I met Big Daddy in Croydon in the early 90's. I took a man I was looking after with learning disabilities. I took the chap to ringside. After signing the photo for my gent I leant over the wheelchair and shook his hand and thanked him as it meant a lot to the bloke I was looking after. Big daddy just looked up and he said no, Thank you for what you are doing. I thought it was very humble of him.
People say things about Big Daddy not liking children, but my experience was totally different when I was a child. My grandmother and I were waiting for a lift after we had attended a wrestling show. Big Daddy came past as a passenger in the car. He got the driver to stop, and he got out of the car and came over to talk to us. My grandmother was in total awe. Big Daddy gently ruffled my hair, said some nice words, told me that at the end of the season he was going to be fighting Giant Haystacks there. He asked me for advice on how to beat him! I said he should do his Big Daddy Splash. He ruffled my hair again and said "Thanks, lad. That's good advice. Come along and watch me do it!". I think Shirley Crabtree and Martin Ruane were both really decent people.
Big Daddy was an absolute phenomenon that if you didn’t live through it is really hard to grasp now how big he was. Everybody knew the name and it was a constant of school playgrounds to hear chants of “Easy, easy”. Trying to understand why is interesting as he was an enigma - appalling wrestler, looked bizarre, didn’t really do much but he just had an aura, you just knew he was the good guy, the hero, he did seem kind and nice and he absolutely set himself as standing up for the kids against the big bad bullies. Granny’s loved him, kids I think felt a bit safer and happier knowing big daddy was in the world. An amazing cultural phenomenon that there are no parallels for now.
As an American I've always found the Big Daddy phenomenon a little bit mystifying. We had Hulk Hogan in the 80s but at least he looked physically impressive. Your comment has helped me understand a bit better why Big Daddy was so loved.
Liver and Onions makes me laugh as much now as it did on first hearing. Showed it to my dad who was 17 in 1981 and he just shook his head in painful nostalgia
I remember seeing Crabtree wrestle in Glasgow in the early 1960's, he was billed as "The Blond Adonis" in those days. During his break from wrestling, he wasn't signing on, he became a nightclub owner in Halifax and Bradford, The three Crabtree brothers owned and ran the Marlborough dancehall in Halifax, when they sold the Marlborough it became the Halifax Y.M.C.A.
My Dad was a Uk wrestler. He trained with Mick McManus. My dad was the bad guy. His name was Art Michael. These were great days. Down to the castle hall to watch them. Fantastic.
You forgot to mention that Big Daddy was also in the Cold stream Guards, and at one stage wrestled as "the Battling Guardsman." And that he started his second stretch in wrestling as a heel. In fact, he was in a tag-team with Giant Haystacks in 1975!
Oh, come on! Hogan may be unable to work in the ring, but at least he can cut a promo. Big Daddy could do neither. The bookers decided who was over and who wasn't. Give a guy a flag and a colourful costume, and put his matches at the end, and the audience - who were drunk as all Hell - are just like: "Well...this must be the main guy". They could have plucked a homeless guy off the street and made him just as popular.
Johnny Liver and Ricky Onions in a flat share sitcom, one is an uptight office worker and the other is an unemployed tearaway that is always pulling the other into his schemes.
That 1981 medley was a succinct and hilarious trip down memory lane. Please do more coverage of this unique period of UK wrestling there is so much curious British culture to explore.
I grew up watching wrestling with my Grandfather. He loved Big Daddy. He hated it when British wrestling went off air and we started getting the American shows over here instead.
Marc Haynes "Liver and onions!" is the "We didn't start the fire" of early 80's Britain and the only performance art piece I'd willfully sit through in its entirety.
Amazing they managed a cultural history of 1981 with NO MENTION WHATSOEVER of Adam and the Ants - even when they borrow a caption slide from a documentary that Adam Ant hosted!
