Why big daddy was deemed as a nice man, absolutely baffles me. Big Daddy was often arrogant and rude off stage. I know that as I were a ring builder, and seen his behaviour towards people he never even knew- who only wanted to meet him and shake his hand, before the wrestling was opened to the public. Unbelievably one of the nicest of all Wrestlers was Martin Ruane (Giant Haystacks) A proper God fearing true Gentleman out of the ring. A VERY likeable man.
MATE I CAN SEE IT IN HIS EYES AND WAS LOOKING TO SEE IF ANYONE NOTICES HIS DISCOMFORT ON MEETING SOME OF THE GUESTS BROUGHT IN , LIKE ITS SOME IN JOKE THAT TIYL WAS ACTUALLY BRINGING VICTIMS IN TO HUMILIATE
@@vaseofflowers4619Sadly he was!! When he wrestled at Southampton Pier or our Guildhall he was often seen pushing children to one side and even swearing at them to leave him alone....My late Mother saw this happen many a time and she said Giant Haystacks was a gentleman that lifted children up,let them take photos with him etc...BD acted nice for the cameras most of the time. So clearly not a very nice man
I use to watch every Saturday afternoon with my Dad & woman sitting on the side of the ring. Waiting to bash any man who fell out of the ring with their hand bags. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@patricaoreilly2143 I was about 9 or 10 when my mum introduced me to Kent Walton etc. There was Mighty John Quinn, Rollerball Mark Rocco, Mick MacManus and Jim Brakes plus of course Kendo Nagasaki unmasking !!!!
Physically and well as metaphorically. Big Daddy may have been crap in the ring and the total opposite to Dynamite Kid, Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco and Marty Jones who were 3 of the best wrestlers ever in the ring but they never got over with the crowd like Big Daddy
I never missed a Saturday watching the wrestling. I remember Big daddy tag teamed with a new wrestler called Davey Boy Smith who then became known as the British Bulldog in America.
It cannot be underestimated how big this all was in 70's My father took me a couple of times to Kings Hall,Belle Vue Manchester, and the only memory was Big Pat Roach,The myth around Kendo Nagasaki was huge, the fact that all those names were there is huge respect....as it happens the big man lived not far away from me,use to drive a Granada with his seat in the back...Giant Haystacks of course.
my gran who was a very strict christian woman, loved Big Daddy and the way she used to get upset at those baddies he fought...like Giant Haystacks...she would use expletives like a bissum...and that was saying something for her lol...he was brilliant..he inspired a lot of positivity in people no matter what age you were..a golden age for sure...
Used to love all this. Haystacks was also a gentle giant outside the ring . Daddy was at lot larger than this (as was Haystacks) when Wrestling ended here in the early - mid 80s. Haystacks was only 33 here! I guess most of these people have passed away now.
Wow....When I worked as a Porter in Royal Crescent Hotel, Brighton way back in late 70's I served BD, his wife and daughter every night when they returned after a show. She had a pot of tea and he always had an ice cold bottle of milk. Lovely polite family. I also remember him going to the beach for a swim every early morning
@@nebularain3338 yeah true didn't Bret Hart British bulldog and dynamite kid wrestle with these guys. Also William regal Bunch of actors non of them are wrestlers
He comes across as a really nice humble bloke who just cared about entertaining the crowds. Shame he is not in the hall of fame because if there is one name to pick as a British wrestler everyone remembers him. He sold out venues.
Shirley Crabtree aka Big Daddy was my first hero in life, the ultimate good guy and the only man in the country that barred Paul Sykes from a nightclub.
... Yeah, and cried a little, wishing the world, that warm, comfortable, unspoilt memories of being a child watching the wrestling every Saturday afternoon with my parents, and enjoying every second of it, would never end...
I did look up Brian Crabtree some years ago, and did wonder whether he was still alive, have just looked him up again, and he’s alive, aged 86, well done Brian!.
I took young relatives to see Big Daddy at Local Town Hall he was superb he played to the audience and little kids what fun they had good clean fun. Seems another World !!!!
This guy toured the country going to tiny towns appearing in school gyms and town halls..dedicated they were. Everyone got to see them live on a Saturday afternoon from their home or TV.
