These are our shorter Biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories.
Ron Baber
Ron Baber was active soon after the second world war and could be seen in the rings of (mostly) George DeRelwyskow until the mid 1950s. There is a Yorkshire roots connection as Ron lived in the Yorkshire mining community of Swillington, now absorbed into the city of Leeds, which is five miles to the west. Reports are of a lightning fast lightweight who had exciting matches with the likes of Les Stent, Cyril Knowles, Joe Reid and Carlton Smith.
Rudi Babka
Muscular heavyweight campaigner made a short visit to Britain of two to three weeks in April, 1952. Opponents included Mike Marino, Don Stedman and Alan Garfield
Cubana “King” Badu
From Havana, Cuba, this light heavyweight visitor came to Europe in the early 1950s where he made an impact on the Spanish wrestling scene.
He moved on to the UK where he stayed for three months in 1955 during which time he wrestled Brixton’s Iron Man Steve Logan at the Royal Albert Hall. Other opponents included Alf Cadman, Alan Garfield and Mike Marino.
Known in his homeland as Negro Badu his family name was Ernesto Diaz Barcelo. Following his time in Britain wrestled from 1954-6 in the German cities of Bremen, Hannover, Münich and Nürnberg.
Badu went on to work in the United States, finally retiring from professional wrestling in 1961. He then returned to Cuba and taught amateur wrestling.
Laurie Bailey
We have no first hand knowledge of Laurie Bailey, feel sadly lacking, and hope someone with knowledge will come to our rescue. That’s because we have records of Laurie Bailey wrestling in 1951-2 and facing top rated welterweights Fred Woolley, Alan Colbeck, Jack Dempsey and Johnny Stead.
Roughhouse Tommy Bailey
Oldham’s Tommy Bailey had a bit of a reputation as a rough ‘un inside the ring. Rough and very fit that is, because Tommy’s stamina wasn’t just the result of hours spent in the gymnasium but also a consequence of his preferred method of getting to venues, by bicycle. We are not just talking local. Dwight J Ingleburgh remembers the many times Tommy cycled from his home in Oldham to wrestle in Barnsley, and then cycled back again; a round trip of some sixty miles! Wrestling (and his bike) took Tommy around the north of England for the best part of thirty years, from the early 1950s until well into the 1970s. Tommy worked for the independent promoters, facing a range of opponents including Johnny saint, Fred Woolley, Cyril Knowles and Danny Flynn. The spirit of Tommy Bailey lives on with his grandson, Clinton Steel, who went on to mke his way in the wrestling world.
Jesse Baines
A low key lightweight, “The wrestling pitman” from Burnley who we have found wrestling in Lancashire in 1937 and 1938. We found only a dozen or so matches, mostly with little to note, but one match at Preston drew our attention. Jesse was matched against the highly rated Olympian Joe Reid and was reported to have proved a surprisingly hard opponent who handed out to Reid an unusual amount of punishment in a match described as wild from the start.
Laszlo Bajko (also known as Bajko Laszlo)
We have seen both variants of the name, probably arising from Hungarian names normally being written with the surname followed by the given name, which is often reversed when translated to English. Laszlo was based in Yorkshire in the second half of the 1950s. In 1957 we found him working on a Norman Morrell bill at Bradford against Don Branch and again for Morrell against Dicky Swales, Brian Trevors and Fred Woolley, and Chic Purvey. He also worked for Dale Martin Promotions with opponents that included Jackie Pallo, Ken Joyce and Bob Archer O’Brien. In October, 1959 he went over to the independent promoters, where he was billed as European welterweight champion.There was a brief moment of fame for the young wrestler in 1963 when he was featured in the Pathe News (remember them?) wrestling Jack Taylor, considered newsworthy because the referee was a vicar, the Rev Reginald Thompson.
