George Richards 'Mr. Big & Tall' was famous for his clothing shops which catered to athletes and big men including many of the Toronto wrestlers. He dressed the ever sharp Whipper Watson, Pat Flanagan, Athol Layton, and Frank Tunney, among others.
Before opening his chain of stores Richards was a pro wrestler here in the 1930's-40's. Born in 1914 he had taken up wrestling to help support his family after his father died. When Maple Leaf Gardens opened in Nov 1931 the teenage Richards was selling programs at the arena he would later wrestle in.
Main pic: Training for boxing 1936 with Ed Kellar
He went pro in the early 1930's and in addition to the local scene he traveled a bit working around New York and Ohio (as Benny Stein) alongside fellow Toronto stalwart Jerry Monahan. Here he was mostly a prelim type guy wrestling on the openers. One listing in NJ has him (if he is that Benny Stein) wrestling Gino Garibaldi.
In 1936 he tried his hand at boxing and entered into the Jack Dempsey White Hope tournament under the tutelage of Ed Kellar who had competed in the 1930 British Empire games in Hamilton.
During World War II he enlisted in the Air Force and helped to train troops on the ships going from Halifax to London. On the return trip he'd be in charge of German prisoners of war coming to Canada.
After the war he opened his first store and noticed he was seeing a lot of his athletic colleagues so started catering to men taller than 6'1 (sized 38-60) and to stout men 200-450lbs (sizes 42-66), It was an instant hit for football players and the wrestlers who were now able to get quality suits in their sizes.
Athol Layton who was 6'6 265 wore a size 52 tall and appreciated the bright colors, shirts in pink, lilac, and chartreuse. He was one of the snappiest dressers among any athlete, both on TV as a commentator and at the many charity functions he appeared at. .
It wasn't exclusive to athletes, some of the city's more famous 'stout' men were customers including former police chief Harold Adamson (6.2 210lbs) and Sam Shopsowitz of Shopsys -the hot dog king (5'10 270lbs). Shopsowitz once said about Richards suits 'The fact that I'm fat doesn't mean that I don't like to follow fashion trends. I object to elephant pants but I like patch pockets on my suits,' indeed!
After the war he opened his first store and noticed he was seeing a lot of his athletic colleagues so started catering to men taller than 6'1 (sized 38-60) and to stout men 200-450lbs (sizes 42-66), It was an instant hit for football players and the wrestlers who were now able to get quality suits in their sizes.
Athol Layton who was 6'6 265 wore a size 52 tall and appreciated the bright colors, shirts in pink, lilac, and chartreuse. He was one of the snappiest dressers among any athlete, both on TV as a commentator and at the many charity functions he appeared at. .
It wasn't exclusive to athletes, some of the city's more famous 'stout' men were customers including former police chief Harold Adamson (6.2 210lbs) and Sam Shopsowitz of Shopsys -the hot dog king (5'10 270lbs). Shopsowitz once said about Richards suits 'The fact that I'm fat doesn't mean that I don't like to follow fashion trends. I object to elephant pants but I like patch pockets on my suits,' indeed!
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| 1968 |
In 1954 after the Toronto Tag Trophy (sponsored by Calvert Distillery dubbed the Calvert trophy) was destroyed by the Mills Brothers, Richards donated a new trophy to be awarded to the Tag champs - the George Richards Trophy which was awarded through the balance of the 1950's.
By 1980 under the banner George Richards Kingsize Clothes it had grown to 16 locations around the country and while George still remained active his son Michael was running the day to day operations. The Grafton-Fraser company who had bought 50% share in 1977 purchased the balance of the company in 1981
George was still leading exercise classes for seniors into his mid 80's and at 87 (2002) was still working out 4 times a week. He passed on in November 2010 at the age of 96.
Note: some info from the book I Know that Name!: The People Behind Canada's Best-known Brand Names from ...By Mark Kearney, Randy Ray
Thanks also to Renata G
-AC
-AC
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| 1957 with Whipper and Pat |