Big Daddy, 1930 - 1997
Dates
- Existence: 14 November 1930 - 2 December 1997
Biography
Shirley Crabtree aka Bid Daddy was born in England on 14 November 1930 to professional rugby player and wrestler Shirley Crabtree Senior.
Big Daddy followed his father’s footsteps into professional rugby and wrestling. He played rugby league for Bradford Northern and Halifax, he also worked briefly as a coal miner and with the British Army's Coldstream Guards before becoming a professional wrestler in 1952. Between the 1950s and 1960s he wrestled as the Blond Adonis Shirley Crabtree. He worked for Joint Promotions and the original British Wrestling Federation. In 1966 he stopped wrestling until 1972 when he returned to Joint Promotions to become their top star until the early 1990s.
Crabtree adopted his Big Daddy persona in 1974, which made him famous. In August 1987 while wrestling at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, his opponent King Kong Kirk died after a match. Although Big Daddy was cleared of any responsibility, he was devastated.
Big Daddy retired from wrestling in 1993. During his career he won the European Heavyweight Championship in Joint Promotions and a disputed branch of the British Heavyweight title in the independent British Wrestling Federation.
Big Daddy died of a stroke on 2 December 1997 in Halifax General Hospital.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Blackpool Tower Poster, 1984
All New Super Circus. Includes All Star Wrestling with Big Daddy. Colour photograph with clown illustration.
Blackpool Tower Poster, 1983
Peter Jay presents International Super Circus. Includes All Star Wrestling with Big Daddy. Colour photograph with clown illustration.
Cyril Critchlow Collection
Posters, c1887 - 2010
Circus, variety, pantomime and magic posters including Argyle theatre, Liverpool Empire, Blackpool Tower Circus, Robert Brothers, Austen Brothers, Sorcar, Vesta Tilley, Ken Dodd, Dan Leno, Florrie Forde and others.