Wrestling Outdoors

frank thomas

I was watching last nights boxing at goodison park Liverpool, (I am a keen boxing as well as wrestling aficionado) and my mind went back to the one and only time I watched wrestling outdoors. It was at some sort of community event and featured two contests, Roy st clair v johnny south and romeo Joe critchley v tug Wilson. Do any wrestling heritage members have any experience of wrestling 'alfresco'? Comments and thoughts as ever thanks..

grahambrook

I recall seeing a Brian Dixon show in the early seventies at Altrincham football ground (I think the team were called The Robins). We sat in the stand and the ring was on the pitch so there was quite some distance between ourselves and the wrestlers and it was difficult to get any atmosphere going. Joe Mercer entered the ring in the interval and drew the winning raffle tickets. The opening match saw "Bad Boy" Steve Young (later to become Skull Murphy) do six cats with Mike Dallas and the second match really did need suspension of belief for Mitzi Mueller (who had her arm in a sling) beat Klondyke Kate (not Jane Porter but Chrissy Thomson; later to wrestle as "Hellcat" Haggetty). The main event saw Monty Swann beat Roy"Bull"Davies by disqualification whilst the final bout featured, as did Frank's Goodison Park show, "Romeo" Joe Critchley who ended up showing his bottom and being beaten by Harry Palin.

About three years later I attended Coventry Carnival and Dale-Martin provided a wrestling show on the carnival field. The opener was Zoltan Boscik versus Steve Grey, the main support was "Ironman" Steve Logan versus John Casanova, the main event was "Big" Bruno Elrington versus Mike Marino and the show concluded with Clayton Thompson versus Bob Kirkwood.

I also attended Crewe Carnival on three occasions but, although outdoors, the show was held in a tent and gifted to the people of Crewe by Count Bartelli's widow. How Geoff would have felt about his legacy being used in this way I don't know but his widow was a very visible presence at the proceedings. The first show was promoted by Brian Dixon but I noticed that the two subsequent shows were John Freemantle promotions and featured a very charismatic villain who wrestled as Dick the Bruiser.

All my other experiences of watching wrestling have occurred indoors with a roof over my head.

frank thomas

Thanks graham, I saw wrestling in a tent myself at aintree racecourse, mid 1970s

Just a quick point, the outdoor wrestling I saw wasn't at goodison park, if I recall rightly, it was at cantril farm, on the outskirts of Liverpool, and was some kind of community festival..

powerlock

Yes in fact I booked a local promotion for a couple of community festivals, both drew good crowds and the second time we featured Sheamus about 6 month before he joined WWE, and Pac now known as WWE' s Adrian Neville was introduced to the crowd as he had just won a belt in Japan. Both times the weather was good, and the crowd were very happy

suffolkpunch24

There used to be outdoor Wrestling at the Ice Rink at the Wellington Pier in Great Yarmouth. It could be quite cool even in the Summer. Earlier it was held at The Marina open air Theatre in the same town.

Sapper James

Dick Harrison put on a show at a garden fete at the vicarage in Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire in 1993. Blondie Barrett pinned Dale Broughton following a Samoan drop. Johnny Kidd beat Scrubber Daly by reverse decision.

rasit huseyin

The nearest thing to outdoor wrestling i saw was in 1987 at the Supertent at Finsbury Park, north London, there were several shows by Dale Martin held there in the summer of 1987 and '88, it was also the same venue for the Nigel Benn v Michael Watson boxing match in 1989.

Tom H

Frank Price (Premier Promotions) put on Wrestling at Ilford Baths in tne winter months but in the summer of 1961 he put on a short run of promotions at Brooklands Stadium the home of Romford Football Club. Unfortunately the local council put a stop to the shows due to poor lighting in the stands. Some of the wrestlers who appeare here were, Shirley Crabtree, Big Bruno Elrington, Black Butcher Johnson, Tiger Bright, Eddie Capelli and George Kidd against Ken Shaw. The match between Tiger Bright and Black Butcher Johnson featured the oldest two wrestlers I've ever seen in a ring.

James

Remember seeing a Dale Martin open air show at Penzance Rugby club circa. 1982. Top of the bill Bert Royal who defeated Marc Rocco. Referee was Billy Barber.

Bernard Hughes

The Merry Fiddlers pub at Dagenham held weekly outdor shows .I think they were on Mondays, although that is a long time ago.

When i broached this subject before, someone suggested that the promoter was a Mrs Assirati.

