Get This Tag

By Ron Historyo

Wrestling Heritage welcomes memories, further information and corrections.

Tag team wrestling, something like what we know it, seems to have begun in the UK in 1949. Maybe someone will come along and find a late 1948 bill, but as yet I will stick with 1949.

If you ever wondered why Dory Funk Junior was junior, then the 1932 bill shows his dad way back. Shown here during the war was a two hour match again in Ohio. Can you imagine a two hour match. See the 1941 bill above.

At this stage I thought it would be worth a look at Canada and without finding the very first ever Tag I did find the introduction of Tag to Lethbridge. Although later to be on Stu Hart’s Calgary Loop Circuit, Lethbridge in 1947 had a promoter called Bus Murdock. Twenty five years later Nagasaki, Portz and others were fighting at the Exhibition Auditorium, but back in 1947 the venue was a wooden building known as The Barn. So if Canada was also ahead of us in this innovation I wanted one last look at another continent and that was Australia. From here on in I have my own theory as to how Tag Wrestling hit the UK. My theory is not the definitive history, but I shall show you my findings. In an Adelaide Newspaper in November 1948 they ran an article about a Greek born Australian wrestler who had just returned from 14 months in the USA.He was Leo Demetral.

Demetral (left) had been impressed with Tag Wrestling and was pushing for it to be shown in Australia. Moreover he was coming to Europe to take part in a 17 week Tournament in Switzerland where he would represent Australia. He was to also come to England, France, Belgium and Spain. Leo had won some fame in America with his hold The Standing Crucifix. One year after the article Leo was working for Relwyskow and in a Tag Match against The Pyes.

Leo Demetral was probably responsible for the push Tag got in Australia, but he was not here in the UK to actually start it in 1949. You only need to read the Heritage Years of Wrestling for 1949 and you will see that several other Antipodeans came to Britain in that year, Frank Hurley being one and New Zealander’s Ray Clarke, Bob Russell and Russ Bishop.

However, the timing was not quite right as I can show Tag as early as the very start of 1949.The January 24th bill at Hull is the earliest Tag that I can find and it is a Relwyskow Promotion like the previous one I showed with Leo Demetral on it.

The Demetral article had been November 1948, and Sam Burmister on the bill above was an Australian that set sail that month to come and work for Relwyskow. I told the story of Burmister, an old Pro in my Trail series, but back to my tag theory, did he hot foot it to England to influence Relwyskow with the news that Tag was starting in Australia? Why not steal a march?

Of course, I cannot prove what really went on, but all these guys knew one another and another Wallaby, Bob McMaster, was responsible for Burmister coming here.

If my research is correct it was to be August 1949 before promoter Bob Marshall introduced Tag Wrestling at the Adelaide Stadium in Australia. He claimed in the papers that this was the first ever tag team Wrestling in Australia.The news had travelled to England and Relwyskow had been quick off the mark.

Whatever, some way or another news had crossed continents about Tag Wrestling and may well have arrived in England without going via the Atlantic. Ironically the UK launch did not have the same rules as those shown above in Australia which were simply the best out of three falls. Relwyskow took the Tag bout to Dundee after the Hull show and at Dundee on the 1st February 1949 the rules were explained in the programme. These early bouts were decided on a points basis. Eight points were needed for victory and I am a little unsure if a tag rope was used as a clasp of the hands at the corner post was described. Points were awarded as follows. 3 for a fall….3 for a submission……3 against for a DQ4 for a knockout.

Over in Belfast promoter George Connell went for it in April at the Ulster Hall. Who exactly was on the show I don’t know but the wrestlers Connell used for his shows were the same roster of Northern wrestlers. Relwyskow had a foot in the door in Ireland also providing Jack McClelland in Derry with wrestlers.

In March 1949 Tag was shown at Newcastle. I believe by this time Norman Morrell was Matchmaker, but both Morrell and George Rel Jr had turned pro and wrestled for George Rel senior. They were close associates.

One other promoter name crops up and that is Ted Beresford whose Globe Promotions did shows at Lincoln. Beresford was yet another Relwyskow wrestler and in fact was one of the very first to fight in a regular tag team. A frequent partner was Cab Cashford. Cashford also teamed with another Promoter, Jack Dale.In that first year the most prolific tag wrestler I could find was Harry Fields, who had a regular partnership with Joe Hill, shown in the bill at Hamilton. Again I believe this was Relwyskow as Glasgow had been very reluctant to take wrestling and Hamilton was perhaps the nearest place wrestling could be offered.

Was it just coincidence that on this bill we have Sam Burmister with the man he mentored, Bob McMasters or was he also helping showcase Tag Wrestling? Maybe my imagination is running away with me.

Doulas The Turk and Les Stent were also frequent early “taggers” as was Sankey Allen, alias Carlton Smith, in both guises. I don’t think the points system lasted long and indeed tag ropes were pretty much there from the start. Francis Gregory teamed typically with Mike Demitre and also Lew Faulkner with The Farmer did some tag long before the days of their famous sons forming teams. Of course Jack Pye was quickly in on the act as well.The final part of my story is that thus far I don’t find Tag going on in the south at this early stage. So that’s a question really, can anyone find a 1949 Dale Martins bill with Tag?

Finally, I think we have to conclude that it was Relwyskow Jr who started tag here and showed it at Hull, Morecambe and in Scotland. Did he get the news of this format from Australia, and I just wonder if it was that old hand Sam Burmister. Of course Burmister and Leo Demetral may have been friends, I can certainly find them fighting each other as far back as 1934 in Australia.That’s my theory and for now I am sticking to it.

Historyo

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