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A real old timer and one of those pioneers who kept British wrestling alive during the wilderness years of 1910-1930, wrestling great wrestlers such as Tom Rose and Billy Riley in legitimate matches in front of thousands of fans.
Billy was a master of Lancashire style catch-as -catch-can, a legitimate style of wrestling that was the specialism of Lancashire that had influenced the development of the sport across the world in the 19th century. Forum discussion of Billy established that Billy won the world middleweight title in 1927. Legend has it that 11,000 turned up to watch when he wrestled Billy Riley at Springfield Park, Wigan. David Mantell was quick to remind us, “This was legitimate Lancashire Catch-as-catch-can wrestling and not pro wrestling as such – hence why the bout took place in a field/pitch and not in a ring.” Not pro wrestling as we know it, but the thousands of fans paid entrance money and wrestlers received their reward.
Billy was born in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, on 9th June 1891, one of eleven children, and consequently forty years old at the time of the 1930 wrestling revival. All the more surprising that not only was he prolific worker in northern England during the 1930s but had a sufficiently combative style to become known as the Lancashire Terror, and challenged the heavier Bert Assirati, Jack Pye and Atholl Oakeley to meet him with £100 sidestakes.
Billy was a very aggressive fighter. Newspapers reported that on 7th March, 1932, when Billy beat Scottish champion Alec Munroe in the main event of the first ever All-in wrestling show at Hull the crowd were in uproar. Three times the two wrestlers fought outside the ring, kicking, biting and gouging, with Billy eventually getting the winning fall whilst his foot was on Alec Munroe’s foot. Following the match Billy struggled to shout above the jeering crowd to explain that he was the middleweight catch-as-catch-can champion but was now fighting All-In style.
“A mild sensation” was how newspapers reported the occasion in 1933 when a fully clothes Billy Moores entered the ring and attacked wrestler Jock Garner, was separated by the MCand referee, and led to a future contest. Proof that wrestling nonsense went back further than many would believe.
A relative has told us that Billy married Mary Donnelly, the niece of Billy Riley, and in 1927 they moved to Stainforth in Yorkshire where they opened a greengrocery with some of the produce sourced from his own farm.
Billy Moores died in 1964.
Page added 03/02/2024
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