Now where have I seen that name before. ?

Come to think of it , he was on there pretty regular.

david franklin

During the summer season in the 1960's wrestling was held every Tuesday in the open air on the Pier Bandstand in Weymouth. Unfortunately if it rained (as it cometimes did) it meant the show got cancelled.

Philip Kenyon

Hi,

As mentioned in my introduction, I once wrestled at an outdoor meeting. This was a coal miners fete somewhere in Yorkshire, maybe Settle or thereabouts. There were a few thousand coal miners attending with all sorts of things going on apart from the wrestling. The proceeds were going to the coal miner’s convalescent homes.

The whole show was filmed and was going to be shown at all the convalescent homes and clubs for miners.

The show was organised by my gym owner Bob Bannister who was himself an ex miner and I think on some sort of executive committee.

My opponent was my main trainer Don Plummer; needless to say I lost this particular bout.

Graham Bawden

I remember watching wrestling outside at the famous Bridgwater Fair. Can`t recall if it was a Dale Martin promotion. Anyway, it was good to watch live wrestling.

Phillip Thomas

In 1961/2 itv company TWW (Television Wales & the West )aired a series of half hour early evening wrestling shows from the gardens of their television studios. I seem to remember Kent Walton being the commentator (he also presented a very popular pop show called Discs a Gogo for the same company) Time as obscured details of any of the participants, but I do recall the show being a littler short on time for my tastes. Another memory is of an outdoor D&M show at Pontypridd Park Fete, one of the wrestlers being a personal favorite Gordon Nelson and another was Harry Kendal ( the hearing and speech impaired wrestler) They all performed bravely against the background of a brass band competition going on adjacent to the show, of course Harry would have been oblivious to the distraction,an advantage on this particular occasion.

Welsh Davey

Phillip's recollection has triggered one of my own memories- whether its linked in some way Im not sure. Mine relates I think to Harlech Television, which was was based in Cathedral Rd ,Cardiff and backed onto Pontcanna Fields. These fields were only a stones throw from Sophia Gardens - itself a venue of wednesday evening Devereux promoted shows in the early 1960's. Harlech staged at least one televised Saturday afternoon open air show. I guess this was early/mid 60's. Dont know if it was live or recorded but the one I attended on a warm sunny afternoon had Tony Charles in great form. But against whom, mc'd by or commented on Ive no idea. Mind you the contrast in atmosphere between this and my favoured smoky, dark, cold, winter night time Drill Hall shows was marked.

Bucktaylor64

Great Yarmouth Pier

wayne Bridges v John Quinn

yorkie

They had wrestling at Knottingley carnival for a couple of years, this must be around the mid seventies I think, the only bout I can remember was Gorilla Reg Ray against Cyril Knowles. I also went to a fete at Cawood and saw Jeff Kaye against Alan Dennison who put a nerve hold on, behind Kayes ears causing them to bleed who was taken out of the ring by the St Johns.

David Mantell

Margate, the Oval 1973:

powerlock

Good use of the bandstand, it looks like the rails have been removed as it looks like the holding brackets on the uprights of the bandstand roof

Les Prest

We did quite a lot of outdoor shows for St Lukes Matmen mainly gala's and summer fetes, and often put on a charity show for Mencap at Northallerton when on one occasion top of the bill was King Ben versus Magnificent Maurice, in which drew up a good crowd. Also another memorable occasion was at Brompton carnival, when they forgot to bring the bell to ring for the start and finish of the rounds so they used a biscuit tin lid and hit it with a large spoon, then during the 3rd bout the black clouds came over and the heavens opened up, the ring canvas was total wash, but at least they got two and a half bouts in.😬 regards Les.

SaxonWolf

Summer holiday shows I saw were often outdoors, including Margate and Great Yarmouth (both mentioned here already).

Melvin M Melvin

When I moved to Corby in 1962, it was the year of the traditional Pole Fair which takes place only every 20 years. There was outdoor wrestling on the West Glebe playing field (which has since been landscaped). The stand-out bout was a tag featuring Ken and Doug Joyce - possibly because they were local - and, I believe, Francis O'Sullivan and one other. The Joyces' win - when Doug headbutted an opponent in the stomach, off the ropes - didn't go down well! Later, a colleague at the British Steel computer dept., who was a cynic about wrestling, said that he had watched outdoor wrestling at a holiday camp. He insisted that one bout had gone on for ages until it began to rain, at which point Cliff Beaumont immediately gained the two falls required...