Mick McManus (wrestler)

Early life

McManus was born in New Cross, south London. After leaving school he worked in a drawing office and then for a firm of printers. He began training as a wrestler, and during the Second World War helped teach Royal Air Force personnel in the sport. His first professional performance took place in 1945, while on a posting to Australia.

Wrestling career

McManus was among wrestlers such as Mark Rocco and Kendo Nagasaki whose characters bent the rules as far as they could go without being disqualified, much to the fury of the crowd. He was also well known for using short range forearm jabs in matches. He became famous for his trademark black trunks and cropped black hair and for his catchphrase "Not the ears, not the ears".

McManus made more television appearances than any other wrestler in a career which spanned more than 20 years. Losing to Peter Preston by disqualification during his later years, he lost the European Middleweight title on television to a younger wrestler Mal Sanders.

McManus won his first wrestling title, the British Welterweight Championship, in 1949 by defeating Eddie Capelli for the vacant championship. He dropped the title to Jack Dempsey in 1957 but regained it from Dempsey. He dropped the title to him the following year, however. His 1963 bout against Jackie Pallo was watched by over 20 million people on British television. On 13 November 1967, McManus won the British Middleweight Championship with a victory over Clayton Thomson. Thomson regained the title in a rematch two months later. McManus also won the European Middleweight Championship in June 1968 by defeating Vic Faulkner. Faulkner regained the title belt in September, but McManus won it back in April 1971. He held the championship for almost seven years before losing it to Mal Sanders. McManus and Sanders traded the belt back and forth in matches that year and into the following year, with McManus holding the title a total of four times.

Concurrently with his career in the wrestling ring, McManus ran the London office of professional wrestling promotion firm Dale Martin, determining the matches and their results.

Later life

After McManus retired from active wrestling in 1982, he advised London Weekend Television, until professional wrestling was taken off the air in 1988. He later worked in public relations, owned The Royal Hotel pub (closed in 2009) in Stoughton, Guildford, Surrey, and became a connoisseur of antique porcelain. He also continued to advise professional wrestling promoters.

Personal life and death

McManus was married to Barbara, who predeceased him (in January 2013); they had one son, Tony.

Frank Rimer, president of the British Wrestlers Reunion, said: "I am deeply saddened to announce the death of the legend that was Mick McManus, who passed away at 1am this morning. Mick never recovered from the loss of his beloved wife Barbara and lost the will to live, despite the loving care of the nurses at the celebrity home for retired actors Brinsworth House where he lived out his final days. Even the arrival of his old friend Lord Attenborough recently, failed to lift his spirits, refusing all food and drink until he quietly slipped into a coma three days ago." He was 93.

In his prime, McManus went by the names of "The Man You Love To Hate" and "Rugged South London Tough Guy". The Sun, in which newspaper he wrote a weekly column, commented that McManus had made more televised wrestling appearances than any other British wrestler, in a televised career that spanned 26 years.

In popular culture

McManus also appeared as part of the European version of the Legends of Wrestling II computer game. British pop artist Peter Blake often cites McManus as a major influence on his 'wrestlers' series of paintings due to his admiration of his wrestling persona; Blake famously painted Kendo Nagasaki's portrait as part of the series.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments