Also known as Jack La Rue, Red Mask, Red Marvel, Red Devil
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The Fighting Machine
When Albert Barry Allwood married Muriel France in 1958 he didn’t just get himself a wife, he got a wrestling name. Born on 22nd January, 1936, Albert Allwood was known to wrestling fans as Bob Francini, after an initial debut as Jack LaRue. His tenure in the independent rings as LaRue seems to have been short lived, little more than a year from early 1968 into 1969. Al Marquette was a frequent opponent in those early days, and as both were from Stockport in Cheshire we suspect something of a professional connection.
Bob Francini was a charismatic character, but something of a tough nut who looked the part of the fighting machine, and not infrequent villain of the ring that he was. Not that he didn’t know more than a bit about how to wrestle, he had trained at the Hollywood Amateur Wrestling Club in Stockport. Amongst those he encouraged and helped to develop at the club was Ian Wilson, who also went on to a long and successful career.
By mid 1969 he was working for Joint Promotions, with a decade of regular bookings from Jack Atherton and Wryton Promotions. His all action style didn’t always endear him to fans but Francini’s bouts were never short of drama or emotion. During the decade of wrestling, our last sighting was in 1979, he wrestled a wide range of opponents at all weights from middleweight Meru Ullah, light heavyweight Tony Charles, mid heavyweight Bill Howes and heavyweight Roy Bull Davies. Add to that mix Les Kellett, Count Bartelli and most of the well known names of the time.
Highlights of his career included a couple of televised appearances, against Al Marquette and Bobo Matu, and a Royal Albert Hall outing against Tony Rocca. In the early 1970s he took to wearing a mask, or rather being unmasked at halls around the country. Last seen in 1979, we believe Bob Francini moved to Shrewsbury to pursue his interest of playing bowls.
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