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A Tragic End
Max Martin Schultz has the misfortune of holding a tragic niche in the history of British wrestling. Precious little is known about him other than although usually billed on 1930s wrestling posters as French or German he was born Roy Martin Schutz in London on 1st September, 1913. He was of German heritage, the son of Martin and Charlotte Schutz, both born in Nassau, Germany.
Living in London before the war he worked as a furrier cutter, though declared himself unemployed and single in the 1939 Register. Following the outbreak of war we discovered that during the Second World Was he was married and on the island of Jersey during the German occuption, sharing lodgings with wrestler Eric Pleasants who joined the Nazi S.S. Just what became of Max during the War we don’t know but by 1946 he was back in Britain.
Our earliest documented sighting of Max Martin Schultz is in 1938, though we have undocumented results listed as early as 1933, with a Fritz Schultz, Carl Schultz and Dutch Schultz adding to the confusion. Following the outbreak of war he continued to wrestle in Britain until May, 1940, though we now find him billed as English or Continental. He disappeared in May, 1940, and eventually turned up in Jersey.
Max Martin Schultz was back in Britain in 1946. April 20th 1946 started out as just another day at the office. He was wrestling Leo Lightbody at Belle Vue, Manchester. He knew Lightbody well and it was his third Belle Vue appearance that month. Things didn’t turn out as planned. At the end of the match Schultz was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary and two days later was declared dead.
The coroner, Jessel Rycroft, recorded a verdict of “Death from misadventure” and cleared Lightbody of any responsibility. We have found conflicting accounts of events leading to the accident. Newspaper reports stated that Schultz climbed the ropes and rebounded backwards into Leo Lightbody. Lightbody ducked, Schultz hit his head on the floor, and broke his neck. Suspecting something was wrong Lightbody did not fall on to Schultz. The referee, Dick Rogers, told the coroner Schultz escaped from a hammerlock, fell on his back and hit his head.
Whichever the events unfolded the consequences were the tragic death of Max Martin Schultz on 20th April, 1946.
Page added 21/04/2024
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