Max Shacklady pulled off a major surprise at the 1948 ABA Championships when he beat the two-time winner, and reigning European Champion, Johnny Ryan, to capture the welterweight title in what was the “Fight of the Championships”. Victory secured Shacklady’s place on the British team at the London Olympics, where he was beaten by one of the Games’ many controversial decisions when he lost to the Spaniard Aurelio Díaz. After becoming disillusioned with boxing, Shacklady turned to wrestling and in 1953 made his England début against Scotland. That same year he formed what would later become the Barton Athletic Club. Originally a wrestling club, members met in a barn on the family farm near Eccles. Even after becoming Barton AC, it was for many years still affectionately known as “Shacklady’s Gym”. His son Tony took up wrestling and appeared at three Olympics. Bill himself was the Great Britain wrestling team manager at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Great Britain