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Ron Historyo Goes…
On The Trail of Mick McManus
One could say that it has all been said, talked to a stand still.
Mick McManus, the man they loved to hate, the ears not the ears, the Pallo feud, The Peter Preston Saga, the tag partnership with Iron Man Logan, the celebrity, the writer, the Nero hair Style. Not just here on Heritage but everywhere. It has all been covered.
Well of course this author tends to come at things at a slightly different angle and there might just be another window in time that I can open and maybe just a little more information that we can add to the archive and encyclopaedia that is Wrestling Heritage.
Let me start by mentioning that my Gran was one. Yes, she loved to hate him. I don’t believe she ever went to live wrestling, but I will say this, I am not so sure that she ever missed it at four o’clock.
Nobody was allowed to even visit in that hour. Except this writer.
Gran just wanted to see Mick get what she thought he deserved. As such, she was part of the great deception. Everyone who had a go was her hero. She fell for it. Gran never found out that the industry worked around an illusion. I will leave gran by saying that she was very upset when the plug was pulled in 1988. She lived till 1995 from 1900.
What I did say was that there might be another angle and that of course is the coverage of Mick’s early years. All wrestlers paid their dues. The story goes that Mick was in the forces and in 1945 made a wrestling debut in Australia at the Leitchardt Stadium, first failure on my part, I can’t actually confirm that.
Allegedly in 1946 he made a UK debut against Chopper Howlett at Greenwich Baths. Sounds plausible. Len Howlett was an old pro who could show him the ropes. Howlett had often worked matches with George Rel Jr and Harry Rabin, so a good pedigree.
But for me it was very difficult to find Mick wrestling in 1946. Even in 1947 it was difficult to spot our Mick, just here and there such as against Norman Thomas at Woolwich, and on BBC TV with Al Lipman.
For 1948 I am starting to feel confident that Mick McManus had not ventured out of the south east. In particular he was findable at Ramsgate and now the early opponents who he worked with are coming to light. Johnny Peters being a regular, and Al Lipman.
Johnny Peters had taken his place in history. In mid 1949 he briefly took the a version of the Welterweight Championship of Europe/Great Britain from Jack Dempsey at Portsmouth, often working with George Kidd as well as Mick.
Al Lipman provided opposition many times, but one adversary who also crops up again and again was Eddie Capelli. In October 1948 it was now becoming easy to find Mick in the papers. At Tunbridge Wells he had to take a 2-1 loss to Capelli on a bill that also featured Jack Dale fighting College boy. Right from the beginning Mick seemed to be in there with Jack Dale. Dale Martin was almost certainly formed in 1947.
One of many workouts with Johnny Peters and Mick McManus billed from Ireland. That’s what it said on many of the old posters. Not a cat in hells chance was Mick Irish; with four grandparents born in Kent and Surrey.
So now spreading out a little into working in the South West. Still the days before Joint promotions but indeed after the formation of Dale Martin. Mick’s early days had not arrived as Top of the Bill. The big star in 1949 was Bert Assirati.
On a September night in Plymouth in 1949, again lower down a bill featuring Assirati, the show played out with the McManus v Jack Quesick match being the last bout of the night . 2000 spectators had enjoyed the evening. Quesick was a second generation wrestler, son of Johanfesson, great experience, wrestling since the early 1930’s. If you have never heard of any other welter weight being the Southern area Champion, then I can tell you that Babe Quesick is the man that Mick eventually took that title off. Johnny Peters had also been another holder. But this night was not a title fight and all that was to come.
What happened in the final bout was that Mick was trailing 1-0 and there was a storm. It was only the second round and the match and the evening had to be abandoned. A far cry from a comfortable afternoon’s work on T.V with Kent Walton holding court.
Mick’s stock was rising. But there were many stars at Welterweight, in May 1950 Mick took a loss to Archer O’Brian at Portsmouth for example. The following month the decision was the other way at Plymouth. In September Mick was now getting the upper hand against regular opponent O’Brien at Bristol Knowle Stadium. Ken Joyce was another man who beat Mick in the early days.
Draws were frequently fought with George Kidd giving away weight, Jack Quesick, Carlton Smith,and even a win against Eddie Capelli. Plenty of speed, skill and hand shakes in these contests.
At this stage Mick was not the man they loved to hate. At Chelmsford in November 1950 McManus needed a DQ to beat Toni Renaldo.
In July of 1950 in a bout with George Kidd the local paper quoted that a 2-1 win to Kidd was one of the finest displays of wrestling ever seen in Bristol.
