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Uncovering A Hidden Talent
Keith Waddington was something of a surprise inclusion in the The Who’s Who of Wrestling, because he was by no means a household name of the 1960s or 1970s. The surprise was no less when our own research uncovered only a handful of professional contests. Nonetheless, someone was influential enough to put forward his name to gain entry to the Who’s Who, a book itself which was something of an oddity.
Keith was from the village of Lightcliffe in the Calderdale region of West Yorkshire. A country lad he had rural interests that included fishing and farming. Keith favoured weight training and was a member of the Brighouse Barbell Club prior to developing his wrestling interest and training for the professional ring at Bradford’s Hilltop Club and Relwyskow’s Leeds Gymnasium. So his credentials were first class.
Our earliest find of Keith wrestling is in Edinburgh in 1969, a 500 mile round trip from home. We were told that Keith disliked travelling far, and therein probably lies the reason for his low profile and premature disappearance from the wrestling circuit – Relwyskow and Green demanded from their workers a willingness to travel to their Scottish venues. We later learned that Keith’s aversion to travelling was that he was the carer for his father, Ronald, and it was these responsibilities that prevented him fulfilling the required travelling commitments of a professional wrestler.
Wrestling enthusiast SaxonWolf said, “What a smashing bloke, forgoing the wrestling travel to look after his dad.”
Keith Waddington Born 11th June, 1943 died, aged 71, on 13th March, 2015.
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