Shirley Crabtree
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Big Daddy The Blonde Adonis Mr. Universe Battling Guardsman
Height	6 ft 2 in (188cm)
Weight	26 stone 9 lb (170 kg or 375 lb) (peak)
Born	November 14, 1930 Halifax, West Yorkshire
Died	December 2, 1997
Trained by	Georg Hackenschmidt

Shirley Crabtree, better known as Big Daddy (November 14, 1930 – December 2, 1997) was an English professional wrestler. Shirley Crabtree, aka Big Daddy. This work is copyrighted. ... The stone is a unit of mass in the Imperial system of weights and measures used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most Commonwealth countries. ... The pound is the name of a number of units of mass, all in the range of 300 to 600 grams. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Halifax is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, northern England, with a population of about 90,000. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hackenschmidt in 1903 Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt (August 2, 1878 in Tartu, Estonia - February 19, 1968 in London, England) was an early 20th-century strongman and professional wrestler. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st... ...

Career

After stints as a miner and in the army he followed his father and became a professional wrestler in 1952. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Shirley became a big hit in the late 1950s and early 1960s with heel gimmicks, called "The Blonde Adonis" or "Mr. Universe". He won two titles in the British Wrestling Federation before he quit out of frustration and 'retired' for roughly 15 years. In professional wrestling, a gimmick is slang that refers to a wrestlers on-screen personality. ... The British Wrestling Federation is a wrestling promotion in the UK. Categories: Professional wrestling stubs ...

With the rising popularity of the spectacle on television (World of Sport on ITV), Shirley's brother, Max Crabtree, the most powerful wrestling promoter in British history, brought Shirley back to wrestling with All Star "Joint Promotions" and took on the Big Daddy persona in 1976, playing the "good guy" and feuding with Mick McManus & Giant Haystacks. World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme launched on ITV on January 2, 1965 in response to Grandstand. ... Current ITV logo. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... In professional wrestling, a face is a character who is portrayed as being moral or approving (that is, faces are good guys or crowd favorites). The vast majority of wrestling storylines (though not all) place a heel (or bad guy) against a face. ... A professional wrestling feud is a staged disagreement between two wrestlers or factions of wrestlers over a purported slight or insult. ... Mick McManus (born January 11, 1928) is a former English professional wrestler. ... Martin Ruane, better known as Giant Haystacks (1946 - November 29, 1998) was an English wrestler. ...

Crabtree was instrumental in starting the pro wrestling career of former Judo great Christopher Adams in 1978. Christopher Adams (February 10, 1955 – October 7, 2001) was a professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, trainer and judoka. ...

In August 1987, Big Daddy was devastated by an accident in which fellow wrestler Mal "King Kong" Kirk died after taking one of his belly splashes. Shirley retired from wrestling. August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Malcolm Kirk (Born December 1936, died 24 August 1987) nicknamed King Kong Kirk was a balding English professional wrestler who rose to prominence - due to the popularity of televised wrestling in Britain - in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Crabtree suffered a stroke in 1993 and suffered from failing health. He died of a heart attack in 1997. A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly interrupted. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Finishing and signature moves

"Belly butts" followed by a "belly splash" were his most famous attacks, his weight and age precluding many other moves. Attacking maneuvers in professional wrestling are mainly used to wear down an opponent for a submission hold, or set up for a throw. ...

Trivia

• Big Daddy had his own comic strip in Buster (comic) during the early 80's drawn by Mike Lacey.
• Big Daddy would often team with The Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, and Steven Regal.
• Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was publicly linked to being a fan of Big Daddy, as was then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
• While scouting Britain for talent, Bruce Hart (the son of Stu Hart) observed the "Big Daddy" gimmick and reused it for a wrestler in Stampede Wrestling, Sylvester Ritter, who subsequently became "Big Daddy" Ritter.
• On ITV's World of Sport Crabtree removed the mask from Kendo Nagasaki without actually winning the match, in fact he lost immediately after, but history had been made

Buster was a long-running British comic (28 May 1960 - 4 January 2000) which carried a mixture of humour and adventure strips, although the latter genre would become a rarer occurrence as the comic went on. ... The Dynamite Kid The Dynamite Kid, real name Tom Billington, was a professional wrestler from England. ... David Smith (November 27, 1962 – May 17, 2002) was a British professional wrestler from Wigan, who competed as The British Bulldog and Davey Boy Smith. ... Darren Matthews (born May 10, 1968 in Codsall Wood, Staffordshire) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Steven Regal and William Regal. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born on 21 April 1926, is Queen of sixteen independent nations known as the Commonwealth Realms. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the head of government and so exercises many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (b. ... Bruce Hart Bruce Hart is a Canadian former professional wrestler. ... Stewart Edward (Stu) Hart, CM (May 3, 1915 - October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. ... In professional wrestling, a gimmick is slang that refers to a wrestlers on-screen personality. ... Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta that for decades produced a weekly television series that is considered the forerunner of todays WWE. // History Stampede Wrestling was operated by Stu Hart between 1948 and 1984, when his son Bruce took over. ... Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1953 – June 2, 1998) was a professional wrestler best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and Mid-South Wrestling as The Junkyard Dog. ... Current ITV logo. ... World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme launched on ITV on January 2, 1965 in response to Grandstand. ... Kendo Nagasaki with his second manager, Lloyd Ryan Peter Thornley (born October 19) is a legendary British professional wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki. ...

Championships and accomplishments

• British Wrestling Federation

• 1-time British Heavyweight Champion
• 2-time European Heavyweight Champion

The British Wrestling Federation is a wrestling promotion in the UK. Categories: Professional wrestling stubs ... The British Heavyweight Championship is the top title competed for throught out the British wrestling circuit. ... The European (Union) Heavyweight Championship is a top title competed for throught out the European Unions professional wrestling circuit. ...

External links

• Warned.net Article - Shirley Crabtree