Fighting to keep wrestling alive

Mr Rigby trained more than 150 British schoolboy wrestling champions during 50 years. This public endorsement of John's work takes place against the backdrop of the sport's decline in this country.

But is the story the same in Bolton, where famous wrestling sons include Bolton's 1982 Commonwealth Champion Brian Aspen?

In the heyday of the sport, the Albert Halls drew in huge crowds to witness the likes of the Belfast Bruiser and the British Bulldog battling it out. Then there were the "Master of Disaster" and the "Lancashire Lion". Or who could forget Auf Wiedersehn Pet's "Bomber" Pat Roach in the ring?

The well-known Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club on Wigan Road in Deane has a prestigious history of its own thanks to Britain's finest gracing the mats there in the past.

Jack Holt is the club secretary, fighting to keep wrestling alive in Bolton, saying: "Wrestling will never die in Bolton - there's too much history, it's just part of Bolton.

"For too many of us, it's in our blood."

He described how the club traces its roots to "murky damp cellars" from which they emerged to ground level just after the Second World War to move into the relatively palatial "Old Tin Hut" in Bridgeman Street.

Re-development of the area eventually led to a new permanent home at a site which had once been the Deane Congregational Church Hall.

Mr Holt said that wrestler stick together "perhaps like a circus family", and pass on skills and friendship from generation to generation.

The "old timers" may not be so nimble now, according to Mr Holt, but they make up most of the club's committee, taking turns to open the club from 5pm to 9.30pm, five nights a week.

After an upsurge in interest in the sport four years ago - thanks to the televised antics of professional World Wrestling Federation wrestlers - the amateur branch is now struggling to attract people, according to Mr Holt.

He looks towards the younger generation to revive the sport - competing for their time with a host of other hobbies and sports, especially following a Premiership football team

"Watching Premiership football is so expensive, they haven't got money for the other things."

The club charges £1.50 for adults and £1 for under 16s - reflecting the "working class" image of wrestling in Bolton, according to Mr Holt.

"We have strongly resisted the pressure to go 'up market' in order to continue to attract local youngsters at a cost which will not damage the pockets of parents."

A special scheme by the British Amateur Wrestling Association, called Grass Roots, has been in operation for the past two years to introduce the sport to schools across the country. So far, this has attracted 20 junior members.

Girls are also encouraged to wrestle by the club and two of their female members have achieved national recognition and represent Great Britain.

"We need to build it up again," said Mr Holt, who himself has visited six schools in the Deane area to tell pupils about wrestling.

But while some children simply lose interest quickly, some are put off by the "physical" aspect.

"They get a kick in the nose and they want their mum and they won't come back the week after," said Mr Holt.

Getting the youngsters past this stage is half the battle, it seems. Then, competitions beckon - and the "incredible" feeling of "pinning" somebody.

"We try to get them in a competition and get them in the first three - it's a feeling like nothing else," said Mr Holt.

"You've got nobody else to answer to.

"It's one to one, a very physical sport."

It is not, however, a spectator sport, according to Mr Holt, as it is "very quick" and "hard to watch and score".

And while the wrestlers are facing up to the challenge to attract new members, they open up their doors to those who engage in judo, martial arts and keep fit - "basically anything that brings in money".

"It's all to pay for wrestling.

"What we don't do is make a profit."

Mr Holt's comments come in the wake of the recent death of Giant Haystacks, the 49-stone badboy wrestler from Prestwich.

In his prime, Haystacks, real name Martin Ruane, travelled the world as a wrestler and bouts against Big Daddy would draw audiences of up to 16 million.

His 25-stone former ring rival, the ex- miner whose real name was Shirley Crabtree, died 12 months ago after battling against a stroke.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.