"Armour Plated" Al MARSHALL
Leeds Welterweight
N.B. Left-clicking on any photograph will enlarge it
Al Marshall tells his story, beginning with the early years leading to a professional wrestling career in the north of England from 1969 to 1978. Heavily influenced by Eric Taylor, Jack Taylor and George de Relwyskow he trained with Ray Steele, Dalibar Singh and "Catweazle" Gary Cooper. Al always maintained that his career was thanks largely to Cyril Knowles who was the only trainer willing to take him on and give him a chance. He lists opponents from Kid Chocolate and Eric Sands to Mal Kirk, Alan Kilby and Dave Kaye, recalls being refereed by the legendary Jack Pye, and proudly boasts of lasting friendships with Adrian Street, Ray Robinson and the late Brian Glover (Leon Arras). Outside of wrestling, his interest in restoring antique suits of armour led to his nickname "Armour Plated", and work at York's world-famous Jorvik Viking Centre. Al Marshall's CV also contains acting 'extra' work with television "greats" Rik Mayall and David Jason.
The Wrestler magazine's Russell Plummer featured Al Marshall, and much of the above story, on his 1972 "Likely Lads" page.
Posed and action photos of Al Marshall
| Al Marshall vs Dave Shade |
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| Al Marshall vs "Dirty" Billy Bates |
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Wrestling Posters featuring Al Marshall
| Al Marshall's first professional bout, vs Ray Stevens |
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| 1969 |
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| Jack Allen show - Cyril Knowles' ringman & ref |
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| Dave Bedford shows - Chris Knowles was Cyril Knowles's grandson. | Al Marshall show. |
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| Yukon Eric = Big Daddy. | Princess Little Bird = Princess Paula. |
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| Dave Bedford show |
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| Cyril Knowles and his letter of reference for Al Marshall | Logo |
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Al's M/C work and wrestling personalities, in and out of the ring
| Bullistic Simon Whipp, 1994 | Tarzan Boy Darren Ward | Giant Haystacks 1994 | Referee Big Harry Monk |
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| Max Crabtree 1993 | Princess Paula 1994 | Bridlington 1990, Seconds Out Promotion | Frank Sloane c1994, Dixon Show |
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More of Al's famous friends
| Jack Pye. GB Heavyweight champion. | Kiwi Dean Lee | Brian Glover | Knowles Peters |
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| "Catweazle" Gary Cooper | Ray Robinson | The Liquidator |
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"Armour plated" Al Marshall
Posters courtesy of Wendy Knowles
| Two shows attended by Al | 1950s |
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| Posters from the 1940s |
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Thanks to Cathy Thompson, daughter of Al's partner, for sending in many of these photographs and information.
Got a photo or information about Al Marshall to add to this page? Please email furnacehot@gmail.com