These are our shorter Biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories.
Barney O’Brien
Nearing 15 stones in weight and billed as Irish heavyweight champion. A challenger for British heavyweight honours held by Atholl Oakeley. In August, 1932, “The Elstree Adonis” Len Franklin defeated Barney O’Brien in an eliminator contest to face (and lose to) Oakeley for the British title on 29th August. Otherwise we have little information on Barney who we can find for just a few months in 1932.
Jimmy Ocean
Jimmy Ocean brought more than a bit of colour to British wrestling in the 1980s. A man with talent and he wasn’t afraid to tell the fans.
We first came across Jimmy Ocean in 1986, which means he just edges his way into the wrestling heritage years. A sole ITV appearance (against Ivan Trevors) and a few more on S4C and satellite channels brought him to national attention. His high flying, exciting style, and a penchant for skulduggery made him a huge favourite amongst British fans. Considered by many modern day fans to have been hugely under-rated at the time Jimmy Ocean could conceivably have been a star in the highly competitive 1960s and 1970s.
He was twice holder of the British lightweight championship, for two weeks in 1991 and then from 1993 until 1998,.
Jimmy Ocean and Ricky Knight, who was trained by Jimmy, made up the Superflys tag team, generally considered one of the top tag teams of the 1980s. At one time Jimmy formed frequent tag team opposition to Big Daddy and his numerous partners.
Victorio Ochoa
The Navaresse Lion, Heavyweight champion of Spain and 1940s world title claimant, visited Britain in 1957, 1958, and 1960. He was the son of Javier Ochoa, a great Spanish wrestler who played a leading role in popularising professional wrestling to Mexico. Opponents included Ernie Riley, Black Butcher Johnson Norman Walsh, Geoff Portz and Count Bartelli. A very technical wrestler he was at the peak of his career, just 40 years old, when he was killed at his home in Urdain during a family dispute on 4th July, 1960.
Tuma Odooma (Also known as Jimmy Odooma, Juma Odooma)
Another of those colourful characters who made professional wrestling such a unique sport. A muscular light heavyweight Manchester based Odooma would enter the ring dresses in a leopardskin cloak and grass skirt. You don’t get that in cricket.
Known variously as Jimmy or Juma Odooma, and sometimes simply Odooma. Worked mainly in the north and midlands for Wryton Promotions between 1962 and 1965, a popular good guy in the ring. Billed randomly from Ghana or the West Indies we suspect Manchester might have been closer to the mark.
We have confirmation of his Manchester credentials but can neither confirm or deny the press publicity that he was a runner-up in the Mr Jamaica contest, came to Britin in the late 1950s and made his professional debut in 1961. Tooma worked across the rings of northern Britain in the early to mid 1960s and then disappeared from the British wrestling scene.
Bella Ogunlana
Bella Ogunlana, from Llandudno, trained by Orig Williams and part of his stable of female wrestlers appeared against most of the top women wrestlers of the time including Mitzi Mueller. She lost a world title to Rusty Blair in Lagos, Nigeria.
Contributed by James Morton
Pat O’Keefe
Billed as an Irish champion Pat O’Keefe was a sturdy, strong heavyweight, weighing over 15 stones, who appeared regularly on the wrestling shows of the midlands and south in the early post war years. Reported to be a colourful character, a rough and tough grappler with long sideburns and the appearance of a Victorian prizefighter he was billed as the “John L Sullivan of wrestling.” O’Keefe was around for a short time, we can find him from 1947 to 1951 with opponents that included Docker Don Stedman, Mike Marino, Bomber Bates and Abdul The Turk.
Jose Olivera (Also known as Jim Olivera)
Jim Olivera was a rough, tough, bad tempered wrestler, and legend has it that on one occasion he knocked out the teeth of the referee. His mistreatment of referees is certainly well documented. Hopefully he was a little more mild mannered when involved in his other business concerns, running a souvenir shop and ladies’ hairdressers in Palma Nova. Following an amateur boxing career in which he represented Spain in the 1948 Olympics, and a short professional career, he turned to professional wrestling. He fared far better as a wrestler, despite being banned for a year in his home country, and took the European Mid heavyweight title in 1948. In 1961 he lost the European heavyweight title to Billy Joyce at Belle Vue. However, we can find no record of him having won the belt and some might even suspect he was given the belt in order to lose it to the British champion. He wrestled throughout Europe, and was a regular in the UK, until he retired in 1964.
Tony Olivera
Tony Olivera was the younger brother of Jose Olivera and one time Spanish welterweight champion. By the time he began accompanying brother to Britain in 1956 he had filled out and was matched against heavyweights in single matches as well as partnering big brother in tag matches. Tony’s wrestling exploits took him around the world, travelling extensively throughout Europe and South America.
Dan O’Mahoney
Dan O’Mahoney was an Irish wrestler who found fame, albeit briefly, after travelling to the United States in 1934 and winning the World title in 1935. He received a hero’s welcome when he made a short return to his home country in 1936, welcomed by hundreds of farmers on horseback who formed a guard of honour for their hero in the village of Ballydehob. Mahoney, who lived in America, was killed in a car crash on 3rd November, 1950.
