Hello gentlemen, I am pleased to announce the book is now available on pre-order (October 5th official release date). Thank you so much for your help with my research - the site and some individuals are thanked and acknowledged in the book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785316826?pf_rd_r=7JAKA9ER162JFBJXW99G&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e Steve.

Thanks Ron. Is there an official British Hall of Fame? i have an interesting story from when I visited Doug’s niece. She refuses to accept it was worked! I had planned on writing the story as the work anyway and then reveal all at the end, as a kind of twist. But I am going to have to be careful what I write!

Hello again gents. I’m nearing the end of my manuscript so would just like to thank you all for contributing to my research. publication by Pitch Publishing scheduled for September. Wrestling Heritage will be getting a big acknowledgement. Please follow me on Twitter @steven_bell1985 to keep up to date and share in the book publicity! Thanks again!

Ron that video is pretty special. Well done and thank you.

Thanks gents. I am merely going to mention that he wrestled in NZ, no more than that. I‘m covering the Lurich angle in more detail. I plan on just captioning the arm-bar pic with something generic - “Douglas Clark in All-In” wrestling action”. But I think I will say that the second picture is Lurich, as it will assist my narrative that those matches got down in the trenches!

Thanks Ron. My narrative is going to be an ambitious half-way-house between reality and fiction, between kayfabe and non-kayfabe. I am painting Irslinger and Oakeley and the London based heels and Douglas and George as the northern based baby faces in a “feud-within-a-feud”. But then I will address in the notes/acknowledgments that it was all a pantomime rivalry enacted in the printed press. I have a lovely signed photo Atholl Oakeley sent Duggy, with a personalised message, dated 1931 - the year the ”rivalry“ would’ve started.

This is the other one I have - presumably from the same match. I am going to write that this is Lurich, as it looks very stiff and I have read that their matches got pretty brutal. When you say he was hidden from history for a long time - that was the impression I was getting. He is barely mentioned in ”Blue Blood on the Mat”, whereas relative mid-carders are talked of more highly. Should we assume there was a genuine - non-kayfabe - bitterness between himself and Oakeley, and that his why his legacy was shunned so much?

Sorry, but no. I found these amongst the personal artefacts left by Douglas, now in the possession of his niece. No further information was attached. But thanks for the info so far!

Hi guys - hope you all had a great Christmas! Does anyone know who Clark is wrestling in this photo?

Hi Ron. In your intro to your piece on Doug’s Australian tours, you mention 365 wins, 2 draws and zero losses, with no falls against. Is that believed to be his total record at the time? I have him giving some falls away in matches won 2-1 or in the draw with Irslinger.... thank you.

I have read a lot about Clark and Irslinger agreeing to an immediate rematch following their draw in Leeds, Oct. 1931, but cannot find any evidence that it did. Do you have any evidence whether it happened or not? Thank you.

Thanks Ron. The above information about Doug’s C&W wins circa 1930 you have provided - may I ask where that is from? If I view the original text something else of use may jump out at me... Thanks.

Great stuff. I can say ‘22, ‘24, ‘26 Grasmere wins and then ‘30 World Championship win - that would explain the 3/4 times champ mix-up. It’s perfect for the narrative too as I can say he’d achieved everything there was to achieve by the end if 1930 in C&W and so the spring ‘31 “All-In” tournament was perfect for him as a new challenge. Anymore pics like this would be much appreciated. Can I assume permission for use in my project is ok? Thanks again.

Thanks Ron, All the events were annual as part of the summer-season campaign. There was no overall/current champion, just the champion/holder of each event - with the Grasmere and the World Championships (venue moved around) the two “major” events. From the great above info, I glean that the Worlds were held at Whittingham in 1930 and Doug won. At the end of the day, if we cant be sure from all of our research, my readers aren’t exactly going to be able to correct me on it are they... I’d just like as much and accurate info as possible. But the info is understandably a little scarce. Thanks again Steve

Hello again all. This enquiry is for anyone but especially for Ron, as he maybe best suited to help. I have seen and heard Douglas described as both a 3-time and a 4-time Cumberland & Westmorland World Champion. But there were two annual recognised events that crown the sport its “Champion”: the Grasmere Games and the World Championships. Do we know which counted towards his tally, and do we think the complication of the two separate tournaments is what is causing the discrepancy with his total? I know he won the Grasmere title in ‘22 and ‘24 and must‘ve won one of them in ‘30 to be declared the current C&W champ going into the ‘31 “All-In” tournament. Do we know any more specifics about what exactly he won in C&W ‘25 through to ‘30? Thank you in advance Steve.

Hi guys. I know this is a long shot, but I dont suppose we have a Cumberland & Westmorland historian on here do we? Or know where I may find one? I have tried a few email addresses I have found on websites but have had no replies...

Right gents, after finalizing the content of what I want in the main body of my book, I have decided to feature the following of Clark’s matches: • his q/f of the 1931 tournament versus Modrich • the final of the same tournament against Oakeley • his one minute destruction of Johanfesson • both of the June 1931 battles with Assirati • the Irslinger draw in leeds • both matches against Gertsmanns which led to the World title victory Any info or pictures of these matches would be great, or any interesting pics of any of the above wrestlers. No rush, the writing is still very much in its infancy. But thank you in advance.

You sir, are a hero. Thanks once again.

Hi guys! Do we have any info on Clark’s encounter with Irslinger in October 1931? I have seen a poster but not much else in the articles in the site. By my reckoning, Irslinger was regarded as the World Champion at that time. But Clark didnt win a claim to the World Championship until he beat Gertsmanns two years later? Who won the Clark/Irslinger match in Leeds and how? Thank you in advance.

Wow - thanks for that! So it clearly wasnt Tiger Joe in the semi-final of the tournament - he would’ve been far too young (if born!). But I would be willing to bet it will have been his father, and possibly his grandfather who Clark wrestle in the C&W style back in 1915! Thanks again.