'81 was getting to the end of what I call the 'British stodge' period - where all the food was fried slop and slowly concretizing-on-the-plate processed foodstuffs. 🤢 Liver & Onions (and 'tater hash) would have to be an era-appropriate signature dish. (With cigarettes for dessert) even *this* is a great step up from the 70s......shudder) @__@
@@zetetick395 like I said, you can still buy a tin of Liver and Onions or Stewing Steak or Pork And Beans from your local corner shop in the North or the Midlands or Wales.
Lol yeah, like the worlds most Northern analogy for a classical atomic physics tutorial (maybe the orbiting electrons could be meat pies?) - You can see even the ropes are like rubber bands to 'em, you can see them get a bit tentative when bouncing off 'em! A-mazing. '@_@'
Big daddy worked as a life guard when he was younger and thinner He saved a unconscious 16 year old from dying when she went unconscious Shirley dived in swam out and saved her life,
That interview with Giant Haystacks at 8:38 is from the Late Late Show in Ireland. Before he comes out you see the host Gay Byrne sitting on the custom chair for Giant Haystacks. It makes him look like a toddler sitting on a regular chair. Also, fun fact about Giant Haystacks was that he was Paul McCartney's favourite wrestler. Another fun fact: in the PAL editions of the game Legends Of Wrestling 2, Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy were featured on the roster.
Thanks for bringing back many happy memories. After watching the wrestling, we would clear the living room where my brothers and me would 'practice' our wrestling moves on dad. Those Saturdays during the late 70s early 80s were magical, and BD and GH were a big part of that.
I grew up watching Big Daddy with my Grandad. I was to young to realise it was pretend and nobody was actually being hurt. Much love to Big D and Haystacks....wherever you are...R.I.P.
I read a book that describes a meeting of many of the old uk wrestlers and after the group photo,all the wrestlers kneeling down had to be helped up...
@@moonnightbricks3948 Big Daddy was 50 years old in this vid so I am not surprised to hear that. US wrestling has come a long since the ol Big D belly flop eh...😉
@@dazuk1969I watched from the early ‘80s and watching these now realise just how old most of those wrestlers were at that point - all the big names were in their 50s, 60s or older. No wonder some like big daddy couldn’t do much
I remember seeing Bomber Pat Roach in the 90s and he entered to the opening theme of Auf Wiedersehen Pet ( "Breakin' Away" )and when he won, the end theme of Auf Wiedersehen Pet played ( “That’s Livin’ Alright” ) Marvellous
I just found this channel so I don't know your names or anything yet, so forgive me. But what I really enjoy about it is that the guy who is kind of doing the most talking really sounds like he knows what he's talking about. It doesn't sound like you are reading a Wikipedia article, it just sounds like you know the subject matter. Cheers.
I grew up watching wrestling on TV with my granny who was in her 80's at the time.! She refused to buy one of them new fangled "colour" TVs (in the 80's) & we'd watch it on her BRAND NEW black & white set that cost her nearly as much as a colour one.! 😂 😂 😂 She absolutely loved the wrestling, to most people she was a humourless, set in her ways, stubborn, old fashioned prim & proper victorion type who was involved in her church playing piano & doing other God type stuff & most people didn't think she'd ever smiled.... But to me she was fun, adventurous, kind, humorous & my wrestling watching tag team partner.! I used to spend most weekends at her house & I cherish the memories.!! Thank you for making me think of them.!!! 👍 👍 👍 Subbed & liked & best wishes from Scotland 🏴 🙏 ♥
Im 39 but when I was at school i had a job working on the market setting up the stall in the morning before school and taking it down after. On a Saturday I would set up and take down but also work all day on the stall selling rolls of material etc. It was there that I met giant haystacks sister (or maybe cousin) and she would tell me stories about him, the market was in wythenshawe Manchester and now I live in salford and haystacks's gravesite is not far away from me in agecroft cemetery.
