Allan Layton (August 20, 1919 – January 18, 1984) known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name 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, or projecting ...

Lord Athol Layton, was an English-Australian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

amateur boxer Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

, 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 Lord Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality. Early life Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, E ...

, 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 (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and former NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Pac ...

. 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, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

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, 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 opposin ...

, 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 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 ...

'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 Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

debut in November 1950, in the main event bout against

Ski Hi Lee A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

. A heel in the early part of his career, Layton would develop into a

babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

. In 1953, he faced

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

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) The Chicago version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Chicago-based Fred Kohler Enterprises, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The championship was for two-man tag te ...

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

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 largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Ilio DiPaolo Ilio DiPaolo (November 7, 1926 – May 10, 1995), was an Italian professional wrestler and restaurateur who lived in the Buffalo, New York area. Professional wrestling career DiPaolo was born in Italy and lived there until he moved to Venezuela in ...

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 Louis Frank Klein (October 22, 1918 – June 20, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, manager, coach and scout. During his active career he was an infielder in the Major Leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians and P ...

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 Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. He excelled in this position and worked for

Ed Farhat Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1926 – January 18, 2003) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Sheik (often called The Original Sheik to distinguish him from The Iron Sheik, who debuted in 1972). Farhat is cred ...

in Detroit on WXON as well. He also performed as a color commentator in various territories including Cleveland and Toronto.

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 The Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship is a provincial medal of merit that is awarded in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was established by the Government of Ontario in 1973 to recognize people who, through exceptional long-term efforts, hav ...

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 January 18, 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 blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur Boxing

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

Professional wrestling

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

** NWA World Tag Team championship (Chicago/Indianapolis version) w/

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) The Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the top ranked professional wrestling championship for tag teams in the Detroit, Michigan-based promotion Big Time Wrestling, sometimes referred to as NWA Detroit, between 1965 and 19 ...

** NWA World Tag Team championship (Ohio-New York version) (four times; two times with Lord James Blears and two times with

) ** NWA Canadian Open Tag Team championship (Toronto version) w/Billy Watson **

NWA Hawaii Tag Team championship The NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title of 50th State Big Time Wrestling and was defended between 1952 and 1979 when it was phased out. The title was later revived by the current incarnation of NWA Hawaii in 2000. It is ...

w/Tom Rice **NWA (San Francisco) Pacific Coast Tag Team championship w/James Blears (two times) *Midwest Wrestling Association **MWA Ohio Tag Team championship w/Ilio DiPaolo *

Worldwide Wrestling Associates NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

WWA International Television Tag Team Championship The WWA International Television Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles-based Worldwide Wrestling Associates from the title's formation in 1954 (as the NWA International Television Tag Team Champi ...

w/James Blears (two times) *

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 owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Athol 1921 births 1984 deaths 20th-century 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