Fred Atkins: Ferocious Fred

If there were a Hall of Fame for the MLG stars and you picked the first stars to be inducted, Fred Atkins would be a shoo-in on the first vote. His career in Toronto lasted five decades while Atkins served as one of the trusted few in promoter Frank Tunney's inner circle.
Starting down under in the early 1940's he was soon recognized as Australian Champion. In 1946 he faced Jim Londos in front of 14,000 fans and was then said to be offered $9380 to wrestle in five contests in San Francisco by wrestler and promoter Joe Malciewicz.

Main pic early promo circa 1947

He eventually did come to the U.S. for a six month tour. They followed his progress in the Australian newspapers, one update reporting him at 41 bouts with 41 wins. Upon his return to Australia it put him at 78 bouts with only one loss - to Sandor Szabo - and that he was next returning to the U.S. to take part in an elimination tournament for the World Title. In 1947 he headlined in Vancouver for a time battling Szabo and Joe Savoldi in big bouts before moving East for good.

In 1948 he wrestled his first bout in Toronto and got the win vs Jack Moore. In a Star item before the following card it read 'Promoter Tunney is looking for an opponent for Atkins. A number of the big mat-men have hinted to Phil Lawson (Whippers manager but also a force in the office) that they will 'be busy' while the Anzac wrestler is around.' It set the tone for the rest of Atkins career, known as a tough no-nonsense type both in -and out of- the squared circle.

Atkins and his wife bought a house that same year in Crystal Beach, Ontario in which he lived for the rest of his career. As with many wrestlers at the time, the location served as a central point for Atkins to work regularly around the Great Lakes including Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit. 

In September 1948 prior to facing the #1 villain Nanjo Singh in the main event at MLG. it was reported that Atkins was looking for a 'clop at Whipper Watson.' First though he was to team with Whipper who was by now established as the main matman in Toronto. He tags with Whip against Sky Hi Lee and The Mask and then they add Pat Flanagan for a 6 man bout vs Hi Lee, The Marvel, and Nanjo. Main events continued including a big win over the 320lb Ben Morgan.

Two Toughs in Toronto: Fred teams with Hardboiled Haggerty 1955

In a 1949 bit in the Sydney Herald they reported that Atkins was expecting to meet Whipper for the title at MLG and noted his record since leaving Australia a year prior includes more than 50 wins 2 draws and 1 dq. It added that Atkins had 'packed MLG five times' and that he and Mrs. Atkins were living at Crystal Beach.

In March 1949, billed here as Australian Champ, he faced Whipper and won the British Empire Title. In an update in the Star Atkins was threatening to take the belt back to Australia and that Whipper and manager Phil Lawson were chasing Tunney for a re-match. Atkins wins the rematch by dq then takes on big Mike Sharpe. He faces Whipper again and then they meet in an 8 round special rules with Strangler Lewis as ref. That one ends in a draw after 65 minutes of action.

A non-title loss to Ray Villmer follows as well as a partnership with 'Wee' Willie Davis in which the two second each other for bouts. In June 1949 he and Whipper have a 10 round match with gator/bear wrestler Tuffy Truesdale as the perfect referee. The bout has 8 minute rounds and goes the distance ending in an 80 minute draw. Atkins loses the title back to Whipper in Hamilton in August.

In Oct 1949 Atkins gets a shot at World Champ Lou Thesz in a highlight of the early years. Atkins  controls the bout and has a good showing despite being disqualified for trying to erase part of Thesz's face with his elbow.

Atkins also makes an impact in the smaller towns. In Oshawa he was in many main events in the early years and goes on to headline the town over 40 times. A couple of fans have told me that while he was a bad guy type the avid fans respected him for his ability and toughness in the ring. 

At the onset of the 1950's he alternates between main events and opening bouts around the area. He is used as a tester of sorts for newcomers, and often to set the tone for the evening festivities. After a 1951 bout with Steve Stanlee the recap reported Stanlee had made one mistake; 'getting rough with Atkins, he'd have been better advised to snarl at a lion.'

