This is not new. Whilst looking at the Mazam v Masam topic I came across this topic of our ramblings from the old forum. That forum will shortly disappear for good, to be deleted by Webs, but I enjoyed reading it again and thought there might be some life left in it.
Anglo Italian
We have to start with the premise that the promoters decided we shouldn't have the truth and they just had to lie. We all know how Londoner Johnny Kwango was told he was from Lagos but didn't know where that was. Last year my bubble was burst when I found out that The African Witchdoctor was from Trinidad.In fact, the only wrestler really billed from The West Indies was Johnny Kincaid, billed by the promoters from Barbados, who has told us he's from Battersea. This gets me to thinking that the others were probably, surely, not from where we imagine. Prince Kumali wasn't from Georgetown, Guyana. What a shame, I spent 40 years believeing he was. Where was he really from? Has Leon Fortuna ever been to Tonga? The one we have never mentioned but, regrettably, we now have to suspect as having been billed under false pretences was Honey Boy Zimba. The Lion of Africa surely wasn't from Freetown, Sierra Leaone. But where?Not hard to imagine that they were all part of the immigration wave from the Caribbean in the 1950s, but as usual, we don't really know much. Or do we?
Ron Historyo
You can add , Ezra Francis , Bobo Matu and there are some in the 1930's like Robert Adams (Black Eagle) and later Grant Fodderingham. (Black Panther) All a mystery to me.
Bernard Hughes
I always believed that Geoff Portz was South African , because that was where he was always billed from in Newcastle. I can understand that South Africa sounds more exotic than Shipley but on that basis how can you explain Hassan Ali Bey, born in Turkey , but always billed from Egypt? Is Egypt more exotic than Turkey? By the way talking about Black wrestlers, I did think that Masambula was the African witchdoctor as billed, but this site spoiled that for me many years later.
Anglo Italian
When did we spoil Masambula for you, Bernard? I only twigged he was from Trinidad about six months ago. The more specific the promoters were, the more likely what they said was tosh. The assumption has to be that the majority of these wrestlers were part of Windrush, I'm afraid. So what about Honey Boy? Eddie and Paul will know as he was a famed drinker on the Manchester scene. Not Geoff Portz, nor "Australia's" Alan Garfield. And yet when they had someone nice an international like Steve Logan, they made him from Brixton! Inveterate liars .…
Ray Hulm
Charles Mascall wrote reams and reams of stuff about how legitamate and upstanding were Joint shows as apposed to all thos dodgy independents. One of his favourite hobby horses was how all those visiting foreign stars were just that and had Home Office work permits allowing them to take part in 40 matches.
Anglo Italian
Those Commonwealth citizens who came as part of Windrush had British citizenship so there was no problem. Masambula worked pretty much nightly for over 20 years from 1952: all the more reason for undertsanding he wasn't from a non-Commonwealth country. It's pretty obvious really but we have collectively taken a decade to get there. Charles was probably trying to imply that these "Africans" were within the 40-bout yearly limit. Even this was cunningly misleading. At the time, most fans didn't realise wrestlers were having over 200 bouts a year. The Home Office limit applied to a few true visitors but for most it didn't matter - they came and went home. Some just had a handful of bouts, like Bert Mychell and the odd American.Jon Guil Don is perhaps one who did have to count his bouts, as we have described.Quasimodo seemingly counted his annual quota and used it each year. Ricki Starr and Billy Two Rivers are specific cases but in any case don't fall into the focus I am geting at here. Honey Boy, Ezzard Hart, Masambula - these interest me.
Ron Historyo
Honey Boy Zimba was Ernal Stevens and born in Jamaica in 1937 , one of twelve brothers who helped dad run a pig farm.
Anglo Italian
All through the ebola outbreak three years ago I worried for Honey Boy's family in Freetown, Sierra Leone! All we need now is for Ron to trace Masambula and we can put this one to bed. Masambula seems to have a large family who occasionally, if they are real, come on here with all kinds of accusations but never tell us anything.
Ron Historyo
There was a Sierra Leone connection but his story I have tucked away for you Anglo.
see
http://www.wrestlingheritage.co.uk/apps/photos/photo?photoid=204799356
Anglo Italian
Cheers! No mention of his warrior Nigel phase, then. That should have come before Zimba. But encouraging to see Freetown was based on truth! I can't believe it. A rarity.
Bernard Hughes
I'm sure that I read somewhere on this site that Masambula was from Yorkshire.
powerlock
I am sure he was based in Yorkshire, could it have been Bradford?
Anglo Italian
Yes, Masambula from Leeds or Bradford we have established. He had to live somewhere. I suppose we need to define FROM. Thanks James. Well, well. Maybe it's true. By the same token, wrestlers couldn't really contradict what was said or written about them by the promoters. Count Bartelli could spin a yarn and when he started he didn't stop. Masambula remains a great mystery and only French newsreel has been able to tell us anything.
