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School teachers can have an impact on their pupils and be very influential. That was the case with Gustav LeBrun.
No, we are not talking about Gustav LeBrun the wrestler.
Gustav LeBrun was a teacher at a Blackpool school in the 1940s and 1950s, One of his pupils was a lad called Arthur Heaton, born in wartime Blackpool in 1942. Mr LeBrun made an impression on young Arthur. So much so that not only did Arthur go on to become a teacher himself but also when he became a professional wrestler Arthur chose the ring name of Gustav Le Brun.
The teaching came first. Arthur Heaton had no plans to become a professional wrestler until he was appointed as a science teacher at St Francis’ Secondary School in West Gorton. It was here he met and became friends with a teacher just a year older, Edwin Caldwell, who we wrestling fans all know as Eddie Rose. Now Eddie didn’t just teach history at the school he also persuaded the Head of the school to add freestyle wrestling to the syllabus for first year pupils, one thirty-five minute lesson each week.
Many of the boys (girls were taught judo) developed their interest by joining the school’s twice a week after school wrestling club. Working alongside Eddie was his friend Arthur Heaton, Eddie concentrating on wrestling and Arthur focusing on physical fitness.
Arthur’s sporting passion was rugby. Eddie was just starting out as a professional wrestler and told his friend of the great time he was having and (most probably) of dreams of becoming rich and famous. If his sporting fitness wasn’t enough to cajole Arthur maybe it was Eddie telling him that he would make a great wrestler because he looked like a cross between Omar Sharif and Alan Miquet, the very popular Huddersfield welterweight.
And so it was to be, the Eddie Rose charm did the trick and Arthur agreed to be introduced to Grant Foderingham, who would undertake to turn him into a professional wrestler. Following his apprenticeship at Foderingham’s “Black Panther” Gym Arthur, now masquerading as Gustav LeBrun made his professional debut in the careful arms of his friend Eddie. It was a six round draw and Gustav Le Brun was on his way.
Gustav went on with an unbeaten sequence for his first dozen bouts against Pete Lindberg, Roy Fortuna, Mark Wayne and other local wrestlers. He impressed audiences with his fast, clean-cut, scientific style. His first loss came versus Bruce Welch at Rothesay in Scotland.
Eddie and Gustav organised a professional wrestling show in the school hall, raising money for the school building fund (yes, fifty plus years ago schools were short of money). Gustav and Eddie wrestled twice that night, Gustav against Alec Burton in a singles match and then the two teachers teaming up to face the masked Barons (and what were the chances the masked pair were Alec Burton and Mark Wayne, their opponents in the singles matches).
Gustav LeBrun was paired with Mark Wayne, “The Prince Charming of Wrestling” in tag matches, billed as the best looking tag team in the North. They were matched against the Red Devils, the Masked Barons, the Flying Scots, the Spidermen and many long-forgotten combinations.
His best bouts were with Eddie Rose, Ian Wilson and a notable tussle with Jack Dempsey that he lost to Dempsey’s single leg Boston Crab in the final round of a special challenge match at the Houldsworth Hall in Manchester.
Fate was to deal a cruel blow when Gustav suffered several bad injuries, initiated by Dempsey with the damage to his knee from the submissions in his bout with the Wigan wrestler. He never regained full fitness and his form suffered leading to a premature retirement from wrestling in 1973; a sad end to a very promising start.
Arthur Heaton returned to Blackpool where he worked in a private car hire business.
Page added 17/03/2024
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