Shirley Crabtree was a popular Halifax-born wrestler who appeared under the name Big Daddy.
The son of a drayman, he was born [14th November 1930] in the Wilson Street / Gibson Street area of Pellon Lane, Halifax.
He attended Pellon Lane Board School.
He was a Catholic.
During his National Service, he was in the Coldstream Guards.
Like his father, he was named Shirley because his grandmother liked Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley. Before the Brontë novel, Shirley was a man's name.
He became a professional wrestler in 1952, and was instantly recognisable with his spangled top hat and Union-Jack costume, and was hugely popular with audiences of all ages in bouts against opponents such as Luke Giant Haystacks McMasters and Mick McManus.
He wrestled under the names The Blonde Adonis, Mr Universe, and The Battling Guardsman before calling himself Big Daddy.
Crabtree was 6 ft 2 in tall, and weighed 25 stones. He specialised in a move known as the splash which involved crashing down on the top of his opponents with his stomach.
In the late 1950s, he and his brothers organised dances at the Labour Rooms on St James's Road. In the 1960s, they had dances at the Marlborough Hall and in Collinson's Café.
In 1987, he was devastated when fellow wrestler Mal King Kong Kirk died of a heart attack during a bout with Crabtree at Great Yarmouth, but the Coroner found that Mr Kirk's death was caused by a serious heart condition and exonerated Crabtree.
He also ran a promotions business with his brothers Gerald – known as Max – and Brian. He became a wrestling referee.
In December 1997, he died in Halifax General Hospital after suffering a stroke, leaving his second wife of 31 years, Eunice, and six children.
His brother, Brian Crabtree was the compère of the popular TV programme Saturday Afternoon Wrestling
This & associated entries use material contributed by Anthony Buckless & Bill Wall
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