I LOVED *both* Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks when I was a kid. - ALL the superheavyweights did it for me. - King Kong Kirk, Bully Boy Ian Muir. - It’s like the Japanese sumo’s, the more gigantic they were the more popular they became. Plus size wrestlers have always drawn crowds. - Dusty Rhodes in America, Otto Vanz in Europe, both were super over. Like it’s been mentioned, Big Daddy was the British Hulk Hogan. - Not technical wrestlers but super over, nonetheless. - Their personal charisma, X-factor and animal magnetism just pulled in audiences like iron filings to an electron magnet. As great as Rollerball Rocco, Fit Finlay, Danny Collins were, they could never fill arena’s, at least not over the long term, night after night, year upon year. I saw Daddy and Haystacks live many times. - I saw Daddy in a tag match against the 42 stone Incredible Bulk and when Daddy’s theme tune “We Shall Not Be Moved” hit, the crowd erupted to a nuclear degree. - 50 years later I’ve never heard a louder more enthusiastic reaction to anyone or anything. Reactions to Hulk Hogan, The Rock or Austin are subdued in comparison. - The only thing I can compare Big Daddy’s reaction to is The Beatles Shea Stadium concert. He was super over with cherries 🍒 on top.
Rocco and Finlay could fill arenas - especially when they were on with Kendo Nagasaki. By the end of the 1980s All Star was WIPING THE FLOOR with Joint Promotions.
This was a time when every week my mum would buy me and my sister comics. Mine were Buster and Eagle. Big Daddy I think appeared in pretty much every current comic of the day, eventually. Good times.
Never knew Big Daddy had his own strip in Buster, we got Whizzer or Beano (+ very occasionally the Dandy) - Nice to know they did (eventually) go back to the original look Dennis and Gnasher, that's like redesigning Homer Simpson, what were they even _thinking??_
Saw Daddy fight (?) Haystacks at the Wihrina, Peterborough. Supposed to dislike each other, but were drinking together in the City Arms after the match.
I was born in 1975. I remember watching the wrestling in the early 80's and because I was a kid I thought it was all real. I was genuinely afraid of Giant Haystacks and felt outrage when he used to do break the rules. I dont remember liking Big Daddy as such but I was always hoping he would beat the bad guys. Great, innocent entertainment for kids. Thankyou for posting.
The Mighty John Quinn match segments you showed here, John Quinn almost died as Daddy botched the move that secured the win for him in 2 minutes 55 seconds.
Summing up 1981 was 🤬 great had me crying with laughter 😂🤣 big daddy was a true British legion when I was a kid I did enjoy watching him on TV thank u for doing that video
Personally I think the reason Big Daddy was so "over" is because he represented a living embodiment of the John Bull character. People believed in him because of the patriotic values he represented.
I saw Big Daddy ‘fight’ sometime in - I think - the early-mid ‘70s(?) at our local wrestling hall, the ‘Eldorado’ in Leith, Edinburgh. If I remember correctly, Big Daddy - as real name Shirley Crabtree - performed as a wrestling ‘baddie’ originally and then became ‘the people’s champion’ Big Daddy later on. Also, his brother (a considerably smaller man) was a wrestling referee.
You touched on Big Daddy's comic strip in Buster, so I'd just like to say that (as somebody who wasn't even alive in Big Daddy's heyday, but does like a good licensed comic) that it was great; Big Daddy would get calls on the Daddy-Phone (hidden in his top hat, of course) and help kids out with all kinds of random problems, all while under the disapproving glower of his nameless trainer, who'd try and make sure Daddy was fighting fit and ready for his big match. Big Daddy would solve the problems, either using his vast strength or his even vaster tummy, then win his match in a manner that could only be described as "EASY!" He was also the subject of a stage play back in 2012 called "Big Daddy Vs. Giant Haystacks" and I wish I'd gotten to see it; it was a two-man show that touched on how loved Big Daddy was, but also on the toll that fame had on both Shirley Crabtree and Martin Ruane.
I watched the Giant Haystacks wrestle in 1991at the Southampton Guildhall. Biggest man I've ever seen. Despite the Big Daddy gimmick, Shirley Crabtree was a legit tough guy in his younger days. Ask Jim Cornette about George Hackenschmidt, who trained Crabtree. Different gear.
