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Ineffable, incomparable, rough, one-off, Rabelaisian, gruff, and golden-hearted were all words used to describe wrestler Tommy Mann in the obituaries that followed his untimely death. It was a life that was full to the brim. Lived with energy as a wrestler, stuntman, actor and business man.
Londoner Tommy Mann was always associated with his adopted home of Manchester, the city in which he lived for most of his adult life.
Tommy was a rugged, all action wrestler who knew all the holds in the book and a few more besides. He was arguably the modern era’s greatest middleweight, a British, European and World champion and a man who could wrestle with the best with a very hard edge.
Sergeant Major Tommy Mann served in the Second World War, suggesting an earlier birth than 1927, following which we have found references to him wrestling professionally.
In the 1950s he began to travel extensively on the Continent and became one of the most well known British wrestlers in France. In 1952 Tommy made the national press for unfortunate reasons. In a bar room shooting in Toulouse, Pat Curry, Tommy Mann and Max Degohm of Belgium were all shot after getting into an argument with another drinker. It was reported the man challenged them to a fight. As they left the bar he took out a gun and shot them.
It was a roller coaster championship career from then on, until Tommy vacated the title in 1963 due to injury. The 1952 victory was set to be the first of his eight reigns as British champion. Fans of the time still recall his memorable bouts with Scotland’s Chic Purvey.
In addition to national success Tommy was twice holder of the World middleweight title, between 1954 and 1955 and again from 1961 until retirement. A stocky, thick necked man he looked more the part of pro wrestler than that of his “other job,” proprietor of a highly rated Italian restaurant in his Manchester home town.
Like many others of the time Tommy’s success as a wrestler found him work in the wider world of entertainment, He appeared in films and television as a stuntman and also cropped up regularly on popular television shows that included the Benny Hill Show, the Mike and Bernie Winters show, numerous drama series and television commercials. Tommy appeared in the Benny Hill 1969 Christmas tv special. He complimented Benny on how quickly he learnt wrestling holds during fourteen days of rehearsals, not hurting himself at all. Until Benny tripped over a cable and sprained his ankle. Following his death a television advertisement for a furniture company was removed to avoid unnecessary distress to Tommy’s family.
Away from the ring Tommy was owner of the Club Roma restaurant in Manchester. Many stars of the entertainment world were frequent visitors Eddie Rose remembered Sammy Davis Junior and Matt Busby amongst the clientele before adding that he too made many enjoyable visits and Tommy was a great host. In 1970 he bought a rusty coal hulk and made it the unlikely home of a floating art gallery.
At the time of his death Coronation Street producer, Harry Kershaw, said “Walking along Deansgate with Tommy was like taking part in a royal procession. Everyone knew him, from matrons in mink coats to tramps, and he was Tommy to them all.”
Tommy Mann was born on 12th July, 1919
Page added 15/01/2023
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