I remember has a child watching the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haystack years ago. Can't remember when , it was either late 1970"s or early 1980"s. And him them days it was all about wrestling and boxing and we loved it It's not like that now.
I miss this time as well I grew up in the 80s: just seemed more innocent and fun. Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks are legends. Wrestling on ITV on Saturdays was always a good bit of entertainment
Thanks for posting this. This was beautiful nostalgia. I love how grateful and happy Big Daddy was to be 'caught'. World of Sport wrestling was always fun, even believable...unlike the rubbish from the USA
I remember as a kid picking up a copy of a tatty rag called TVTimes. There was a double page spread with a picture of what Big Dady eats in a day. Incredible. Two whole chickens. Four large baked potatos. Rice pasta meat veg more veg more meat and more pints. And repeat several times a day lol. A sporting legend the likes of which Americans can only dream of emulating lol. Love to you all.
"I noticed that Giant Haystacks never smiled once on the show, didn't know if that was real or an act but British Wrestling was more believable than over here in the U.S. ,very good
I think hes maintaining kayfabe - if you look at the start hes applauding harder than any other. Both understood the business better I guess than Eamonn
HEY BBC , On behalf of a very large part of uk tv audience...... Come on do the decent thing.... listen to your viewers..... BRING back "This is your life"
Mr crabtree seemed a nice man.i saw him wrestle at a show in weardale county durham in about 1972 , there was another wrestler there too called masambula.
they say haystacks was really a very nice man church on sunday. nothing like the guy in the ring. big daddy the man who hated kids but put up with them
I Smiled all the way through that. Looked like he genuinely enjoyed every minute of that unlike some of the celebs they used to have on the show. . Heard he could be a bit of a diva behind the scenes though.
Big Daddy may have been crap in the ring and the total opposite to Dynamite Kid, Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco and Marty Jones who were 3 of the best wrestlers ever in the ring but they never got over with the crowd like Big Daddy. I heard William Regal talking to Stone Cold Steve Austin about Big Daddy and William Regal said “you will never understand just how much of a national treasure Big Daddy was”
@@nigelthorpe4002 you mean the British Union flag (a Jack is on the back of a ship) is for Great Britain. were as the Cross of St. George is the English flag and the Royal Standard is the U.K's.
The good old days...... all gone
I LOVED Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy ❤️ Saturday's were amazing because of these men !
"Easy! Easy!"
Easy! Easy! Easy!
Why big daddy was deemed as a nice man, absolutely baffles me.
Big Daddy was often arrogant and rude off stage.
I know that as I were a ring builder, and seen his behaviour towards people he never even knew- who only wanted to meet him and shake his hand, before the wrestling was opened to the public.
Unbelievably one of the nicest of all Wrestlers was Martin Ruane (Giant Haystacks)
A proper God fearing true Gentleman out of the ring.
A VERY likeable man.
well we can only go on what we see here, but i hear what you say.
MATE I CAN SEE IT IN HIS EYES AND WAS LOOKING TO SEE IF ANYONE NOTICES HIS DISCOMFORT ON MEETING SOME OF THE GUESTS BROUGHT IN , LIKE ITS SOME IN JOKE THAT TIYL WAS ACTUALLY BRINGING VICTIMS IN TO HUMILIATE
He sounds a bit of a tool if that's true.
@@vaseofflowers4619Sadly he was!! When he wrestled at Southampton Pier or our Guildhall he was often seen pushing children to one side and even swearing at them to leave him alone....My late Mother saw this happen many a time and she said Giant Haystacks was a gentleman that lifted children up,let them take photos with him etc...BD acted nice for the cameras most of the time. So clearly not a very nice man
... " SHIRLEY Not..."
These folks seemed so nice and warm, a far stretch from what we're getting in television nowadays (and in society at large)
Oh for sure, no one give a dam about one another any more, no manners, no consideration for others. Society is really taken a turn for the worse.
Back when people were themselves! Now everyone is trying to be somebody they’re not, just to fit in!
@@keithy507 I think you're forgetting a wee something! Wrestlers are always being something they're not lol
Cause men were men in them
Days had respect and manners
@@user-gv3bt5mi3o "Boohoo I'm frightened of new perspectives and societal development" Give it a rest snowflake. Big Daddy would've said as much.
