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A conversation with Peter Szakacs was one of life’s pleasures. Here was a man who was humble, modest, generous with his time and willing to share his vast knowledge of British professional wrestling, which he knew intimately in his multiple roles of wrestler, referee, trainer and publicity officer for Dale Martin Promotions. They were qualities reflected in his daughter Zosia when we met up with her to discuss her father’s achievements.
Peter was a man who had endured hardship, faced challenges and overcome adversity. Hungary between the two world wars was a country ravaged politically and economically. Life would not have been easy for an Hungarian family in the 1930s. Szakacs Jeno, that was his birth name, was born on on 24th March, 1930, three years after brother Tibor.
In the early 1940s the family moved to the Transylvanian city of Szatmarnetdi (now Satu Mare), which had been returned to Hungary in 1940. It was here that the Szakacs brothers took up amateur wrestling with Jeno joining a local club when he was just twelve years old. During the Second World War attempts by the Hungarian government to walk a tightrope between all sides of the warring factions proved futile and the country succumbed to German occupation. The population suffered the tyranny of occupation followed by the brutal reprisals of the Red Army when they marched into the country with hundreds of thousands sent to labour camps. Boundary changes at the end of the Second World War took Szatmarnetdi into Romania, and so the Szakacs were uprooted and the family moved to Budapest.
For Hungary peace brought the grip of the Soviet Union. Always the most westward looking of the Soviet Bloc it was a political unity resented by the majority of the Hungarian population. Dissent reached a climax in 1956. Student protests in October sparked unrest amongst the wider population, the fall of the pro-Soviet Prime Minister, and on 1st November the country’s withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact and a request to the United Nations for recognition as an independent country. On 4th November Soviet forces entered Budapest to extinguish the revolution. An estimated 200,000 citizens fled Hungary, with 20,000 making their way across Europe to Britain. Amongst them were Szakacs Jeno and Szakacs Tibor Laszla, who were soon to become known to British wrestling fans as Peter and Tibor Szakacs.
Following an initial placement as a refugee Peter moved to Shropshire, working in a factory, whilst Tibor moved to London to pursue a career as a professional wrestler. With Tibor finding success as a wrestler Peter decided that he too would put his amateur wrestling credentials to good use and also turn professional. He travelled to London where Tibor introduced him to Dale Martin Promotions. The pro debut came in 1958. Life was changing fast for Peter. A new country in 1957, a new career in 1958, and a wife in 1959.
Like his brother Peter tended to be unsmiling; a skilled wrestler that took his work seriously. Out of the ring Peter was a humorous, good natured and generous man and nothing like his dour appearance.
We are being realistic, not disparaging or unkind, when we comment that Peter was always overshadowed by big brother Tibor. This was nothing to do with personality or skill as both were expert technicians.
The advantage for Tibor was his weight. Tibor blossomed into a fully blown heavyweight whilst 13 stone Peter was never more than a middleweight. That was important until the mid 1960s because heavyweights ruled the roost and had the preserve of main event status. Consequently for twenty years Peter Szakacs was a skilled full time worker, a popular television star of around fifty televised contests and opponents of all the top lighter men, yet destined to remain in a support role on the wrestling bills. Following a television debut against Cliff Beaumont in November, 1961, itvwrestling.co.uk records a further 45 televised contests, and that’s not counting any appearances as a referee.
A few tag matches with Tibor proved less than successful but he did form a more sustainable and successful partnership with Zoltan Boscik known as The Magyars.
With a good career and family raised in Britain Peter assumed British citizenship on 19th December, 1972
In the late 1970s, twenty years a pro and in his mid forties, the bumps began to take their toll and Peter began having problems with his hip. He gradually limited his wrestling commitments and took up a new and very successful role, that of referee. Refereeing commitments continued into the 1990s and then, out of the blue, our last sighting in February, 1996 at Midhurst a referee against wrestler challenge match between Peter Szakacs and Adrian Finch.
One last appearance. In 2000 Peter turned up once again, in the film Snatch, playing the part of Sausage Charlie.
Peter Szakacs maintained friendship with the wrestling community through his visits to the British Wrestlers Reunion until his death on 12th April, 2015.
With thanks to Peter’s daughter, Zosia.
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