Ron Historyo
The other grandad to two of my grandsons was a taxi driver and used to pick up and collect Masambula from Bradford to get him and all his gear to Belle Vue. That is a fact , shame Tom is no longer with us.
I will add that Mam B Jang married Monica J Latta in Bradford in 1958 and they had two daughters. I don't know if this was his only marriage. I also have some doubts that Masambula could have been born as early as 1917 which some sources have it. That would make him 35 before he even cropped up. The search for his origin goes on.
Ray Hulm
I wonder if Masambula was influenced by, or perhaps met, Prince Monolulu a West Indian who claimed to be a member of an Ethiopian tribe. Both were great characters anyway.
Bernard Hughes
Blast from the past Ray. I remember Prince Monolulu at the race tracks with his "I've gotta horse". To promote his tipster trade.
By the way, they never won!
Anglo Italian
Well, well, Mam B Jang. I think the Mick McManus book said his name was Masamba Jeng. Into the mix we have to throw the assumption that his ring name was a nod to pre-war wrestler Max Bambula. Regarding age, Ron, that would have made him 57 when he had his "career-ending" bout with Pete Roberts.He was certainly youthful but younger than Kellett who was still going strong in the same year. Personally I think that's ok. To carry off his gimmick in 1952 he would have needed to be quite mature, don't you think. Few other 23-year-olds than Kendo Nagasaki could step into top billing with such outlandish showmanship. So we could assume that Masambula started in 1952 having just arrived from Trinidad, or perhaps he arrived earlier. To start off with that gimmick, surely he would have had some other wrestling experience? But where? Trinidad, France, UK ... elsewhere. And under what name? I think we need to unearth the Max Bambula topic just to exclude him totally on age, now that Masambula is a little older than we had thought. I'm off to root out Max.
james morton
Nothing to do with wrestling but as a matter of interest Prince Monolulu whose real name was Peter McKay was a well known figure in Soho and on the racetracks just before and after WW 2. He was probably born n the 1880s in the Virgin Islands which were then under Danish sovereignty. His catch phrase "I gotta horse' was apparently in response to the revivalist preacher Gypsy Smith vying for the crowds on the free course at Epsom who called out 'I've got heaven' and Monolulu replied, 'and I've got a horse'. He died in 1965.
Bernard - you are wrong. His horses often won if only because he would tip the name of every horse in the race to the mug punters so one of them had to be a winner.
Anglo Italian
Haha. He was so big his cathphrase even spawned the film "I've gotta horse." In the pre-internet days, and even pre televised racing, racecourse tipsters played an important role.
I've been looking everywhere for the Max Bambula thread and photo but no trace. Must have been about 2013. Someone found his photo for me. I remember sending Results Ray a great long list of his results in Germany. Now that Ron has revealed Masambula was born as early as 1917, I would just love to have another look at forties Max Bambula -- just in case he is indeed our man. Forties Max Bambula was a copy of the original who had died in 1930.
John
On page 96 of Simon Garfield's book The Wrestling there is a report of the court case where Masambula sued Joint Promotions for damages after he had been injured by a faulty ring post. In the report of the court case it says that Masambula's real name was Mam Buna Jeng and he was aged 57. The court case took place in June 1981, which would mean he was born in either 1923 or 1924. His injury took place in a bout in 1975 but the court case was not until 6 years later, which might explain the confusion regarding his age. He was 57 when the court case took place, not when the injury occurred.
Ron Historyo
That strikes me as Realistic...Thanks
Ron Historyo
I have a friend who has checked this out for me. So we have a double check.
Masambulas death in 2007 was registered as Mambuna Matthew M Jang .....died in Bradford 2007 age 83 with a date of birth as 18th June 1924. Wife Monica died last year.
I think the only way this will now be solved is an interview similar to Honey Boy Zimba. It will be in the papers out there and may turn up one day. Thus far there are no migration records captured on the genealogy sites.
Anglo Italian
Have you found a birthplace, Ron?
Ron Historyo
No Anglo , and I wish Tom the Taxi driver was here because I think he said Masambula did not speak good English , but I am not sure about that. That would make it unlikely that he was Jamaican. Did anyone ever hear him speak or get an autograph. He crops up in France ,wonder if he really was French West Africa of origin. He was certainly not in England in 1939 or before, that I can see. Not born here.
Ray Hulm
His widow passed away last year.
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/15237058.Monica_Jean_Jeng/?ref=arc
paul mitchell
Mass had a strange accent certainly not typical Jamaican, now after all this time I can only vaguely remember a conversation about I think Gambia ,don't know if this is help or hinderance
Anglo Italian
Yes, Ron, I got his autograph heaps of times. But he was very good, he wiggled around like in the ring and you couldn't get a straight conversation with him. Beautiful handwriting, though. He had an accent. Of course at the time we just thought this was what African Witchdoctors sounded like. But it could equally well have been Trinidadian.