'Ferocious Fred' as the papers were now calling him tagged with newcomer Lord Athol Layton, initially a hated heel with his manager/valet Gerald. Their partnership proved tumultuous as the two engaged in a few instances of tag rivalry after bouts. Layton soon crosses over to become one of the most beloved in the area but Atkins remains nasty both here and at home in Australia.

In 1957 Dick Hutton beats Lou Thesz at MLG to gain the NWA World Title. It was reported after (and in later years) that Hutton had trained with Atkins previous to the bout. One report said Hutton spent 8 weeks with Atkins. That Atkins got Hutton's weight down through his extreme conditioning regiments. Atkins claimed Hutton was an 'alcoholic for cake' so he 'ran him through the sand until he dropped, then insulted him till he got up and ran some more.' It may have been to give Atkins a hometown rub, more likely it may have been a legit situation to get Hutton in shape. How much help he could have been in a 'pro wrestling' bout is the question but there is no doubt Hutton looked a lot trimmer by the time of the Thesz bout. Whipper also lost a ton of weight and muscled up before his title win back in 1956, maybe running the sand at Crystal Beach. 

On a trip back to Australia in 1959 the papers reported he was 'back for the first time in 9 years' and he would face Stanlee in his first bout back home - in the main event. 

Back in Toronto in 1960 an item mentioned Atkins had logged 23,500 miles in one week. He was in Cleveland on a Tuesday, it took him 7 hours to drive to Chicago where he boarded a plane to Los Angeles, where he transferred to another plane bound for Honolulu. There he caught a jet to Australia. Having lost a day due to time differences, he arrived in Sydney Monday. He wrestled there that night, and in Melbourne Tuesday, Brisbane Wednesday, and Sydney Thursday. Friday morning he headed back to Crystal Beach. Gaining back the day he lost, he hit Buffalo on Saturday. Total distance covered: 23,500 miles.

In the early 1960's he also began training others and managing officially. Luke Brown (as Man Mountain Campbell) was one of the early trainees.

In 1963 a MLW Program mentioned a giant 7 foot 300lb Japanese star about to invade the area. With Atkins at his side, the young Giant Baba appeared in Toronto and around the region. Professor Hiro was another protégé. A couple of years later a young Tiger Jeet Singh would train under Atkin's tutelage and go on to become a huge star in Toronto and Internationally. Atkins tagged with his young star into the late 1960's as his own career was winding down.

Oshawa 1951

It was at this time Atkins turns to refereeing. He wrestles his last bout at MLG in July of 1971 and stays on as a ref until the early 1980's. As a ref he had several run-ins, one notable with Chris Tolos apparently spitting at him. In the winters he also worked for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs as a conditioning expert though the 1970's.

In what is a common thing now, Atkins in the 1971-72 season was the only full time conditioning coach employed in the NHL at the time. He also went on road trips with the Sabres that year to keep an eye on the players (!). In 1973 Sabres Coach Roger Crozier credited Atkins regiments as being the key to their success. In 1982 former Sabre and then Detroit Red Wing Jim Schoenfeld credited Atkins with saving him from surgery (through recuperative training) and later listed him as one of his biggest influences on his career.

In 1980 Atkins was splitting his time as a referee and as conditioning coach for another year with the hometown Leafs. An article at the time said the players were talking about 'Freddie's killer sessions, endless repetitions of push-ups, leg stretches, and situps. It went on to say that Ian Turnbull, then star defenseman with the Leafs once challenged Fred (at age 70 then) to an exercise showdown. Fred won in a walk, and Turnbull strained his back missing a few games

Whipper Watson in 1983 had this to say about his old foe. 'Even today I would say that Fred Atkins would defeat 90% of the wrestlers in the business, he was the toughest, best-conditioned wrestler I ever saw.'

-AC

Nostalgia and photos mapleleafwrestling.com collection

Maple Leaf Gardens 2012

On a visit back to Toronto in 2012, we made sure to drop in to the old Maple Leaf Gardens and take some photos of the exhibits at the now Loblaws food court. The group in charge of the re-do had contacted me for some of my wrestling photos for under the glass on the tables, so it was fun to be able to see them as part of the large array of images from the history of MLG (and a couple that weren't!).
  