I grew up in the 80's. I can remember the older kids talking about this match before I even knew or understood what wrestling was. Even here, in East Yorkshire on a council estate, enough of the kids had cable that there was always a way to find a sleepover at someones house to watch Wrestlemania or the Royal Rumble, once England went WWF crazy in the early 90's. I never really liked it that much, but it was always a spectacle. Like watching real life action figures flying through the air and landing on each others necks.
In an airport in Kuala Lumpur and completely lost it when the impressions came out. Trying to explain to Aussies in the same line as me why the Yorkshire Ripper scammer was funny didn’t go down well.
Can't believe you didn't mention the vicar accompanying him to the ring or that Daddy and Haystacks used to be a tag team. Thing is, Daddy had incredible charisma. Haystacks wasn't even the most hated heel in British wrestling: that was Kendo Nagasaki. I've seen a video of the two of them wrestling and the crowd are cheering Haystacks.
As a kid we LOVED Kendo Nagasaki, he’s an amazing character and played so well. We knew he wasn’t the good guy but he wasn’t really a baddie either, we knew that was Haystacks
Their first televised solo contest was in 1977 which ended in a NC. They continued to face each other periodically in solo contests up and down the halls in non televised bouts up until around 1978/9. To be fair to Shirley he did what his promoter brother Max wanted him to do where as other promoters in the joint group who wielded less power than Max wanted Shirley to wrestle more as is the case of his bout against John Elijah on RU-vid. Shirley also lost to Tony St.Clair in an elimination contest for the British Heavyweight Title around 1978/9. To judge him only by his work in the 1980s is a bit unfair because as a younger man he held a version of the British Heavyweight Title and twice held a version of the European Heavyweight Title and wrestled in Europe. Shirley beat the man who defeated legendary Bert Assiratti which sent Assiratti into retirement to gain the British Title (Assiratti was getting on by this point though) .The point being not a great deal of info is known about Shirley's early days as he wrestled mainly in the North of England and Scotland for the Independent promoters where as most wrestling publications at the time concentrated on the Southern/Midlands promoters and reported little from the North. But! he must have had some degree of talent to hold 2 prestigious titles when he was younger man. Unfortunately professional wrestling is a very bitchy back stabbing business and many people including wrestlers are prepared to stick the dagger in especially when the individual concerned was popular, as passed away and cannot retaliate.
@@paulpetroleum He was here in 1969. He had one TV match on World of Sport. Daddy was semi-retired at that point and didn't join up with Joint until 1972 by which time "Jean Ferre" as Andre was called was off in Montreal Canada. If he'd done a homecoming tour at that point they *might* have done Jean Ferre vs Battling Guardsman Crabtree.
@@paulpetroleum this is the wrestling territory we all grew up with. It's in better shape too in 2023 than any old school American wrestling culture (except Capitol/WWWF/New York, obv, which lives on as WWE.)
They were former heel tag team partners who used to get together and squash the blue-eyes (babyfaces). They also had a BIG heel vs heels feud with Kendo Nagasaki. They also DID have a previous match on TV in November 1977. It ended in No contest after they both crashed into referee Dave Reece and left him flat as a pancake.
On TV, the feud between Daddy and Haystacks started in September 1977 when the two of them made it to the final of a 4 man tournament but Haystacks walked out seconds after the bell rang. Daddy claimed Haystacks had chickened out. This led to the match I described in my post above, two months later, and then loads of tag matches starting Xmas '77 and running through '78 where Stax would always have some ruse to get out of wrestling his former tag partner. I say "on TV" because Daddy himself told a lot of people including myself at a show in Croydon in 1990 that it all started the last time he and Stax teamed up in 1977 when Stax turned on him - "He hit me over the head with a chair - and that was the end of that!" Nobody has managed to identify when (or if) this happened; it certainly wasn't on TV.
Guys that was an absolute classic, 81 in the states Big,Mac, Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, french fries, icy Coke, Thick Shake, Sundays, and apple pies.
Also 1981: Reagan, rancid phony TV evangelists, Motown takin a kicking from Japan, Hip Hop + breakdancing culture getting going, Viet vets getting FA help.... (what else?)
