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Karl Berg was the name adopted by Hungarian Kalman Vegh after he had fled Hungary following the 1956 uprising. Having arrived in Britain he was placed in temporary accommodation at Haverton Hill in the Belasis Hostel which had been opened in 1917 to house workers at the new Furness Shipyard.
He was in his late teens at the time and made his way to Jim Stockdale’s Apollo gym. He set up permanent home in Thornaby after marrying in 1963, and together he and his wife parented two children. On 9th March, 1967 he assumed British citizenship.
Using the professional name Karl Berg he worked for Stockdale and various independent promoters mostly in the north of England, often travelling and wrestling his friends Jim McCormack and Jimmy Devlin. Karl Berg died on 25th June, 2022, aged 83.
Page added 19/06/2026
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