By Eddie Rose
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I’ve often referred to Jack Pye as my favourite wrestler. To watch Jack Pye in the ring was the only criterion for the selection and I stand by that choice. There are, however, other things to take into consideration and another one of my all-time favourite wrestlers was George Bollas – the Zebra Kid.
George was a huge man and always appeared in his splendid outfit and mask based on Zebra markings. I was introduced to him by George de Relwyskow, one of the co-promoters at Manchester’s Belle Vue, during a period when I reported on wrestling for the two Manchester evening papers and for the monthly Wrestler magazine in the early 1960s.
His ring appearance had an electrifying effect on the audience. The Zebra motif outfit, including the mask, gave an air of mystery to this huge twenty five stone of a man. Most men of this size appear be sluggish and slow in their movement but the Zebra Kid had a brisk manner in the ring and could move very quickly indeed.
He met all the leading heavyweights in the UK during his tours and nearly always left the ring undefeated if not the victor but often by the disqualification route. In fact, I have been able to trace only two occasions when he was beaten and unmasked.
George was a devoted disciple of wrestling in its purest form – not that you would have guessed it by his professional ring performances. At college and university George was an amateur wrestling champion and eventually the inter-state amateur champion. He was shortlisted for the Olympic team but this was abandoned when he decided to become a professional. He maintained his interest and when in this country he assisted the GB amateur champion, Dennis McNamara in his preparation for the Olympic Games.
At our first interview I told him that I was an amateur wrestler and without hesitation he beckoned me into a nearby empty changing room and began to demonstrate some amateur wrestling moves and their counters. I must state that for a man of some 25 stone weight he was remarkably fit, fast and agile. This he demonstrated in the professional ring all over the world. He made me promise to pass on what he had shown me to fellow amateur wrestlers at the Manchester YMCA.
On one occasion I was with my father-in-law who drove me to Belle Vue. After his bout the Zebra Kid asked could we give him a lift to Victoria Station in Manchester to catch a train to Leeds. The car was a smallish Austin 1100 and I watched as George got in the front seat: the car suddenly sank down on his side at an alarming rate and father-in-law went white. It looked as if the car was going to collapse but Austin engineering withstood the challenge and off we went to the station with the driver looking very apprehensive.
He surprised me again some months afterwards. I was attending the Lancashire Amateur Junior championships in Manchester with the lads I coached at that time and I suddenly became aware of this huge man sitting at the back and paying very close attention to the action on the mat as the lads wrestled. It was George and he had taken a flight from London just to watch and encourage the young wrestlers before flying back to London again that evening.
George was an engaging character and had a cheerful, outgoing manner, quite different to his ring persona. On his final tour he was he was finally unmasked in the Kings Hall, Belle Vue. Another legendary wrestler, Count Bartelli, was unmasked around this time by Kendo Nagasaki at Hanley. This left two other leading masked wrestlers: The Mask and The Zebra Kid. This was the next show-down in the North,just before Christmas and I was fortunate enough to witness it at Belle Vue in front of 6000 excited fans. The Zebra Kid had also been unmasked at a Southern venue around this time.
Referee Lew Roseby had a quite easy time with these two for the bout was unexpectedly free o “needle” with no serious reprimands or even a public warning issued. In the second round the Zebra Kid landed badly and injured his ankle which severely limited his movements. The Mask moved in and took the first fall with a body slam and press. The Zebra Kid equalised with an unexpected knee to the Mask’s midriff followed by a head mare and body press to his winded opponent.
The Zebra Kid, however was still handicapped by his ankle injury, could not escape his opponent , now galvanised into fierce action. He quickly took the huge American in another thunderous body slam and follow through body press for the winning fall. This was the end of a career of over four thousand bouts world-wide and The Zebra Kid removed his mask to reveal his true identity; George Bollas from Columbus, Ohio, USA.
A truly unforgettable wrestler.
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