Also known as The Professor
Wrestling Heritage welcomes memories, further information and corrections.
Heywood’s Cyril Morris was a wrestler with outstanding amateur credentials who went on to learn the rough and tough of Lancashire catch wrestling. He was born on 30th October, 1917, the son of Henry and Emily Morris. In 1939 his occupation was listed as a terra cotton maker.
After serving in the Royal Navy for the duration of the war he brought to the wrestling rings of the 1940s and beyond a pure and scientific style that went down well with the fans. Weighing in at around fourteen stones he became a regular feature of rings in the late 1940s, opposing fellow northerners Jack Keegan, George Goldie, Val Cerino and the like. In 1948 he was also one of the earliest opponents for the newly hooded Count Bartelli, who was recently returned from service in the far east. Coincidentally he was also one of the first opponents for Bartelli’s hooded protege, Kendo Nagasaki, in 1965.
During his twenty year career Cyril Morris, that was his real name, ventured northwards into Scotland but rarely seems to have travelled south of Birmingham. Cyril was the first opponent of Albert Wall when the Doncaster man made his professional debut. In the early 1960s he pulled on a mask of his own, Billed as “A Master of Wrestling”, The Professor first appeared in rings during the Autumn of 1962, and remained undefeated with mask intact for several years. Heritage member Adrian Pollard said:” Clad from top to toe in red and claiming to be the Master of the ‘Art of Scientific Wrestling’ this Professor put together quite a String of Victories! Arriving to the Ring in Academic Gown and Mortar Board-He proved to be an unusual sight indeed!”
David Sutherland also saw Cyril Morris wrestling in a mask, “I was quite surprised to see a masked man who wrestled within the rules. Secondly it was widely accepted that the man under the mask was Cyril Morris. I never saw Mr Morris wrestle without the mask but the lady who sat behind me had The Professor pegged as Cyril Morris from the way he stood in the corner in between rounds, a significant stance with all his weight on his forward facing right leg.”
Cyril Morris was a favourite of Wryton Promotions, and was wrestling right up to his sudden death in 1966, also refereeing for Wryton towards the end of his career. He died on a building site whilst helping a friend build his bungalow.
Page added 04/02/2024
Wrestling Heritage 