About 40 years ago, on a holiday in great yarmouth, my dad took me to a matinee wrestling show, and literally all of the greats were there, including a very young william regal, i booed giant haystacks, and he growled at me, and i promply shit myself and hid behind my dad, whereupon, according to my dad, he gave my dad a big grin and a wink, then went off growling at everyone. Core memories right there.
I never got to see Big Daddy............ BUT I was lucky enough to see Giant Haystacks once at a town hall wrestling event in Ashton Under Lyne back when I was a kid, he was the villain of the night, everyone was chanting EASY, EASY, EASY and he hated it 😂😂😂😂😂
I went to school with his other nephew (Eorl's younger brother) and let me tell you that whole family are built like brick shit houses and all really bloody lovely people to be around!
Live I was never a fan of seeing Daddy but oddly I liked seeing Giant Haystacks live even though he was worse. I'd get excited going to see the likes of Johnny Saint, Iron Fist Clive Myers, Mark Rocco, The Royals, Kendo Nagasaki etc. Also lucky enough to see a handful from the earlier era like Les Kellett, Mike Marino, Count Baretlli and Johnny Kwango. We used to go to se it live every couple of weeks and of course watched it on Saturdays on the TV too.
saw big daddy and giant haystacks both seperatley as a child in the 70s and 80s at the assembly rooms in derby.An absolute legend but i loved the antics and wrestling style of massambula who was so sadly injured when i was only 6.My mum and dad never told me why he was no longer wrestling.always remember them saying poor massambula but i didnt realise at the time it was because he was hurt and injured so bad.If you have any footage of him to show it would be much appreciated
Absolutely loved this on a Saturday afternoon, but how the fuck did these old blokes have us entertained and convinced they were elite athletes??🇬🇧👊🏻 Great days though.
It’s ironic that Shirley ‘Big Daddy’ Crabtree was the biggest babyface in British wrestling because he actually started out as a heel, and he would frequently pick up ‘public warnings’ in his matches even when he made the turn to babyface, but of course, it’s OK when the heroes do it lol LIVER AND ONIONS!!!
I bought a book about Big Daddy,"Who's the Daddy", not the absolute bio but a decent work anyway. I wonder if there are more books about him. I am not British, I don't live in the UK, but I always liked him very much.
Chella toys (now wrestle trader owned) made some WWF Hasbro style figures of these two. Not generally into toys but had to add them to my old collection, may not have been great in ring but one of my earliest wrestling memories.
Love hearing British slang and wonder if others understand what you mean 🤣 "Where's he been for 15 years, yea he's been signing on" Edit - 17:30 Liver and Onions
Signing for his weekly welfare check (I think that translates for folks over the pond) .........The '70s were legit fkn BRUTAL for the working class ppl in UK, as Industrial Britain died off _all at once_ ...So millions of raging / depressed adults were thrown onto the Dole (Welfare) - it was riots, and many were burning their furniture to keep warm in winter (only 3 days a week of electricity - no binmen / garbage men for months etc) - it was proper hardcore, man.
I saw Big Daddy and Kendo Nagasaki (at different events) at the Bath Pavilion in the early 1990s. Big Daddy sat at the stage and signed autographs for 20 minutes, I sent my mum up to get a signed photo as I was too shy to meet him.
Went to the Goldwell rooms in Chesterfield in the 1970s and Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks were on the bill, we hung about after the show, Giant Haystacks walked to the train station and I kid you not Big Daddy got into a green Tr7, god knows how he got in
It's fair to say Big Daddy was a terrible wrestler BUT Shirley Crabtree pre Big Daddy was a good wrestler. If you're a British wrestling fan and you've never seen Shirley Crabtree wrestle prior to his run as Big Daddy then you owe it to yourself to do so. It's the UK equivalent of Hogan wrestling in Japan outside of WWF.
I knew very little about these guys in the U.S., I like Big Daddy the outfits are cool. But the most famous British wrestler ever has to be Davey Boy Smith.