Mine are the Adonis/Ventura, Backlund, and Mosca/Studd in these shots. There were others, maybe in another spot around the giant grocery store. 

The Cornette- Eaton-Condrey pic has no connection to MLG other than the title belts they are holding were made by Alex Mulko who made our local belts and many more. The Flair with the red U.S. Title (also a Mulko) is from a Mid-Atlantic arena. Still, only a wrestling nerd would notice that. 

The other pics include the remaining interior wall on the South side that they kept intact, as well as the Wood St entrance where the fans would congregate and meet the wrestlers arriving by car or having walked over from one of the hotels. Great memories.

-AC












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Pat Flanagan: 'The Irish Tornado'

   With apologies to Whipper Watson, Pat Flanagan may have been the most prolific and hardest working wrestler in Toronto Wrestling history. An argument could surely be made, along with Whipper,  Fred Atkins, and Lord Layton. If you recount Flanagan's days as a wrestler on the busy training grounds in Toronto, to his later days as a referee, his career spanned 5 decades.

Main pic vs Masked Marvel Oshawa 1949

Pat started out on the active amateur scene under his given name of Winnett Watson. By 1936 he was already an accomplished athlete at the age of 19 and was wrestling around the city as a light heavyweight of 174 lbs. A notable bout found him battling the British Empire champion and former Dominion champ Terry Evans. 

1937

In mid 1936 Winnett went over to the U.K. to join fellow Toronto wrestlers Bill Potts, Ken Tasker, Al Korman, and Tommy Nelson on their tour. Also appearing from the Toronto (and Montreal) scene the noted Ben(gal) Engblom. Potts meanwhile had recently become Whipper Watson so Winnett became Irish Pat Flanagan. Of course that would help later when they hit the Emerald Isle. 

Some years later, Pat Flanagan's mother noted that in all the confusion between the names and the fact that Pat and Whipper were close friends, people were often asking about 'her sons Winnett and Whipper.'

In England the newly christened Pat Flanagan - The Irish Tornado earns his experience alongside - and also against - Whipper and the rest of the Canadian contingent. He returned to the U.S. in mid 1937 wrestling under both Winnett and Pat around Michigan and Illinois before coming home.

The first sign of him locally as Pat Flanagan is in Hamilton in 1939. He returns to England and it was a couple of years before he finally made it to Maple Leaf Gardens debuting on May 1 1941. It was said that 'he had been wrestling in the US since his return from 4 years in England.' 

In addition to his exploits across the lake, he was reported to have been wrestling as Mendel Singer* in the New York area around 1940. Mendel Singer was billed as Jewish Flash and The California Dropkicker. Flanagan in his day was a high flyer and known for his dropkicks and mule kicks. 
* not sure of that, have asked around but...

The night of Flanagan's debut at MLG was a tournament being held to determine the #1 contender for the Worlds heavyweight title. Flanagan lost in the first round to Jack Claybourne who was later beat by the nights winner  Watson. That began Pat's long tenure as part of the inner circle of Toronto regulars that remained loyal to Frank Tunney for the next 35+ years.
 
Portrait from Pat to Pat circa 1948
Tunney remarked about Flanagan in a 1943 piece: 'Flanagan has learned to wrestle all-in style, has put on weight and is steadily going up the wrestling ladder. If nothing untoward occurs he'll be a top-flight operative in a year or maybe less.'

Flanagan always wrestled on the good side (as Watson did) and took on the heels. Occasionally there were good guy contests and Flanagan could find himself on the the other side of the ring to Whipper. In 1942, as part of Army Week, Tunney put on a free Boxing/Wrestling show at Maple Leaf Stadium for 1500 soldiers and their friends. The most popular bout of the day was an bout between Pat and Whipper which saw 13 minutes of action before Watson pinned Flanagan under the watchful eye of referee (and Whipper's Manager) Phil Lawson.

They also occasionally faced each other in the smaller towns (often to fill in for a no show) and went on to be frequent tag partners through the 1940's. Flanagan mostly wrestled on the undercards at MLG other than when teaming with Whipper, but had his share of main events in the outside towns.

