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Whizz kid of the 1970s and 1980s Judo Al Hollamby certainly looked the part in his white judo outfit, and he could wrestle too, against the likes of Bob Courage, Adrian Street and Alan Sajgeant.
Born in Surrey on 11th May, 1947 Al was one of the top wrestlers in the independent rings of southern England, not just in singles combat but often seen in tag action alongside Roger L Sandilands, collectively known as Les Diaboliques.
Our last sighting of Al in the ring was in July 1984, at Sittingbourne, when he partnered Ricky Starr to defeat the Masked Marauders.
Apart from wrestling extensively Al was also one of the major southern independent promoters of the 1970s, in 1979, Verdun Leslie Promotions He partnered Roger Sandilands in this venture too, each using their middle names to create the company name.
Verdun Leslie Promotions were part of the British Wrestling Alliance and played a significant role in female wrestling in London. In 1977 they planned to put on a female contest which was banned by Greater London Council. One of the women in that contest, Sue Brittain, took the council to an industrial tribunal on the grounds of sexual discrimination and challenging the bye law. She won her case in June 1979. A few weeks later, on 23rd August, Verdun-Leslie Promotions promoted Sue Brittain and Jane St John in the first female match in a London public hall since before the second world war.
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