Fred Atkinson (1910 – May 14, 1988), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Fred Atkins, was a New Zealand-born Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, trainer,

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, and announcer, best known for his time with

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name of a Canadian professional wrestling promotion owned by Frank Tunney and based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. Founded in 1930, Maple Leaf was a territory of the National Wrestli ...

Early life

Atkinson was born in

Westport, New Zealand Westport () is a town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. Established in 1861, it is the oldest European settlement on the West Coast. Originally named Buller, it is on the right bank and at the ...

. He worked in the

Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass ...

cutting railway ties during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Atkinson spent his spare time wrestling for exercise and recreation. He wrestled as an amateur wrestler for five years before turning pro during World War II.

Professional wrestling career

Atkinson first wrestled as an amateur in New Zealand before turning pro in the late 1930s. On October 10, 1942, he defeated Pat Meehan in a tournament final to win the Australian Heavyweight Championship. He wrestled in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore into the mid-1940s. Atkinson's bout against world champion

Jim Londos Christos Theofilou (; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos ( Greek: Τζιμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most popular stars on the professional ...

in November 1946 was held at

Sydney Stadium The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. Built in 1908, it was demolished in 1970 to make way for the construction of ...

in front of a record setting 14,000 spectators. Atkinson remained champion for several years until leaving the country in 1949. From there, he immigrated to Canada where he started a long association with Toronto promoter

Frank Tunney Francis Martin Tunney (November 12, 1912 - May 10, 1983) was a Canadian professional boxing and wrestling promoter, based in Toronto. Biography Early life He was educated in Markham, Ontario, and went to a business college after high school. Hi ...

. While Atkins was not flashy compared to his fellow wrestlers he put on strong efforts as a heel. As well as Toronto he appeared in St. Louis and Chicago facing the likes of

Moose Cholak Edward S. Cholak (March 17, 1930 – October 31, 2002) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Moose Cholak. Cholak competed in North American regional promotions from 1952 until 1987, primarily in the Midwest and nor ...

Sweet Daddy Siki Elkin James (June 16, 1933 – December 31, 2024) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. Life and career Siki started wrestling in 1955 in Artesia, New Mexico. He also did some training in ...

, Pat Flanagan,

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 – February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and th ...

and Pat O'Connor. For a time he also appeared in San Francisco. In Toronto he pulled a major victory over Watson for the NWA British Empire Championship before losing it back to him. Into the 1960s he became a popular and respected baby face but again turned heel as a manager mainly to the men he also trained like Giant Shoehi Baba and

Tiger Jeet Singh Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan and was the ...

. Atkinson also worked as a pre-season conditioning trainer for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

hockey club. Later he worked as a referee for the Tunney promotion and wrestled his final match in 1974 at age 63. He lived in

Crystal Beach, Ontario Crystal Beach is a lakefront community in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. As of 2016, it had a population of 8,524. It was named for the "crystal clear" water conditions present when it was founded on the northeast shore of Lake Erie, across from Bu ...

, near

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of ...

and when training wrestlers would have them run along a

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

beach on the sand to build their leg strength. As a referee he was no nonsense. If a wrestler wouldn't let go of a hold Atkins would shove an elbow in his face. At

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

he refereed the February 6, 1977,

NWA World Heavyweight title The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. Although formally established i ...

match in which

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...

beat

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

for the championship. On another card between

Superstar Billy Graham A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

and prelim Terry Yorkston he angrily removed his shirt and threatened to go at Graham as Graham roughed up Yorkston after the match. In 1977 he looked after follow longtime wrestler Lee Henning in his home until Henning died there of cancer. As the Tunney promotion went through changes holding cards for the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

, NWA Mid-Atlantic and the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

he stayed on as a referee while working as a trainer for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

hockey club and later for the

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was the major singles professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling Florida. It existed from 1962 until 1987, w ...

(1 time) *

NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) The Toronto version of the NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship was a major singles title in that city's NWA affiliate, Maple Leaf Wrestling, from 1941 until 1967, when the title was abandoned. Title history See also *List of Nation ...

(1 time) **

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship in the Canada, Canadian professional wrestling promotion, promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1952 through ...

(1 time) - with

Lord Athol Layton Allan Layton (20 August 1919 – 18 January 1984) known by his ring name Lord Athol Layton, was an English-Australian professional wrestler, amateur boxer, and professional wrestling commentator, best remembered as being a major wrestling attr ...

NWA International Tag Team Championship (Toronto version) The Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1961 through 1977. The title replaced the original top tag championshi ...

(

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) - with Professor Hiro (3) and

(1) *

Mid-South Sports Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

NWA International Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) The NWA International Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). A secondary title after the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version), it was one of several interna ...

(1 time) - with Ike Eakins *

NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in ...

NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member NWA San Francisco promoted a professional wrestling tag team championship under the name NWA World Tag Team Championship from 1950 until 1961 in and around their local territory until it closed. When ...

( 1 time) - with Ray Eckert **NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (3 times) - with Ray Eckert *Other titles ** Australian Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **Silver Belt Australian Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

Obsessed With Wrestling (ARCHIVED)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Fred 1910 births 1988 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers New Zealand male professional wrestlers People from Westport, New Zealand Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling referees New Zealand emigrants to Canada NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version) NWA British Empire Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version) 20th-century Canadian sportsmen