What a lovely man! Loved the wrestling growing up in the 1970's
I was at school when all this was on, and I used to watch the wrestlering every Saturday afternoon
I use to watch every Saturday afternoon with my Dad & woman sitting on the side of the ring. Waiting to bash any man who fell out of the ring with their hand bags. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@patricaoreilly2143 I was about 9 or 10 when my mum introduced me to Kent Walton etc. There was Mighty John Quinn, Rollerball Mark Rocco, Mick MacManus and Jim Brakes plus of course Kendo Nagasaki unmasking !!!!
@@sablebasilisk7998 I remember the old ladies with their bags ready to whack Mick if he fell our of the ring. They were really serious about it. 😂😂😂😂😂
Same man
Me too
A huge man but his heart was even bigger.
Physically and well as metaphorically. Big Daddy may have been crap in the ring and the total opposite to Dynamite Kid, Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco and Marty Jones who were 3 of the best wrestlers ever in the ring but they never got over with the crowd like Big Daddy
Things like this make me wish I could go back to when I was young.
Brings tears to your eyes.
We didn't know it but they were the best times of our lives.....
@@ENGLISHCHIEF1 absolutely, I want to ho back in time, NOW
@@ENGLISHCHIEF1 Yep, pitty we didnt realize it at the time.
A gentleman and a legend sadly missed i loved big daddy 🙏❤🌹
R also,!
I never missed a Saturday watching the wrestling. I remember Big daddy tag teamed with a new wrestler called Davey Boy Smith who then became known as the British Bulldog in America.
Loved Saturday's wrestling back then
The world of spastic Wrestling
Also good to see my mate 'Kendo Nagasaki' (Peter Thornley), who will be 81 this year.
saw him wrestle in my town, spent a hour with the kids wanting pics afterwoods.. great guy
It cannot be underestimated how big this all was in 70's
My father took me a couple of times to Kings Hall,Belle Vue Manchester, and the only memory was Big Pat Roach,The myth around Kendo Nagasaki was huge, the fact that all those names were there is huge respect....as it happens the big man lived not far away from me,use to drive a Granada with his seat in the back...Giant Haystacks of course.
And early sixties I saw them all even the tag matches especially the royal brothers awesome xx Heather
Good happy days
Loved BD
My dad's favorite
This show seems like a millions years ago now
Bloody miss this legand gone but never forgotten rip Big daddy
Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks - loved watching both of them. May they both RIP.
my gran who was a very strict christian woman, loved Big Daddy and the way she used to get upset at those baddies he fought...like Giant Haystacks...she would use expletives like a bissum...and that was saying something for her lol...he was brilliant..he inspired a lot of positivity in people no matter what age you were..a golden age for sure...
I was lucky enough to see him wrestle as a young man. He was brilliant. He deserved every thing he achieved.
You must have been smoking crack
Wrestling is all fake
Blown away. So easy to forget how good TV was in terms of human value and I hate to say it but nowadays TV really is just trash.
wrestling on a saturday was great on tv back in the day
I loved it, my dad and I watched every Saturday and would often go and see them live. Happy days
Yorkshire is a tough place. To be called Shirley he had to be. I understand he was loved by the country.
He was my favourite wrestler growing up
He was everybody's favourite ..
Used to love all this. Haystacks was also a gentle giant outside the ring .
Daddy was at lot larger than this (as was Haystacks) when Wrestling ended here in the early - mid 80s. Haystacks was only 33 here!
I guess most of these people have passed away now.
Kendo Nagasaki is still around.
Oooh thank you so much for taking me back to the days of Madley street baths in hull xxxxx 😘 Heather
This was pure gold felt so happy to see it .loved this is your life ,and I love BIG DADDY
Brilliant Saturday on world of sport wrestling.
Large Father was a British wrestling icon.
This is like a breath of fresh air ..thanks for posting ..
I agree
Halifax boy, makes me proud to be from Yorkshire. What a lovely guy. Love this programme.
he was friends with jimmy savile though
Lovin dat Yorkshire accent. We're all Yorkshire aren't we
@@aglockinmasock no
I am from East lancs( Burnley )but not too far afield .he was great Yorkshire lad !!
