusty McManus was on it.

Thanks.

According to John Lister in his book 'Have a good week till next week' he states Mick was born January 1921 and debuted as a pro in 1944 against Al Fuller at Belle Vue.If we could establish who were the Promoters at that show we may have the answer to my question.

Mick appears on Athol Oakley’s 1953 Royal Albert Hall bill.

Didn't McManus say (in, "The Wrestling") that he went to Dale Martin's for a try out and they advised him to do more amateur wrestling first, so he went to John Ruskin amateur club?, years since I read the book, will need to dig it out again and see.

Hold on a minute Powerlock, not so quick at declaring your decision. Ron is right in saying the website is correct in stating the company was formed in 1948, but we will concede a fall to Ron as they used the name before registering the company.

I like that even in the very first show the lineup was different than advertised.

I think Mick's first title was the Southern area and it was arranged that he would take over from Babe Quesick. , But what we know now is that Quesick was from a great and early pedigree , as he was the son of Johanfesson , who had his links with the Music Halls and Relwyscow. Johanfesson was himself a pre war promoter , one of the few to be licensed for London and his involvement after the war is not known. Babe (Jack) Quesick though was a very key man in all this , I believe. The inner click of Dale Martins was quite considerable in size and not unexpected considering the size of the country that was defined as the south.

I think although the formation of Dale Martin was 1946 , it may be that 1948 was the year that the company registered itself as a LTD co , or whatever else.

Somebody, somewhere wanted Mick , that's for sure.

Just for info, Johanfesson was Joe Sheppard and his son , Jack Quesick used his own mothers maiden name for wrestling.

Inextricably Dale Martin.

Still to understand is just how so and why so and to what extent.

Did Mick simply start off laying out the posters and materials?

The Dulwich Destroyer was able to take 50's titles off the Wiganites - did Jack Dale place all his weight behind Mick in the fortnightly meetings in Leeds? Unlikely Mick had the shooting talent to defeat the likes of Jack Dempsey, but staged wrestling is a completely different matter. So intricate this world, which as what makes me keep digging.

All supposition. We'll probably never know.

Interesting.The info on the website is stated 1948 but this bill definately proves it to be incorrect.Thanks for the quick reply and spot on as usual.

I think he was always with Dale Martin and they started in 1946.