Wrestling Heritage

Wrestling Heritage welcomes memories, further information and corrections.

This Is Not All In….Definitely Not All In

Boxing and wrestling had been closely connected from the outset. Boxing promoter Jeff Dickson was almost the promoter of the first All In show had he not hit a few problems with the Home Office and the management of the Royal Albert Hall. Fate dictated that it was Irslinger and Oakeley that went down in the history books. The introduction of All In wrestling to Britain on 15th December, 1930 started a trend that combined boxing and wrestling tournaments.

As wrestling grew in popularity many boxing promoters had turned to wrestling promotion when they discovered they could not only fill their halls with wrestling fans but pay wrestlers a fraction of what the boxers required.

There was a sign of this changing sporting landscape on 26th January, 1934 when the National Sporting Club at Olympia staged a wrestling programme instead of the planned boxing programme. Two weeks earlier the manager of the National Sporting Club, Lionel Bettinson, had stunned boxing fans by announcing that the planned boxing programme would be cancelled due to a shortage of attractive boxers. Bettinson insisted that the N.S.C. would never stage All-In wrestling, but this would be “Free-style wrestling” and very different from “All-In.” William Bankier, the music hall strong man and wrestling promoter was called in to assist with the matchmaking. Indeed this was the place that thirty years earlier excited Londoners had witnessed Hackenschmidt’s destruction of Madrali.

Eight matches were announced for the Free-Style (definitely not All-In insisted Bettinson) and the first major problem was immediately apparent. Jack Pye, Harry Brooks, Stan Roberts, Golden Hawk ….. those names will sound familiar because the only wrestlers they could find to compete in their real sport of wrestling show were the same wrestlers that were kicking, gouging and punching each other every night in the All-In rings.

To make matters even more difficult for Bankier and Bettinson there was extensive publicity regarding the appearance, or non appearance of the American wrestler Billy Bartush. Although Bartush was billed as the star attraction of Bettinson’s show, who would wrestle the Swiss champion Guillame Estelle, it was reported in the press that he could not take part as he was already booked to wrestle on an Harold Lane’s All-In show on the same evening. Both venues issued statements adamant that they had a signed contract with Bartush.

As it turned out he did turn up. Both in the country and at both events. Billy Bartush wrestled Guillame Estelles, won by two falls to nil, and then hotfooted it round to Lane’s London Club where he knocked out Bill Garnon in the fourth round under “All In” rules. Newspapers commented on the professionalism of the NSC Free-style show, the high standard of wrestling, but that it was oh, so tedious.

In the supporting contests Golden Hawk beat Harry Brooks by two falls to one; Otani beat Johnny Doulas by two falls to one; George Gregory beat Young Apollo by two falls to one; Johnny Radnor beat Jack Owens by two falls to nil; Matsuda beat Jack Pye by two falls to one; Tony Baer beat Stan Roberts by a seventh round knock out; Harry Smith and Eric Fisher drew over six rounds.

The NSC crowd for the most part sat quietly appreciating the wrestling with few displays of emotional involvement. In contrast the crowd at Lanes All In show were reported as noisy and enthusiastic in contrast to those at the Olympia Free-style event, where they were said to be apathetic and responded with gloomy silence and polite applause.

Only 1,500 people turned up for the show at the Olympia, far short of the ten thousand Bettinson had hoped for, resulting in a considerable loss. The Daily Mirror concluded that it was a sad fact that fans wanted their wrestling with spice. Ironically, after all their criticism of the All-In style they declared the Free-style show, without butting, striking, slapping or throwing out of the ring, was “ponderous and interesting – but entirely unexciting.”

16119