@@homer8029 Everybody knew Saville back then, doesn't mean they knew what a monster he was.
Wow....When I worked as a Porter in Royal Crescent Hotel, Brighton way back in late 70's I served BD, his wife and daughter every night when they returned after a show. She had a pot of tea and he always had an ice cold bottle of milk. Lovely polite family. I also remember him going to the beach for a swim every early morning
Now THESE were REAL Wrestlers!
None of them were "real" wrestlers. They were showmen, there solely for entertainment, and they delivered.
@@nebularain3338 really, I would check the backgrounds of Marty Jones, Pete Roberts, Tony St Clair, Steve Grey, Mick McManus ect.
@@nebularain3338 yeah true didn't Bret Hart British bulldog and dynamite kid wrestle with these guys. Also William regal
Bunch of actors non of them are wrestlers
@@tonytoonstoursI would learn to spell etc
@@stepheng8779 etcetera lol
reminds me of sunday nights and the fear of having school tomorrow.
great times though. my ole dad loved this program.
Loved this is your life and the people who appeared especially The great big daddy a true legend .🤼
My 2 favourite wrestlers Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks I saw BD The week Lord Mountbatten was taken from us
Wow.
Gosh and to think they all gone now 🥺🥺 wow what an amazing show
A true gentleman. Not false like todays lot.
I took my kids to bell bue in the late 70s to see the KN was my favourite but GH really was likeva giant!
Never seen this before until now .I reckon it was one of the best ever 👌👌
Rip great uncle.
This was awesome.
He comes across as a really nice humble bloke who just cared about entertaining the crowds. Shame he is not in the hall of fame because if there is one name to pick as a British wrestler everyone remembers him. He sold out venues.
Shirley Crabtree aka Big Daddy was my first hero in life, the ultimate good guy and the only man in the country that barred Paul Sykes from a nightclub.
Thank you for this post I smiled my way through the whole thing
... Yeah, and cried a little, wishing the world, that warm, comfortable, unspoilt memories of being a child watching the wrestling every Saturday afternoon with my parents, and enjoying every second of it, would never end...
Loved this guy my mum loved him more we watched wrestling every Saturday happy times ..a genuine gentlemen,a real life super hero,a super star!
Big daddy is the greatest of the world
I did look up Brian Crabtree some years ago, and did wonder whether he was still alive, have just looked him up again, and he’s alive, aged 86, well done Brian!.
I took young relatives to see Big Daddy at Local Town Hall he was superb he played to the audience and little kids what fun they had good clean fun.
Seems another World !!!!
This guy toured the country going to tiny towns appearing in school gyms and town halls..dedicated they were. Everyone got to see them live on a Saturday afternoon from their home or TV.
Saturday Afternoons… Cup of Tea and Cheese and pickle Sandwiches with a generous helping of Wrestling on TV. Miss you Dad 💜💜
I remember has a child watching the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haystack years ago.
Can't remember when , it was either late 1970"s or early 1980"s.
And him them days it
was all about wrestling and boxing and we loved it
It's not like that now.
R I P Shirley Crabtree aka Big Daddy well liked as a wrestler
GREAT SHOW I F HAVE SEEN MANY TIMES
Shook his hand as a 9yr old in Blackpool after a match, so excited to meet him.
Many thanks for posting👍
Fantastic memories brought up watching 70s wrestling, brilliant to see the stars of the time.
R.I.P. to the Wrestling Legend!,
although if this Geezer ever saw My Belly He'd have run a Mile!.
Have just read Kendo's biography, it is very detailed and intelligent, if you are interested in the 70's scene I recommend it.
I miss this time as well I grew up in the 80s: just seemed more innocent and fun. Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks are legends. Wrestling on ITV on Saturdays was always a good bit of entertainment
What a guy, god rest his soul.......
What a gent
Great man and his Nephew was one of the best Huddersfield Rugby League players of all time.
Great upload, thank you
I loved Big Daddy.They don`t make wrestling like this anymore.
What a good man.....
Legend.....and one of our own,Halifax Lad.....R.I.P
Never seen this before what a really nice guy
Thanks for posting this. This was beautiful nostalgia. I love how grateful and happy Big Daddy was to be 'caught'. World of Sport wrestling was always fun, even believable...unlike the rubbish from the USA
Believable 😂😂😂 that’s because you where watching it in 140p quality.
