These are our shorter biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories.
Clayton Moore
Yes Clayton Moore was the man who played The Lone Ranger, the black and white tv series we watched when children. We are not talking about that Clayton Moore but wonder if the fictional masked Texas ranger was the inspiration for his ring name? Or maybe it was just his name! Welterweight Clayton Moore had a background in booth wrestling before he turned professional in 1971. Reported at the time to have been born in Canada Clayton moved to Great Britain whilst young and settled in Wiltshire. He was a promising young wrestler in the late 1960s and featured as a “Likely Lad” in The Wrestler magazine but we heard little else of him.
Geoff Moran
The strut to the ring, the arrogant dismissal of opponents and fans, and the breaking of the rules demonstrated the inappropriateness of the name “Gentleman Geoff Moran.” The London based wrestler and promoter worked for independent promoters in the 1950s and 1960s. His greatest claim to fame is possibly that he was the first opponent of Tony Scarlo and Adrian Street, both of whom went on to considerably greater wrestling success. We’d like to know more.
Rocky Moran (Also known as Lee Hippie)
Northern Ireland ex boxer turned professional wrestler initially a favourite in the north and midlands of England using the name Lee Hippie and dressed in judo garb. His birth name was the less colourful Dennis McMillan.
Based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, he later changed his ring name to Rocky Moran.
Working initially for the independents he was signed up by Max Crabtree to work for Joint Promotions.
He worked on television in the 1980s, appearing in around a dozen contests including tag partner to Dave Finlay.
Moran was Heavy Middleweight champion for a couple of months in 1986, taking the belt from Chic Cullen in January 1986 and losing it to Kung Fu Eddie Hamil in March of the same year.
Rocky Moran sadly passed away, aged 53, in 2005.
Dave Morgan (Also known as Dave Evans, Dai Morgan)
Welsh mid heavyweight Dave Morgan was another of those bright young things that came through the ranks in the 1960s when he was a regular worker in Dale Martin rings. Born in Tonypandy, South Wales, Dave and his family moved to Middlesex whilst he was a child. He joined Forresters Amateur Wrestling Club when he was fourteen years old and three years later he turned professional, using the names Dave Evans, Dai Morgan and Dave Morgan. He settled on the latter and by 1968 he was a well known figure amongst wrestling fans. However, the youngster had wanderlust. It was France first, but that was only the beginning and by the end of the decade we were beginning to see less and less of him in British rings. Dave went on to find his greatest success of all in the rings of the United States and Germany, where he set up home as a wrestler and promoter until retirement in 1999. Dave died on 1st June, 2004.
Ellis Morgan (Also known as Johnny Buller)
We came across Ellis Morgan for the first time in October, 1952, wrestling at Blackpool Tower against Joe Egan. At that time he was using his birth name and could often be found on bills in the north and midlands. In the second half of the 1950s the name Ellis Morgan appears on our radar and we have many records of him working for independent promoters. Most of these contests are in the north west of England, but he does venture to London for Devereux Promotions. A frequent opponent was Al Brown, wrestling as Frank Sparks in those days, and others included Pete Lindbergh, Ken Else, Terry Downs and Jack Santos. In the 1960s our sightings became less frequent and we have spotted him for the last time in 1966. When not wrestling he did take up refereeing duties.
Johnny Morgan
One time professional boxer Johnny Morgan turned to wrestling in the 1950s, tackling the likes of Jack Beaumont, Jim Foy, Bert Assirati and Gordon Nelson. He also used his sporting experiences as an author, writing The Square Jungle, based on his experience as a professional boxer and Nothing Barred in which he turns his attention to wrestling, and writes a novel about the corrupt world of professional wrestling. This is a gritty, dramatic story far removed from the cheers of the fans down at the Shoreditch Town Hall.
Lance Morgan
A supporting bill middleweight on the independent circuit in the 1960s, with opponents that included Sugar Ray DoDo, Jack Taylor, Jim Lewis and Ken Davies. Get in touch if you can provide more information.
Les Morgan
Warrington’s Les Morgan wrestled around the halls of the north during the 1960s. Les shared his working life between wrestling, his trade as a welder at the nearby Unilever factory and doorman at the Lion Hotel in Bridge Street, Shane Fenton’s (Alvin Stardust’s) Nite Spot in Mersey Street, and the Carlton Club in Sankey Street, Warrington. If you are out there Les, or any family members, do get in touch.
Brendan Moriarty
Tough Manchester based Irish middleweight worked for the independent promoters of the north and the midlands in the 1960s and 1970s. Opposed top independent men such as Eddie Rose, Pete Lindbergh, Jack Martin and Johnny South whilst working for opposition promoters Grant Foderingham, Jack Taylor, Jack Cassidy, Danny Flynn and Fred Woolley.