Arthur Openshaw
Arthur Openshaw came from Salford and played rugby league for Salford. Arthur lemigrated to Australia in 1965. Our earliest Australian record for him is on 10th December, 1965, defeating Germany’s Rheinhardt Molitor at Sydney Stadium. He was often in the same ring as his long time friend from Salford, Spike Robson, either as opponents or tag partners. Ed Lock remembers them both: “I found both Openshaw and Robson to be very skilful, talented, technical wrestlers, who never put in a bad performance. While both wrestlers were cast as preliminary matmen I was always happy to see Arthur and Spike on Sydney Stadium events and on the World Championship Wrestling TV shows..” On television Arthur and Spike wrestled the Americans Larry Hennig and Harley Race.”
Graeme Cameron told us that he remembered Arthur when “He worked with the top light heavyweights either defeating or drawing with all of them.” Arthur defeated Ken Medlin to take the Australian lightweight title in November, 1966. Arthur returned to Britain in the late 1960s. He later appeared briefly in the UK during the early 1970s, working for independent promoters in the north, with Paul Mitchell remembering him working at the Houldsworth Hall, Manchester.
Sheamus O’Reilly
Of our three O’Reilly wrestlers Sheamus is possibly the one with the most likely Irish credentials. Sheamus was a 1960s worker for the independent promoters. The man behind the name was Coventry’s Mick Macalasky, so it sounds like there may have been some Irish blood in him. He was trained to wrestle by Coventry’s Freddie Barnes’ gym in St Peters School in Yardley Street, Hillfields. A regular worker for independent promoters Jack Taylor and Lew Phillips, often in tag matches with “brother” Sprike O’Reilly, who was neither his brother nor Irish.
Tony Orford
For the son of Sandy Orford it was a toss up whether he should pursue a career in rugby or wrestling, with the latter winning the day. Tony’s father, Sandy, had played rugby at both club and international level. Having turned professional in 1964 within a couple of years Tony had moved to Canada initially working for promoters Rod Fenton and Stu Hart. Most of Tony’s remaining career was spent working in North America with occasional visits back home.
Franz Orlik
Heavyweight who frequently wrestled in Britain during the first half of the 1960s, including a 1961 loss to Steve Logan at the Royal Albert Hall. His career spanned more than twenty years from 1951 onwards and he died in June, 1981.
Jim Osborn
17 stones visitor from Oregon debuted in UK in October 1967 in a Lewisham bout with Johnny Yearsley, closing the win via the unusual route of a grapevine submission. His most notable British victory was a surprise Royal Albert Hall defeat of former British Heavyweight Champion, Geoff Portz. Such visitors brought to British rings useful worldwide links, Osborn being a case in point having faced Lou Thesz and Japanese champion the seven foot tall Great Babu. However, he exited from his British tour with a whimper, going down bloodied 0-2 to The Outlaw.
Young Oscar
Young Oscar was Elwyn Roberts of Chester who wrestled in the early 1940s prior to volunteering for the army and serving in the Welsh Guards as part of the British Liberation Army. He wrestled around Cheshire and Merseyside mostly for promoter Jack Cullen. Opponents included Jim Lewis, Jim Mellor and Ted Betley. We have been unable to find any post war appearances.
Eddie O’Shea
Londoner Eddie O’Shea was a popular middleweight across Southern England throughout the 1960s. His was another of those careers that seemed to hold promise that was never realised. His early career was dogged by injuries resulting from a car accident not long after he had turned professional. A very good amateur foundation at the United AWC led to a professional debut in the early 1960s, and Eddie was soon a favourite around Dale Martin Halls. In the years that followed he moved through the ranks from lightweight to light heavy, a regular worker mainly in southern England.
Sean O’Shea
We believe there have been two wrestlers known as Sean O’Shea. The earliest, who we found wrestling between 1939 and 1942 was a wild Irishman, frequently disqualified. We believe this was Robert Critchley, who told Manchester Assizes in 1955 that he had wrestled as Sean O’Shea until he had broken his neck in a car crash. Critchley had previously been jailed in 1946 for assaulting a policeman.
The name resurfaces again in 1960, a rumbustious character who engaged in clashes with the likes of Big Bill Coverdale, The Monster, Klondyke Bill, Karl Von Kramer and Wild Angus Campbell.
A busy worker during the 1960s Sean O’Shea’s ring exploits were overshadowed as a prolific wrestling promoter, using the names North Western Promotions and O’Shea Enterprises.
Sean O’Shea died aged 63.
Chic Osmond
Wandsworth’s Chic Osmond worked regularly on Joint Promotion bills of the late 1950s and early 1960s, tangling with the likes of Pallo, McManus and Capelli. His main claim to fame seems to be that Adrian Street names him as his greatest influence, having trained him in the ways of the professional world at the London YMCA.
Pat O’Sullivan
Fiery young Irish wrestler came onto the scene in 1978. A frequent worker with a less than impressive record, subject to a surprising number of straight falls defeats. Fans found him entertaining and welcomed his place on the bill. Made three television appearances and sadly passed away in 2005. More information welcome.
Jack Owens
“The Lancashire Ace” from Leigh, weighed around 12 stones. Our first recorded appearance is in September, 1932, and the last in December, 1939. Our impression is that Jack was a more than capable catch wrestler who never rose above a supporting role yet was acknowledged as one of the country’s best middle and light-heavy weights.. One discovery was a match at Preston on 21st May, 1937, when the Lancashire Daily Post reported “Capital wrestling was seen in the contest between Billy Riley and Jack Owens. Owens revealed mastery of leg holds and was too fast for the older man, who was unable to carry on after being counted out in the fourth round.”
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Wrestling Heritage 