What a true champion
I remember as a kid picking up a copy of a tatty rag called TVTimes. There was a double page spread with a picture of what Big Dady eats in a day. Incredible. Two whole chickens. Four large baked potatos. Rice pasta meat veg more veg more meat and more pints. And repeat several times a day lol. A sporting legend the likes of which Americans can only dream of emulating lol. Love to you all.
"I noticed that Giant Haystacks never smiled once
on the show,
didn't know if that was real or an act
but British Wrestling was more
believable than over here in
the U.S. ,very good
Roger Temple believe it our not mate Giant Haystacks was a Gentleman big daddy was entertment for the kids
I noticed that when Shirley was surprised with the red book, Martin (Haystacks) was applauding. They were both Gents away from the ring.
Met haystacks in a petrol station where I worked he was a miserable get
@@michaelcityoldtimer3342 what did he do?
I think hes maintaining kayfabe - if you look at the start hes applauding harder than any other.
Both understood the business better I guess than Eamonn
One of my favourite TIYL episodes. Thanks for uploading.
HEY BBC , On behalf of a very large part of uk tv audience...... Come on do the decent thing.... listen to your viewers..... BRING back "This is your life"
23:17 Really glad Giant Haystacks had a chance to make a comment.
A really great guy who we saw in the wrestling ring and at Blackpool afterwards
brilliant stuff.. Halifax lad done great
I grew up watching world of sport wrestling watching this Shirley big daddy seemed a great chap would of loved to of met him 👍
Cheer up G.H. ,I hope that they were friends off set cos we all know wrestling is just for show.great edition though thanks for that
Mr crabtree seemed a nice man.i saw him wrestle at a show in weardale county durham in about 1972 , there was another wrestler there too called masambula.
I was just thinking that
GREAT MEMORIES, WILL LIVE FOREVER.
oh my goodness my mum used to love him
Great upload! EASY! EASY!
they say haystacks was really a very nice man church on sunday. nothing like the guy in the ring. big daddy the man who hated kids but put up with them
His face. Bless him x
❤️
I so wish we had wrestling like this these days in t UK not wwe etc
Used to love this...when I was younger my dad said to me when you go out make sure you stay away from the man with the red book...he is too nosey...
The good old days,when wrestling didn't require athleticism and skill, When addition were done on a Saturday night down the pub!
Haystacks, forever Salieri to Daddies' Mozart!
Good days. ..
I find that people who were brought up in wartime were grateful and very polite, unlike the trash that walk our planet now 😡
So true. The country is full is scumbags these days. Can't trust anyone.
true but they didn't have diversity in their days
@@blackcountrywench6483Yes what a great dance group.
Legend
I Smiled all the way through that. Looked like he genuinely enjoyed every minute of that unlike some of the celebs they used to have on the show. . Heard he could be a bit of a diva behind the scenes though.
4 o,clock on a Saturday afternoon watching the wrestling presented by Kent Walton
a brilliant example of the coldstream guards second to none
Back in the good old days when tv programs were decent and men were men and women were women!
Great Guy.. a True Gentleman..
What a great fella !!!
Big Daddy may have been crap in the ring and the total opposite to Dynamite Kid, Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco and Marty Jones who were 3 of the best wrestlers ever in the ring but they never got over with the crowd like Big Daddy. I heard William Regal talking to Stone Cold Steve Austin about Big Daddy and William Regal said “you will never understand just how much of a national treasure Big Daddy was”
Finlay is the real star of England wrestling.
or Steven Regal who was Big Daddys tag team partner or if you want to go back a bit .... the Bomber Pat Roach.
Joe Joe Brian he's from Northern Ireland Belfast
@@nigelthorpe4002 he is probably a yank and doesn't know the difference between England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
@@jeanlongsden1696 they probably don't they think union Jack's England flag and it isn't it's the United Kingdom
@@nigelthorpe4002 you mean the British Union flag (a Jack is on the back of a ship) is for Great Britain. were as the Cross of St. George is the English flag and the Royal Standard is the U.K's.
Easy! Easy! Easy!