Also known as Sugar Ray DoDo, The Zulu, The Witchdoctor
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Bewitched
Should a book of wrestling’s greatest characters be written Ezra Francis is sure to be in there, whatever the criteria. Stories of the man abound whenever the wrestling fraternity gathers together. Eddie Rose told Wrestling Heritage:
“Ezzie was a favourite to work with and to socialise with, too. Top man and what a sense of humour, mind you, we needed it because we were both Manchester City fans! I had some of my most memorable bouts with him. He was fun to be with and had a wide variety of moves to suit every occasion. He took on all shapes and sizes from Jackie Pallo to Klondykes and always gave full value to the audiences.”
The fans loved Ezra, whether he was billed that night as The Zulu, Sugar Ray Francis, Sugar Ray Dodo or The Witchdoctor.
Ezra Hosea Francis was born in Jamaica in 1931, one of eleven children. On arrival in Britain he settled in Manchester and gained work as a welder. Life wasn’t easy for a Jamaican in Manchester in the late 1950s and we have newspaper reports of Ezra being subject to racial abuse. He was a muscular, powerful man who could certainly look after himself. A keen body builder in the early 1960s Ezra became well known competing around the north west.
Then he turned to wrestling. It was at Grant Foderingham’s gym where he met Eddie Rose and trained alongside Eddie, Pete Lindberg, Alec Burton and Ian Wilson. We discovered Ezra on the wrestling bills for the first time in 1962. The names Sugar Ray Dodo and The Zulu seem to have appeared simultaneously for the next twenty years, our final sighting being in 1984.
During those twenty years he wrestled all over the country. Whenever we saw him live it was in the guise of The Zulu. The grass skirt, spear and facial paint meant that Ezra was on the bill. He was a hugely popular and regular performer on the independent circuit throughout the 1960s and 1970s. When the lights were down and he entered the hall the excitement amongst the crowd was very real. A slow walk into the ring, followed by a bit of voodoo nonsense directed at an opponent and then he would get down to the serious business of wrestling, at which he was very good.
Promoter Graham Brook told us: “I forget with whom I partnered Ezra but I promoted a tag match in 1976 at The Parr Hall in Warrington which saw Ezra (whom I promoted on this occasion as The Witchdoctor entering the ring in grass skirt with a stick with a skull at the top of it and all that nonsense) and partner face Lincolnshire Poachers Bill and Rick Clarke (Rick Wiseman). My then friend Stuart “Big Boy” Miller was referee. During the course of the match Witchdoctor “hypnotised” Bill Clarke pointing to referee Miller and a humorous interlude occurred which saw Clarke chasing Miller around the ring. The interlude concluded when Miller slapped Clarke across the face bringing him out of the trance. ‘Referee….he’s using voodoo,’ complained Clarke but Miller just signalled for him to wrestle on.”
Occasionally he did work for Joint Promotions, one of the highlights of his career no doubt being the night he appeared at Belle Vue in Manchester. Opponents included many of the big names in wrestling – Klondyke Bill, Count Bartelli, Shirley Crabtree and Wild Angus.
Ezra promoted in a number of Manchester clubs in the 1960s and 1970s. Not all were the most refined establishments, and we recommend seeking out Eddie Rose’s books to read more about Ezra.
Ezra Hosea Francis died on 8th April, 2008, aged 76.
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