Article: A Column About British Wrestling
Title History
Career Highlights
- Les Kellett didn’t become a full-time wrestler until well into his 40s due to interruptions like WWII..
- Les Kellett continued to wrestle well into his 60s and possibly 70s!
- January 9, 2002: Les Kellett passed away at the age of 86..
Peter Sawyer wrote: Les Kellett was a numerous-time champ, mostly as a middleweight. He had a long-running feud with Johnny Czeslaw between 1972 and 1976 although it was always a friendly rivalry. He virtually patented the Figure-4 leglock and what’s now known as the Indian Deathlock. Kellett was a comedian in the ring- his trademark was acting as if disorientated and ducking out of the way at the last moment, wobbling across the ring and delivering a huge back chop. He became famous for a rather selective sense of hearing- only hearing the bell or referee when it suited him, when it didn’t he would wait as long as possible before breaking, then making a point of telling his opponent that the round was over.
Martyn Russell wrote: Les Kellett was not from Manchester. He was a Yorkshire man born in Bradford in 1915. He was trained by Len Pickard. He lived through both World Wars and was a professional wrestler in 1938 but had to stop when the Second World War began. He began wrestling again in the 1940’s and did live in Manchester for a while before moving back to Bradford. One of his two sons, a wrestler called Dave Barrie, died in 2000. Les Kellet died on January 9th 2002
Ray Richards wrote: Les was born in Bradford, and had until his death, a transport cafe in Thornton, Bradford, a favourite meeting place with other wrestlers. He used to train at a farm owned by Sandy Orford, in Great Horton, Bradford, along with such wrestlers as Dennis Mitchell, Tony Orfors, etc..