Wigan & Leigh Wrestling Club


Club History In the Lancashire style The home of Wigan and Leigh Wrestling Club is situated near the famous Saddle Junction, a stones throw away from the Leeds and Liverpool canal and the river Douglas. If we could step back in time to the turn of the last century and take a short stroll along the towpath we would pass horse drawn barges laden with coal and cotton from the mines and mills of Wigan as we make our way in the direction of Wigan Pier, to the Westwood recreation ground. In an age before ‘talkie’ pictures or sound broadcasting, the people of Wigan would gather at Westwood to spend their leisure time playing and watching a variety of sports and maybe have a wager on the outcome. One of the more popular sports was the Lancashire style of wrestling or Catch as Catch Can as it is better known. Winner- takes- all money matches could attract over two hundred onlookers. The matches take place on a canvas sheet spread over the grass, and the best of three falls in an hour to decide the winner. As better wrestlers became more professional and moved their matches to local football or rugby grounds, were they could draw crowds of over 3000 spectators. They had their own coaches and, with managers willing to back them with what were then large sums of money, £100 could change hands on the outcome of a match. For a shilling entry fee, spectators could watch some of the best wrestlers that the sport had to offer. Men like Thomas Jones British 9 stone champion, Tom Rose undisputed light- weight champion of the world and the highly rated light- weight Willy Charnock, who later trained Billy Riley the British Empire Welter-weight champion. In 1908, professional Catch as Catch Can wrestling came under the patronage of the National Sporting Club, who staged a series of major tournaments at the Alhambra Theatre in London. Billed as Open- to- the- world they attracted wrestlers from across the globe, with Lancashire the home of the sport strongly represented. The wrestlers soon discovered that a place in the first three could lead to a big pay day taking on Wigan’s champions in their own backyard. Austria’s Henry Irslinger, Buttan Singh of India and Wayne Ketoen of the USA wrestled challenge matches at Wigan’s Central Park against Wigan born opponents Bob Berry and Jack Carroll. Meanwhile Japanese Jujitsu expert Yukio Tani and his fellow countryman Tarrio Mykio were interested spectators at a match between Joe Carrol and Jim Foster. In 1904 and 1908 Catch as Catch Can wrestling was included in the Olympic Games with some changes in the rules. It is from this style that Olympic freestyle wrestling has developed. Over a hundred years later if we take a stroll from Westwood along the canal, we will see pleasure boats passing through the locks as they ascend the Wigan Flight and we make our way to RoseBridge Recreation Centre were Wigan and Leigh Wrestling Club held it’s first open competition 2008. Among the competitors at this event were teenage wrestlers many from the Wigan area who have won medals representing Great Britain in International tournaments. In a quiet corner of the tea room some of the more senior coaches schooled in the Catch as Catch Can style, recalled how they would wrestle in Billy Riley’s gym and on how much the young wrestlers of today owe to the great champions of yesteryear who have passed on their skills to the next generation so they too can enjoy the great sport of wrestling. Story by Tommy Heyes. (All rights reserved) Wigan wrestlers at the Alhambra 1910 In January 1910, a group of thirteen wrestlers from the Wigan area competed in the National Sporting Club Wrestling Championships at the Alhambra Theatre in London. The group included Joe Carroll, his nephew Jack Carroll, winners of the middleweight and lightweight titles respectively in 1908 and Bob Berry finalist at middleweight in 1909. This twelve day professional ‘ Catch as Catch Can ‘ wrestling tournament was the third annual event held under the patronage of the National Sporting Club. It attracted over one hundred and fifty competitors from as far away as Russia, India and the Caribbean. Once the formalities were completed the wrestling got underway in the three weight classes. In the preliminary rounds, a simple touch fall was allowed, supplemented by a points system and time limit. For the semi – finals and final, the pin fall, no time limit rule was introduced. First on the mat were the lightweights (under 10 stone – 6lb). Seven local men competed. All won their match. Notably Joe Smith (Aspull) who beat German Harley Gotz in 1.40 minutes. Next came the middleweights (under 12 stone). Jack Carroll (Hindley) beat H. Mathin (Russia) in 15 seconds; Joe Carroll (Hindley) defeated J. Moore of London in 41 seconds. It only took 27 seconds for Wigan’s Bob Berry to dispose of Catford’s Charles Helf. Jack Cunningham (Spring View) and Jim Forster (Pemberton) both won. F. Moffat (Bryn) was eliminated. At heavyweight (Open) , Wiganer James Stockely beat Italian Peter Pierri in 30 seconds, but was eliminated in the next round when he lost to Laurent Heaucarrols of France. With four rounds at lightweight still to be contested, a clash amongst the seven local wrestlers was always a possibility. It came in the second round when Willy Woodcock (Ince) came to grips with S. Daley (Standish), winning by a fall in 6 minutes, only to face Sam McKenna (Pemberton) in the third round, beating him inside 11 minutes. However, by the fifth round only two of the seven men remained. Joe Shambley (Westhoughton) and Willie Charnock of Newtown. Joe Shambley lost to Greman Peter Gots and Willie Charnock lost to Young Olson of Newfoundland. Meanwhile at middleweight, a place in the semi-finals was at stake for five local men as competition went in to the fourth round. Jack Carroll drew Indian Buttan Singh. The two men were well matched. After the full 30 minutes had elapsed, during which Carroll had almost secured a fall. The match went into 10 minutes of extra time, before the judges awarded Singh the match on points. Joe Carroll came up against Jamaican Frank Crozer the defending middleweight champion; Carroll caught Crozer with a Fling Mare, bringing him feet first over his shoulder in the opening minute. He may have gained a fall had he thrown Crozer from the mat. Jack Cunningham lost to Peter Bannan of Burnley, Bob Berry beat Jim Foster on points and went on to defeat Peter Bannan in the semi – final earning himself a place in the final against Butan Singh. Berry by all accounts a strong and clever wrestler kept Singh on the defensive for most of the match. With 29 minutes gone Berry’s tenacity paid off, when he trapped Singh’s leg in a scissor lock then forced his shoulders to the mat for the first fall. Singh who had earlier been engaged in a gruelling match with Frank Crozer began to tire. Berry still as strong as a horse, stepped up his attack, at one point driving the Indian off the mat on to the table occupied by the Press. Berry had obtained a crotch hold, which for some reason the referee allowed him to retain when the pair returned to the mat. Berry seeing his chance turned Singh upside down and drove his shoulders on to the mat for the second fall winning the match and the middleweight championship. As one lucky observer commented ” Berry was a trifle lucky to win in the manner that he did, few will deny, but at the same time he is a greatly improver wrestler. Thomas Heyes. SOURCES 1. Takedown 2. The Journal of the British Wrestling Association 3. Wigan Observer 1910.