Rough House Baker
George Baker was a very busy worker throughout the 1930s, wrestling around the country against the big names like Iron Duke, Jack Pye and Jack Atherton. George was usually billed as Rough House Baker,and it didn’t take too much detective work to uncover how he came about the name. Even in the hotheaded days of 1930s George Baker could rouse the ire of the crowd. Advertised as a man who didn’t like referees, it didn’t take fans (or the referee) long to discover why. In one match alone, he threw a stool at his opponent, assaulted the referee, pulled the loudspeaker socket from the wall and tore it to bits. On one occasion referee George DeRelwyskow did manage to subdue the Rough House with a right punch to the jaw which knocked the wrestler out cold. In a bout in which he was thrown from the ring by Harry Pye returned carrying a club, intent on causing damage. The club was removed from his possession before going on to defeat Pye bt two falls to one. No George Kidd then. His wrestling career ended during the Second World War when one of his legs was amputated following a London air raid.
Mike Bandele
Here’s a mystery man we would like to know more about. We knew little about him before his inclusion in “The Who’s Who of Wrestling,” (published 1971), and no more afterwards. The book claimed he was the Nigerian middleweight champion and owner of an electrical store in Lagos, which seemed a long way to come and work almost unnoticed for Dale Martin Promotions. We have found him working between May 1968 and August 1969, with a stray one in 1974, which suggests he did live in Britain. Get in touch and put us out of our misery.
Sooty Barak
Said to be an elusive opponent with an unorthodox style there’s little we can add at present about the Indian Sooty Barak who wrestled in northern England between February and August, 1938. Opponents included Jack Pye, Iron Duke Bill Garnon and Padvo Peltonin.
Rudi Barbu
We have matches for heavyweight Rudi Barbu between 1933 and 1936, said to be the heavyweight champion of Romania. Wins over Dave Armstrong and George Clarke suggest he was a wrestler of considerable ability.We have matches for heavyweight Rudi Barbu between 1933 and 1936, said to be the heavyweight champion of Romania. Wins over Dave Armstrong and George Clarke suggest he was a wrestler of considerable ability.
Don Bardoe
Don Bardoe joined the professional ranks for the independent promoters in 1966, working mostly in the south east of England. He was twenty-six years old, born in Gravesend in 1940. A carpenter by trade his first sporting interests were football and cycling. An interest in physical fitness came from his father, a gymnast, boxer, amateur wrestler and ju-jitsu instructor. For the last thirty years of his life Don suffered from motor neurone but remained an active member of Gravesend Cycling Club, as their photographer, until his death in 2018.
Sailor Barnes
We uncovered around a dozen matches around the country for Londoner Sailor Barnes between 1934 and 1939. He may well have passed under the radar and gone without mention until we discovered family connections. Born in Camberwell, his father was a coachbuilder, he had four brothers and two sisters. Amongst the brothers were wrestler Wally Dix and a man who was to go on to become one of the top referees in the country, Lou Marco.
Lloyd Barnett
Former boxer Lloyd Barnett wrestled the big names around Britain and Europe during the 1950s. Opponents included Dave Armstrong, Don Mendoza, Francis St Clair Gregory, Karel Istaz and the rest. Jamaican born Lloyd’s boxing career had spanned six years, including losses to big names like Don Cockell and Ingemar Johansson. He retired from boxing in June, 1953.
Nick Barone (Also known as Michele Barone)
The 17 stone man from Rome who claimed to be the heavyweight champion of Italy visited Britain in during the winter of 1966-7 facing top heavyweights Tibor Szakacs, Mike Marino, Gwyn Davies, and Bruno Elrington. Was well known throughout Europe and workied for the WWWF in the United States.
Luc Barreto
Cuban born in 1934 Lucas Valiente Tab was a heavyweight who arrived in Britain in October 1967, already domiciled in Spain where he was seeking Spanish nationality. Most of his contests were in northern England and Scotland with a couple of televised matches against Steve Veidor and Barry Douglas. His UK tour ended abruptly when we were told that he had to return to Spain to complete his citizenship application. Luc’s career also ended abruptly. A serious injury in a match in Germany led to premature retirement, followed by a successful singing career during which he released thirty records.
Page reviewed 30/12/2022
Wrestling Heritage 