Martin Ruane
| Martin Ruane | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Ring name(s) | Giant Haystacks, Loch Ness, The Loch Ness Monster Luke McMasters |
| Billed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Billed weight | 685 lb (311 kg; 48.9 st) [1] |
| Born | October 10, 1946[2] Camberwell, London, England[3][4] |
| Died | November 29, 1998 (aged 52) |
| Debut | 1967 |
Martin Austin Ruane (October 10, 1946 - November 29, 1998) was an English professional wrestler of Irish descent.[5] Best known by his ring name, Giant Haystacks, he wrestled in such places as Great Britain, the United States, Canada, India, and Zimbabwe. Ruane was known for his massive physical size, standing 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) tall[5] and weighing 48 stone (670 lb; 300 kg) at his heaviest.
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[edit] Early life
Martin Ruane was born in London, England weighing 14 lb 6 oz. His parents were originally from County Mayo in Ireland. When he was 3, in 1949, Ruane and his family moved north from London to Salford, which remained his home.[5] He worked as a labourer and as a nightclub bouncer before a friend suggested he take up professional wrestling as a career.
[edit] Career
Ruane began wrestling in 1967, initally for the independent WFGB as Luke McMasters (later incorrectly reported as being his legal name.) In the early 1970s Ruane worked for Wrestling Enterprises (of Birkenhead), where he was billed as Giant Haystacks, after the American wrestling star William Calhoun who had wrestled in NWA All-Star Wrestling and the World Wide Wrestling Federation under the name Haystacks Calhoun.
In 1975, he moved to Joint Promotions where he formed a heel tag team with Big Daddy (also a heel at this point.) Haystacks' TV debut came in July that year, when he and Daddy teamed to lose by disqualification to brothers Roy and Tony StClair. Although mainly known as brutal superheavyweight heels who crushed blue-eye oppponents, they also had a major feud with masked fellow heel Kendo Nagasaki.
Daddy in particular heard cheers during this feud and eventually completed a turn to blue eye. This was cemented when Haystacks and Daddy broke up their tag team in 1977 and feuded with each other with Haystacks remaining as the heel, resulting in high ratings on Britain's ITV any time they battled one another and establishing Haystacks as a household name during the 1970s and 1980s. The feud would continue on and off until Daddy's retirement in 1993.
Throughout Haystacks' homeland success, he was meanwhile wrestling all over the world. Ruane wrestled in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion as The Loch Ness Monster, managed by J.R. Foley from Wigan, England (alias John Foley, alumnus of Billy Riley's Wigan Snakepit wrestling school). He also regularly worked for the CWA in Germany and Austria, winning several trophy tournaments over there.
In 1996, Ruane debuted in the United States for World Championship Wrestling, under the ring name Loch Ness. He served as a member of the Dungeon of Doom and feuded with Hulk Hogan. However, the feud was short-lived, ending abruptly when Ruane was diagnosed with cancer and returned to the United Kingdom.
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing moves
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
British Wrestling Federation
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- BWF European Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
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- Stampede International Tag Team Championship (2 time w/Dynamite Kid and Bret Hart)
[edit] Life outside wrestling
Ruane was a deeply religious man and refused to wrestle on Sundays.[citation needed]
Ruane appeared in the 1981 movie Quest for Fire' and the 1984 movie Give My Regards To Broad Street, written by Paul McCartney, who was a noted Giant Haystacks fan.[6]
Martin Ruane invested, unsuccessfully, in the motor trade and ran, more successfully, a debt collection agency. He died of cancer on 29 November 1998 at the age of 52.[citation needed]
One of his sons, Noel, is the founder of a successful British construction company called 'The Freemont Group' [7] having studied for a degree in Construction Management at the University of Salford.
[edit] In popular culture
- A play by Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon, Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks premieres at the Brighton Festival Fringe in East Sussex, England between 26-28 May 2011. [8]
[edit] References
- ^ "OWOW profile". onlineworldofwrestling.com. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/g/giant-haystacks.html.
- ^ Szreter, Adam (December 3, 1998). "Obituary: Giant Haystacks". The (London) Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-giant-haystacks-1188816.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ Matthew, Henry Colin Gray; Brian Howard Harrison (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: In Association with the British Academy. Oxford University Press. pp. 63. ISBN 0198613989.
- ^ Ayto, John; Ian Crofton; Paul Cavill (2005). Brewer's Britain & Ireland: The History, Culture, Folklore and Etymology of 7500 Places in these Islands. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. pp. 191. ISBN 030435385X.
- ^ a b c Richard Holt, ‘Ruane, Martin Austin (1946–1998)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
- ^ Szreter, Adam (3 December 1998). "Obituary: Giant Haystacks". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-giant-haystacks-1188816.html. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ^ Stone, Andrew (July 6, 2008). "How I made it Noel Ruane founder of the Freemont Group". The Times (London). http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article4275734.ece. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ http://www.fringeguru.com/editorial/brighton-2011/big-daddy-vs-giant-haystacks-preview.html
