Joseph Reid (17 March 1905 – 8 February 1968) was an English

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

. He was a six-time British champion and represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

Wrestling career

Reid was born in

Leigh, Lancashire Leigh is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Leigh was originally the centre of a large ecclesiastica ...

. Trained by fellow Leigh native, Harry Pennington, Reid became a skilled amateur and catch wrestler. He was a six-time British champion from 1930–1935. In 1932, he competed in the freestyle bantamweight tournament of the Olympic Games. Reid was eliminated after losing two of his three matches in the freestyle bantamweight division and finished fifth over all. At the 1930 Empire Games, he won the silver medal in the bantamweight class. Four years later, he won the bronze medal in the bantamweight category at the 1934 Empire Games. Reid won the British bantamweight championship every year from 1931 to 1935. Shortly afterwards, he turned professional and continued wrestling well into the 1960s.

Other activities and legacy

Reid as a coal miner. Reid fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and spent time as a prisoner of war in a Japanese-run internment camp. He helped to train Scottish wrestler George Kidd. Reid's wrestling boots are now on display at the Leigh Harriers athletic club."Historic Look at Harriers' Glorious Past", ''This is Lancashire'', 24 August 2006

References

External links

Joseph Reid's profile at Sports Reference.com
1905 births 1968 deaths Sportspeople from Leigh, Greater Manchester English male wrestlers Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Olympic wrestlers for Great Britain Wrestlers at the 1932 Summer Olympics British male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1930 British Empire Games Wrestlers at the 1934 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling British military personnel of World War II British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games {{UK-wrestling-bio-stub