Julien Morice
French lightweight champion from Toulouse but largely domiciled in Britain from 1961. Real name Pierre Maurice Julien. He had been lightweight weightlifting record holder of France 1950 to 1952 and went on in 1955 to defeat Modesto Aledo for the European lightweight wrestling championship. Lost and regained his national and European titles, only to have to relinquish them when called up for the French army during the Algerian campaign in the late fifties. A great success rate during his early sixties peak in the UK and a credible opponent for George Kidd in many lightweight classics. His sapping backbreaker was legendary.
Feuded for a while with Mick McManus. Tagged for a short while with Al Miquet as the Entente Cordiale. His main tag claim to fame was participation alongside Zoltan Boscik in the first ever tag match at the Royal Albert Hall, where the international pairing went down to the Cortez Brothers.
Approachable to fans in his horn-rimmed glasses, we were always assured of stylish technique when this tiniest of wrestlers was on the bill. Slipped noticeably in stature in the seventies, losing at the bottom of a Royal Albert Hall bill to Al Nicol. Stoutly championed by a proud son-in-law on current day forums, who calls into doubt Morice’s alleged interest in the occult.
Antonio Morlans
Spanish heavyweight from Zarragossa visited Britain in 1962 and again in 1965. Lost to Steve Veidor at the Royal Albert Hall. Faced other top class opposition around the country but was often on the losing end.
Geoff Morris
The wrestling world may well have forgotten Geoff Morris had it not been for Eddie Caldwell who wrote about the man who claimed to be Britain’s strongest pensioner in 1972. At the time sixty eight year old Geoff was touring the north performing his strong man feats. In the days before he became one of the world’s great strand pullers, and that’s according to the great David Gentle. In 1957 we find him world champion bar and nail breaker. Geoff was an all-in wrestler of the 1930s, training with Billy Riley and sharing a ring with the likes of Jack Alker, Black Butcher Johnson and Jack Atherton. Geoff concentrated on body building after retiring from the ring. Geoff Morris died in 1977.
Nikita Mulkovich
Alex Mulko was a Canadian born heavyweight from Ontario who British fans were told was from Ukraine on his arrival in Britain. Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union in those days and consequently a fitting birthplace of a wrestling villain.
It was a character he had already developed, though he was known as Nikita Kalmikoff in Australia and the United States. Early days in North America had seen him making use of his birth name, Alex Mulko.
Whatever the name the big bearded, North American or Russian the tank sized seventeen stoner was inevitably a villain.
A genuine international supporting bill worker Mulkovich, had turned professional around 1953, and was already known in the rings of the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia, albeit the latter being a short tour of a few weeks.
As the Soviet alleged bad guy with the all-telling beard numerous disqualifications were inevitable, but he was surprisingly allowed victories over Dazzler Joe Cornelius and Judo Al Hayes before being presented as the sacrificial offering to Billy Robinson at the Royal Albert Hall.
Jimmy Munlack
Energetic Canadian settled in Britain during the 1950s, spent the winter months flying around our rings as a top middleweight and the summer months swimming and diving in aqua shows in Europe and North America. 1950s fan Raven remembers Jimmy Munlack as a “brilliant Canadian middleweight. ” Raven was in attendance at the Victoria Hall, Hanley, around 1950 when Jimmy “Wrestled Jack Beaumont in one of the most scientific bouts I have ever seen ….. Stoke on Trent had been looking forward to the match for ages. When the great day arrived we were all bitterly disappointed when Jimmy Munlack was shown into the ring with his arm in plaster as a result of an accident in the Gym. He could not compete that night and was replaced by Bob Steele who lost to Jack Beaumont after a hard tussle. The match we had all been looking forward to subsequently took place about six weeks later.”
Alec Munro
One of the great names in Scottish wrestling. Alec Munro of Edinburgh trained at the Holyrood Club, represented his country in international competition and won the British amateur championship in London on 1st December, 1927. He also wrestled Catch as Catch Can style and wrestled professional shortly afterward. Our first record of Alec as a professional is in December, 1930, when he wrestled Harold Angus in Doncaster, and was by then billed as Scottish lightweight champion. As a consequence of this contest Angus was stripped of his amateur status. During the 1930s Alec wrestled, both Catch as Catch Can and All In style, against the big name lighter men – Harold Angus, Dick Wills, Billy Moores and Jack Carrol. On occasions Alec also officiated as a referee.
Not to be confused with his uncle, also Alec Munro, the policeman from Govan, who at the start of the Twentieth century wrestled Hackenschmidt, Madrali and travelled to America to face Frank Gotch.
Nicky Munroe (Also known as Big Mama)
Married to wrestler Johnny South, and step daughter of Bournemouth’s All Star promoter John Monroe often tagged with her mother Heather at the start of her career but later went on to be one of the top women wrestlers of the 1980s and early 1990s often tagging with Mitzi Mueller . After Mueller retired she took the British title losing it to Klondyke Kate (Jane Porter) and winning it back in Bournemouth in 1992 . She retired in the late 1990s. Sometimes billed as the Soho Sex Kitten, her feud with Kate was featured in the 1989 BBC documentary Raging Belles. Generally an uncompromising heel (except against KK) she also wrestled as Big Mama. Graham Brook recalled an honest worker who treated him fairly when he was an inexperienced promoter “who claimed her petrol and produced a receipt from the garage where she had stopped to fill up.”