A year after being rained off on a September night in Beacon Park Plymouth, Mick had no more luck in September 1950 against little known Johnny Williams, when he failed to beat the count after going through the ropes.
But progress had been made. A 1951 Dale Martin bill at Bury St Edmunds confirms that Mick was now the champion welterweight of Great Britain, taken I believe from Eddie Capelli. Mick seems to have held this belt until at least January 1953. On the same bill he is on with Johnny Williams whilst arch rivals Jack Quesick and Archer O’Brian are there as well.
The next month he defended at Bury St Edmunds against against Ken Joyce. By the end of 1952 I found a surprise at Bedford Corn Exchange. Long before the TV rivalry McManus had met Pallo. Jackie too, had been making a name for himself, but not as long as Mick. In fact Jackie was well behind Mick, George Kidd and Les Kellett in experience at this time. But sure they had not avoided one another all the way into the TV era.
I just can’t resist showing a bill with an alternative spelling. I have seen this done in Ireland where the wrestler has actually been a fake .But at Portsmouth here it is. Easily done. Regular opponent Johnny Peters.
Then in 1954 I found a change in style. Where as earlier in many matches with Babe Quesick the crowd had applauded both men for their skill and speed, I found a match with Eddie Capelli at Bedford where Mick was cheating and kept getting warned. McManus offered a hand shake several times and then struck his opponent. Lots of ducking under the ropes to take a breather too.
Not a good night for Capelli was the script, as he missed a drop kick and on getting up Mick did the same back and knocked him out.
So after following the trail, I had come to the point where the Mick McManus style had evolved into the man we were all used to. The Villain of the small screen. Mick still paid his dues from time to time. In October 1954 Andre Du Barry gave Mick a drop kick to slumberland at Bedford. Five years before (1949, Hastings) he had been advertised as the Speed Wizard.
All the opponents mentioned fought McManus many many times, such is the nature of wrestling. The most frequent opponents were Eddie Capelli and Archer O’Brian, followed by Ken Joyce, Jack Quesick and Carlton Smith. What I am saying are not hard and fast facts, just my own findings from some sampling.As we know Mick was really a light touch worker, but the major difference with early Mick was his skill and speed as a wrestler. He got to where he did because he could hold his own.
In the early days It was not often that Mick could be found very far north of Lincoln although exceptions are fighting Tommy Mann at Leeds in 1951.Then finally in 1954 , I find him twice at Newcastle.
In the middle of 1954 Jack Quesick was still Southern area champion but by January 1955 it was Mick.
Such seems to be the way that his career developed. And of course as we all know, he became mainly a Dale Martin’s man. And a real shame that I can find no record of the results of the tournament at Bedford in 1952.However, we all know the result could have been anything the promoter wanted. It does not detract from the fact that it looks a cracking evenings entertainment. Eight fantastic stars at welterweight. The excitement of seven matches for your money.
Queen Elizabeth had taken the throne in that year and a Golden age of Wrestling was beginning. Mick would lose his Welter belt for a while (1953 I think to Jack Dempsey), gaining it back before the end of the decade(1957). But the Gold belt for the Southern area championship remained with him for a long time.
As the sixties dawned the opponents just kept coming. Alan Dennison, Vic Faulkner, Adrian Street, Johnny Eagles and Johnny Saint. and so many more. By then Mick McManus was a well oiled act still remembered by many today.
Those first handful of years though hardly get mentioned anymore. That is the way, very few witnesses left of late 1940’s and early 1950’s wrestling.
The adversaries that he encountered in his early years as a pro I have listed. There will be more than this, but it is enough to give an appreciation of the people he worked with before the World of Sport days. Eddie Capelli, Rex Harrison, Archer O’Brian, Johnny Peters, Al Lipman, George Kidd, Jack Quesick, Harry Field, Carlton Smith, Ken Joyce, Johnny Williams, Bill Harrison, Arthur Fisher, Grenville Lawrence, Chic Purvey, Andre DuBarry, Stefan Milla, Jack Cunningham, Bobby Orlando, Frankie Hughes, Vic Coleman, Doug Joyce, Pat Kloke, Tony Lawrence, Alan Colbeck, Fernand Bawin, Jack Harris, Jackie Pallo.
I have one last bit of fun for you. The original McManus was actually a real 1930’s pioneer.
Finally, if only for my own peace of mind, I have read enough reports to confirm that Mick started out fast and clean, and it does not seem to be the small screen that he turned Villain for, it was just something that came just after the formation of Joint Promotions.
Thanks a Million Mick.
1500
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