In addition to the Toronto and area scene, Flanagan frequented Ottawa, Buffalo, and Cleveland, and also made appearances in St Louis. Notably alongside Whipper during his World title run in 1947. One bout in St Louis saw Pat facing future world champ Buddy Rogers.

vs Zebra in Oshawa 1948

In Aug 1947 he appeared on Pat Milosh's first card at the Oshawa Arena. Pat (F) made a lot of appearances in Oshawa, the most of any wrestler with about 200 bouts over 20 years -summer month circuit. He also appeared in over 40 main events. The two Pat's remained close through the years with Flanagan providing help and support to the young promoter.

In 1950 Flanagan stepped in as an occasional referee, a position he filled both during his remaining wrestling years and after retiring. In 1952 teamed with Whipper, they captured the Canadian Open Tag Titles by defeating Lord Athol Layton & Hans Hermann in tournament final to become first champions. Presented with the Calvert Trophy they hold the title for several months before losing to Lou Plummer & Dick Raines. This appears to be the only title Flanagan held in his ring tenure.

Around this time Pat starts to assist Tunney in scheduling the wrestlers for the Ontario circuit towns. He sets up the wrestlers to appear on the local cards around Southern Ontario acting as a sort of booker, a liaison between the circuit promoters and the Tunney office. With the advent of TV he also becomes a regular commentator on the various Toronto shows through the 1970's. 

In 1959 he was the first partner to newcomer on the scene Don Jardine. The future Spoiler was said to have been discovered by Whipper on a tour of the Maritimes. Jardine had been in several singles bouts before being teamed with Pat vs the Vachon Brothers.

By the 1960's Pat is mostly appearing as a referee, occasionally stepping in to wrestle as a substitute. He makes his last appearance as a wrestler at MLG July 1968 vs Waldo Von Erich.

A brief note in 1961 had mentioned Sam Yanaky, best known as manager of Nanjo Singh being accompanied by 'his son Pat Flanagan' in visiting an ailing wrestling fan. I am unsure if there was any relation between the two. Yanaky also promoted a bit in the Kitchener/Cambridge area and owned the Corner Cupboard restaurant out there.

I asked Writer and MLG Photographer Roger Baker for his memories of Flanagan.

'He was a very nice guy, and he helped me out a few times to gain access to a wrestler for the purpose of doing an interview. Remember so well my introduction to Gene Kiniski courtesy of Pat, I wound up doing a 40 minute photo shoot in a private room as well as an interview with Gene, as a result both Gene and myself were quite pleased with the results."

Another time I was working one summer as a butcher up in Jacksons Point, had only been covering the Toronto wrestling scene for about a year at this point in time, not having been to the Gardens all that summer, well guess who comes into the store to buy some steaks, yes it was Pat Flanagan. We had a very welcome conversation and I mentioned to him to let the wrestling office know that I'd be back in Sept. He promised to do just that.

I first saw him wrestle at The Gardens around 1950. Around 1956 I met Pat at The Gardens and mentioned to him that I had a couple of pictures of him that had been taken some years earlier at The Gardens, he was very pleased to hear this. A few weeks later we met again at The Gardens and I gave him those pictures that were mentioned. He was very pleased, and he said to me that so many people promise something but don't bother to follow through.'

In 1973 Flanagan accompanied Whipper to the annual Easter Seals dinner. Whipper had missed the 1972 one because of his accident. In a photo from the event Flanagan can be seen helping his old friend make the memorable walk up the stairs with that years 'Timmy' on his shoulders. In late 1978 he officiated his last bout and retired from the ring. Below with Mosca that year.


When he died at the age of 68 in 1985 he was the fourth member of the old guard of MLG wrestling to pass away in a 2 year span after Tunney, Layton, and Frank Ayerst. His obituary noted that he had attended Malvern Collegiate and had played football for the Junior Argonauts and Balmy Beach while in High School.

-AC

Thanks to Roger Baker
Photos mapleleafwrestling.com collection
More on the 1952 Tag Tournament