Allan Layton (20 August 1919 – 18 January 1984) 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 ...

Lord Athol Layton, was an English-Australian

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 ...

amateur boxer An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

, and professional wrestling commentator, best remembered as being a major wrestling attraction in the 1950s and 1960s as both a tag-team and singles wrestler. As a tag team performer, he formed a memorable team with Lord James Blears, with whom he won various championships throughout the United States and Canada. As a singles wrestler, he drew large crowds particularly in Toronto against Billy Watson and The Sheik and in Detroit against

Dick the Bruiser William Fritz Afflis Jr. (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and National Football League player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with ...

. He also appeared as a longtime color commentator for wrestling television shows in the Ontario, New York, Ohio and Michigan

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

Early life

Born in the county of Surrey in England, Layton moved with his family to Australia at the age of 13. He served in the Australian Imperial Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he was Australia's Heavyweight Amateur Boxing champion for two years. At some point prior to his service, he met his wife Leah, with whom he settled down to run a pub with after his discharge from military services.

Professional wrestling career

Layton became interested in a career in professional wrestling after seeing a wrestling show visiting his town. Through a friend, with little experience or training, he had his first wrestling match in Singapore in 1949. Shortly thereafter, Layton went back to England to hone his craft in professional wrestling. After this training, he arrived in Toronto and began wrestling full-time for promoter Frank Tunney's Toronto, Canada-based 'Maple Leaf' territory. He would make his

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 ...

debut in November 1950, in the main event bout against Ski Hi Lee. A heel in the early part of his career, Layton would develop into a babyface. In 1953, he faced

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 ...

for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...

at Maple Leaf Gardens. In 1952, he formed a tag team with Lord James Blears. Managed by Captain Leslie Holmes, in 1953 they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) in NWA Chicago. They would go on to capture many tag team championships in various territories throughout the United States and Canada including the Ohio-New York version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship on two occasions. Layton would also win tag team championships with

Bobo Brazil Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one o ...

in August 1970 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and Ilio DiPaolo in November 1959 for the Midwest Wrestling Association. In Detroit in August 1962, as a fan favorite, Layton beat

for the United States Heavyweight Championship. He went on to win the title again in 1963. Owing to concerns over an eye injury, Layton wrestled his final match in 1976 at Maple Leaf Gardens, teaming with Lou Klein in a tag-team match against the Kelly Twins As early as June 1961 Layton was working as a television commentator for the Tunney promotion for the live TV wrestling show on CBLT Toronto and later at CHCH in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. He excelled in this position and worked for Ed Farhat in Detroit on WXON as well. He also performed as a color commentator in various territories including Cleveland and Toronto. In addition to his other M/C positions his show also appeared on a Windsor Ontario station CKLW across from Detroit,Michigan where he grappled physically with the likes of The Sheik & Dick The Bruiser. Fans also didn't know that he worked for Ed Farhat AKA The Sheik.

Personal life

Throughout his career, Layton was a regular volunteer, working on behalf of disabled and underprivileged children. He was awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in 1983 for his charitable work, one year before his passing. He gained Canadian citizenship in 1958. Athol Layton died at the age of 62 on 18 January 1984, at his home in Mississauga, Ontario as the result of a massive heart attack,

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur Boxing

Heavyweight Amateur Boxing Champion (Australia), two years during the Second World War period

Professional wrestling

Big Time Wrestling (Detroit) Big Time Wrestling (also known as NWA Detroit) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Detroit, Michigan in the United States. History Professional wrestling debuted in Detroit in the 1920s when Nick Londos began promoting events ...

** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version) (2 times) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1 time) - with

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

** NWA World Tag Team championship (Chicago/Indianapolis version) (1 time) - with Lord James Blears ** NWA World Tag Team championship (Ohio-New York version) (4 times) - Lord James Blears (2) and Ilio DiPaolo (2) ** NWA Canadian Open Tag Team championship (Toronto version) (1 time) - with Billy Watson ** NWA Hawaii Tag Team championship (1 time) - Tom Rice **NWA (San Francisco) Pacific Coast Tag Team championship (2 times) - with James Blears *Midwest Wrestling Association **MWA Ohio Tag Team championship (1 time) - with Ilio DiPaolo * Worldwide Wrestling Associates ** WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (2 times) - James Blears *

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 ...

** AWA United States Heavyweight championship (Detroit version) (2 times)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Athol 1921 births 1984 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers Australian male boxers Australian male professional wrestlers English male boxers English male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Rugby, Warwickshire Professional wrestling announcers Sportspeople from Surrey British emigrants to Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champions NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Detroit version) Australian Army soldiers Military personnel from Surrey 20th-century Australian sportsmen 20th-century English sportsmen