Also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kojak
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Liverpool born Alfred Woodward was made for life as a pro wrestler. Okay, maybe not the name but that was easily fixed by a change to Buddy Ward.
The personality, the toughness and the competitive element made him a natural. The first time we saw Buddy Ward in action he struck us as a bit of a hard nut. We weren’t wrong. An unsurprising assessment to those who saw the shaven headed whirlwind in action, but a little more surprising when we tell you he was facing Bob Sherry, one of the hardest men in the game.
Buddy turned professional in 1959, and never went out of his way to make friends in the ring. Not the most scientific of wrestlers he was, nonetheless, a man with some skill who could hold his own with anyone in the ring. Some early bouts saw him billed as Woody Ward (reference to his family name of Woodward) and in the early sixties a frequent opponent was a young “German” who went on to become Steve Veidor, also from Ellesmere Port, the town that Buddy later lived in.
The contrasting styles of the tough guy Buddy Ward with the clean cut Veidor was one repeated time and again by the promoters of the early 1960s, certainly enough times to show it was one that pleased the fans. Buddy learned how to work a crowd, and he worked them well without the need to resort to too much skulduggery.
During the 1960s Buddy worked mainly in the independent halls, but also made some appearances for Joint Promotions, and was a frequent traveller to the continent and Australia. The move to Joint Promotions in 1962 saw him hold his own with the likes of hell-in-boots Keith Martinelli and classical stylist Clayton Thomson. Many other well known names were in the opposite corner, but whoever the opponent Buddy went in full of force and assured the fans of a rousing bout.
At times Buddy did adopt other personas that included Doctor Death, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Kojak, a popular tv detective at the time. And how about this for taking professionalism to a new level. In 1975 Alfred Birchall Woodward changed his name by Deed poll to Alfred Birchall Kojak.
Most wrestlers had a day job and while few will be surprised that Buddy bought and sold scrap metals and worked as a night club doorman one of his leisure interests is more likely to raise eyebrows. A surprise to most fans would have been Buddy’s interest in opera and his participation in Orpheus in The Underworld staged by Chester Operatic Society. Buddy played the part of Vulcan the blacksmith. As a keen member and supporter Buddy also organised a fund raising wrestling show for the society’s benefit. Another string to Buddy’s bow were the times he worked as a male stripper. The mind boggles.
Following his retirement in the late 1970s Buddy remained keenly interested in the wrestling scene. He worked with Bob and Jean Bell organising the Ellesmere Port Wrestlers Reunion.
In April, 2010, Buddy surprised the wrestling fans when he came out of retirement, aged 75, to wrestle Johnny Saint in his local hall. The match brought national attention to Buddy, who appeared on BBC television and challenged comedian Russell Howard to a wrestling match. A swift ending to the contest with Saint failed to subdue Buddy, who phoned us the next day to tell us he was satisfied to have made the fans happy. No doubt just another of life’s experiences that added to Buddy’s next career change, that of after dinner speaker.
Buddy Ward died on 18th June 2015.
Page added 13/11/2022
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