Wrestling Heritage welcomes memories, further information and corrections
Balsall Heath is a culturally diverse inner city area of Birmingham, well known in recent decades as part of the Balti Triangle, the best place for a curry in Birmingham. Amongst it’s luminaries are comedian Don McClean, members of UB40, founder of Odeon cinemas Oscar Deutsch and our Balsall Heath Basher, Pete Evans.
Pete Evans was born in Balsall Heath in March, 1944. He was schooled at Clifton Road Infants and Juniors, going on to Dennis Road Secondary Modern, which is now Anderton Park Primary School. On leaving school he learned a trade as a bricklayer. After work he enjoyed once a week visits to the Embassy Sportsdrome in Sparkbrook where the colourful promoter Conrad Davis put on even more colourful wrestling shows.
The life of the wrestlers he watched certainly seemed more attractive than brick laying and so Pete’s mind was set to turn himself into a professional wrestler. He joined an amateur wrestling club and started on the road to fulfil his ambition. But professional wrestling is a very different world, of course, and Pete turned to an established professional to teach him the ropes. That man was Freddie Barnes of Coventry, who worked professionally as Prince Barnu.
Pete’s first experience of the roar of the crowd came four years later in the wrestling booth of Ronnie Taylor at Coventry Pot Fair on Hearsall Common. It was good experience and it was only a matter of weeks before Pete made his professional debut at Dudley Hippodrome. It was 16th April 1967, the promoter was Vic Kendrick and the man in the opposite corner was Birmingham’s Grorge Leddington. Pete won that match by two falls to one and he was on his way.
Pete worked for the independent promoters for three years until Martin Conroy signed him up to work for Wryton Promotions and the Joint Promotions syndicate. Pete bought a ring from fellow wrestler Sucha Singh and started promoting shows and training wrestlers.
Outside of the ring Pete ran a scrap metal business, which was co-incidentally the business of his mentor Freddie Barnes.
Page added 18/06/2023
1010
.
Wrestling Heritage 