Contributed by James Morton
Whirlwind Munroe
A contemporary of Dave Finlay and Eddie Hamill, Whirlwind Munroe (real name Hugh Beattie) wrestled around Ireland, UK and the Continent from 1964 until his premature death in 1983. Also promoted in Ireland in partnership with Jack Flash Shirlow.
Cornelius Murphy
Cornelius Murphy was a Salford based Irish welterweight who worked for the independent promoters of the 1960s and 1970s. A fiery little tough ‘un who was on our first live wrestling show. We didn’t consider Murphy a villain, but he was a hard wrestler in some lively encounters with the likes of Dennis Tracey, Ray Charles and Kevin Conneely. Certainly a man about whom we would like to learn more.
Joe Murphy
A Dublin tough guy and legitimate welterweight title contender during his early sixties heyday. Even though we may remember him as a seventies undercarder it is notable that in opposition to Jack Dempsey he drew both in a well-recorded British Championship bout in 1962 and again in a 1965 televised bout, surely a measure of thoroughbred standing.
Starting out with the independent promoters Joe is remembered as an out and villain, but mellowed somewhat after moving to Joint Promotions. Joe Murphy was the hardest forearm smasher of them all! And one of the shortest wrestlers around.
Seemingly a part-timer in the seventies but he had a memorable run when tagging with Sid Cooper in the Roughnecks, and later tagged with Mick McManus. His tag pairing with Jim Fitzmaurice in The Shamrocks seemed not to take off. The tag partnership that brought him the European Tag Team title was perhaps the least well known one, alongside Fred Van Lotta. “What a pairing!.I don’t know which of them was the worst rule breaker,” commented Tom H.
David Franklin recalls, “I saw Joe Murphy in some really good matches throughout the 1960’s. He was someone I looked out for on a bill, knowing it would be worth seeing.Everyone except me seems to remember him as a villain. However when he wrestled in my area and (on TV as far as I can remember) he always stuck to the rules. He was a hard man, no doubt about that, and he enjoyed an all-out battle, but always within the rules. When he came back in the 1970’s and tagged with Sid Cooper he was no longer “Iron Jaw” Joe Murphy, he was the villainous “Maddog” Murphy.”
Another fan was Ballymoss, “I was fortunate enough to see “Iron Jaw” Joe Murphy on several occasions in the early to mid 1960’s and can confirm he was a very tough character indeed. He was a very competent wrestler who could hold his own with anyone at his weight. He also had the ability to switch from “blue eye” to “heel” and I particularly remember his bouts with such formidable foes as Peter Rann and Pasquale Salvo, a pair he defeated, which confirms his class.“
John Murphy
A Scottish heavyweight, born in Glasgow but living most of his life in Coatbridge turned professional in the mid 1960s. He was often seen on Scottish promotions defending the honour of his country against invaders from the south. Defending the honour but not always within the rules as John usually played the part of the villain we loved to hate. John worked for both independent and Joint Promotions, meeting many of the top heavyweights of the 1960s and 1970s. His reluctance to travel far from home on overnight trips limited his career prospects. John worked for around fifteen years until he disappeared from our rings around 1980. Away from the ring John and his wife, Anna, managed a succession of public houses.
John Murphy died in December, 2015, aged 75.
Musa The Turk
Geuchichi Moussa was originally billed from Algeria and when he made his televised debut against Mick McManus in 1962 at Kingston, he had Kent Walton waxing lyrical: “He escapes almost before he’s in the holds.”
However, his mouthful of a name proved unsuitable, and promoters quickly fell back on the tried and trusted and frequently Terrible nationality as used in professional wrestling since the days of Hackenschmidt.
Abu Musa the Turk became a mainstay welterweight of the southern wrestling scene through the thriving mid-sixties, and featured on the cover of The Wrestler magazine in action with sixties starlet Adrian Street.
Adrian Street tells us that he made Musa suffer one night following instructions from the promoters that he should let the Algerian have the limelight during a televised match.
Bert Mychel
The Belgian mid heavyweight made his first visit to Britain in 1969 but was set to return again during the 1970s. He finished 12th and then 11th respectively at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics in the Greco Roman welterweight class.
At times he lived up to expectations as an Olympic representative by giving Mike Marino a tussle in a World Mid heavyweight championship clash at Nottingham, and drawing with both Tibor Szakacs and Marino again on their home turf, the Royal Albert Hall. Less impressive was a televised draw with Barry Douglas and losses against John Cox and Leon Arras.
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Wrestling Heritage 