 Big Daddy,c. 1983 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shirley Crabtree Jr. (1930-11-14)14 November 1930[3]: 12 Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 2 December 1997(1997-12-02) (aged 67) Halifax, West Yorkshire, England |
| Website | shirleycrabtree.co.uk |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 26 st 9 lb (170 kg; 375 lb) |
| Trained by | |
| Debut | 1946 |
| Retired | December 29, 1993 |
Shirley Crabtree Jr. (14 November 1930 – 2 December 1997), better known asBig Daddy, was an Englishprofessional wrestler. He worked forJoint Promotions and the original British Wrestling Federation. Initially appearing on television as aheel, heteamed withGiant Haystacks. After splitting with Haystacks, he became a fan favourite and the top star of Joint Promotions from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.
Shirley Crabtree Jr., was the first child of a blacksmith's daughter and weighed about twelvepounds at birth.[3]: 12 He was given the nameShirley, like his father, who was a professional player ofrugby league forHalifax R.L.F.C. and part of the team that won theChallenge Cup atWembley in 1931.[3]: 12 Shirley was traditionally a man's name but had become popular as a girl's name following theCharlotte Brontë novel,Shirley.[3]: 11 In the 1930s, the name was especially associated with the child movie-star,Shirley Temple, and so the boy was teased and bullied at school.[3]: 11 His father abandoned the family when his son was seven, and so the bullying toughened up the young Crabtree in the manner portrayed by "A Boy Named Sue",[3]: 11
Well, that song described me down to a tee now I look to the past and think about it, and after a while I started to get very angry. The desire to defend myself became overwhelming and the bullies' days were numbered because I hit back twice as hard.
Prior to becoming a wrestler, Crabtree served in theColdstream Guards, and worked as alifeguard inBlackpool.[4][5]
Shirley Crabtree Jr., decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, Shirley Crabtree Sr., becoming a professional wrestler in 1952. He first became popular in the late 1950s, and early 1960s as ablue-eye billed as "Blond Adonis Shirley Crabtree." He won theEuropean Heavyweight Championship inJoint Promotions and a disputed branch of the British Heavyweight title in the independentBritish Wrestling Federation before he quit in 1966 following a (non-kayfabe) campaign of harassment at wrestling shows by former championBert Assirati. He retired for roughly six years.[6] During the 1960s Crabtree owned an underground nightclub inBradford which is now calledSunbridge Wells.[7]
In 1972, Crabtree returned to Joint Promotions as avillain with agimmick of the Battling Guardsman based on his former service with theColdstream Guards. It was during this period that he made his first appearances onITV both onWorld of Sport and on the midweek late evening wrestling slot.
Not long afterwards, Crabtree's brother,Max, was appointed as Northern areabooker with Joint Promotions and began to transform Crabtree into the persona for which he would be best remembered. Based originally on the character of the same name played by actorBurl Ives in the 1958first screen adaptation ofTennessee Williams'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 'Big Daddy' was first given life by Crabtree in late 1974, initially still as a villain. The character'sleotards were emblazoned with just a large "D" and were crafted by Crabtree's wife Eunice, from thechintz settee of the family home.[8] The character first gained attention in mid-1975 when he formed a tag team with TV newcomerGiant Haystacks and together they became notorious as 'villains' crushingblue eye opponents. During this period, Daddy was cheered by the audience, for the first time since his comeback, when he entered into a feud with masked villainKendo Nagasaki, especially when he pulled off Nagasaki's mask during a televised contest fromSolihull in December 1975 (although the unmasked Nagasaki quickly won the bout moments later).[9]
By the middle of 1977, Big Daddy had completed his transformation into ablue eye, a change cemented by the breakdown of his tag team with Haystacks and a subsequent feud between the two which would last until the early 1990s. A firm fans' favourite particularly amongst children, Big Daddy came to the ring in either a sequinned cape or aUnion Flag jacket and top hat. In addition to his feud with Haystacks, Daddy also feuded with Canadian wrestler"Mighty" John Quinn. He headlined Wembley Arena with singles matches against Quinn in 1979 and Haystacks in 1981, as well as a tag match in 1980 withWayne Bridges against Quinn and Yasu Fuji. Later in the 1980s he feuded withDave "Fit" Finlay,Drew McDonald and numerous other villains.
In August 1987 at theHippodrome circus inGreat Yarmouth, Big Daddy performed in a tag team match pitting himself and nephew Steve Crabtree (billed as "Greg Valentine") againstKing Kong Kirk andKing Kendo. After Big Daddy had delivered a splash and pinned King Kong Kirk, rather thanselling the impact of the finishing move, Kirk turned an unhealthy colour and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.[10][11] Despite the fact that the inquest into Kirk's death found that he had a serious heart condition and cleared Big Daddy of any responsibility, Big Daddy was devastated.
He continued to make regular appearances into the early 1990s, but he eventually retired from wrestling altogether in 1993 to spend the remainder of his days in his home town of Halifax. During his career, Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher andElizabeth II said they were fans of "Big Daddy".[8][12][13]
Big Daddy was a professionalrugby league footballer forBradford Northern. His temper often forced him off the pitch early.[14] He also had stints as a coal miner and with theBritish Army'sColdstream Guards.
His brotherBrian Crabtree was a wrestling referee and later MC, while his younger brotherMax was abooker for – and later proprietor of –Joint Promotions. His nephews Steve and Spencer Crabtree also had wrestling careers – Steve wrestled in the 1980s, and 1990s, billed as 'Greg Valentine' (named after theAmerican wrestler of the same name) while Spencer wrestled as Scott Valentine. Both worked as tag team partners for their uncle. Another nephew;Eorl Crabtree is a formerrugby league footballer forEngland and theHuddersfield Giants.
Big Daddy died of a stroke on 2 December 1997 in Halifax General Hospital. He was survived by his second wife of 31 years, Eunice and six children.[15]
Big Daddy had his own comic strip inBuster during the early 1980s drawn by Mike Lacey. In 1982 ITV planned to build a TV programme around 'Big Daddy' as a replacement for the popular children's Saturday morningTiswas show. A pilot forBig Daddy's Saturday Show was shot and a series announced but Big Daddy pulled out at the last moment, leaving the hastily renamedThe Saturday Show presented byIsla St Clair andTommy Boyd.
A stage play byBrian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon,Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks, premiered at the Brighton Festival Fringe in East Sussex, England between 26–28 May 2011 and subsequently toured Great Britain.[16]
Big Daddy is referenced onLuke Haines' 2011 album9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s & Early '80s, as the owner of aCasio VL-Tone synthesizer.[17]
In late 2021, Big Daddy had a Retro figure released through Chella toys for a 2022 release.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Legends of Wrestling II | Video game debut. Exclusive to European version |
,Wrestlingdata| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
