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Giant Haystacks

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For the American wrestler, seeHaystacks Calhoun.

Giant Haystacks
Ruane in 1981
Birth nameMartin Austin Ruane
Born(1946-10-10)10 October 1946
Camberwell,London, England
Died29 November 1998(1998-11-29)(aged 52)
Prestwich,Greater Manchester, England
Cause of deathLymphoma
Spouse(s)Rita Boylan
Children3
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Giant Haystacks
  • Haystacks Calhoun
  • Loch Ness
  • Loch Ness Monster
  • Luke McMasters
Billed height6 ft 11 in (211 cm)[1][2]
Billed weight685 lb (311 kg)[2]
Billed fromScottish Highlands(as Loch Ness)[3]
Debut1967
Retired1996

Martin Austin Ruane(10 October 1946 – 29 November 1998)[4]was a Britishprofessional wrestlerof Irish parentage, best known by thering nameGiant Haystacks.He was one of the best-known wrestlers on the British wrestling scene in the 1970s and 1980s. He also worked in both Canada and the United States under the nameLoch Ness Monsteror simplyLoch Ness.

Ruane was known for his massive physical size, billed as standing 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) tall and weighing from 31 stone (430 lb; 200 kg) at the beginning of his career to 48 stone (670 lb; 300 kg) by the end of it; at his heaviest, he weighed 49 stone 13 pounds (699 lb; 317 kg).[5][6]In the 1970s he formed aheelteam withBig Daddy.After Big Daddy turnedfaceand the team broke up, the two engaged in a long-running, high drawing feud. During his career, Ruane held theEuropean Heavyweight ChampionshipandBritish Heavyweight Championshipin the UK, and won theStampede International Tag Team Championshipin Canada, with theDynamite Kid.

Early life[edit]

Ruane was born inCamberwell,London, on 10 October 1946.[7][8]He weighed 14 lbs and 6 oz at birth.[6]His father was fromBallyhaunis,County Mayo,Ireland.[5]In 1949, when he was three years old, Ruane and his family moved from London toBroughtoninSalford,Lancashire,which remained his home.[5][9]He attended St. Thomas' School until he left aged 14.[6][10]He worked as a scraper driver building motorways, and as a nightclub bouncer before a friend suggested he take up wrestling.[4][6][10]

Professional wrestling career[edit]

Ruane began wrestling in 1967, initially for the independent WFGB as "Luke McMasters" (later incorrectly reported as being his legal name).[11][6]In the early 1970s, Ruane worked forWrestling Enterprises (of Birkenhead),where he was billed as "Haystacks Calhoun", after the American wrestling starWilliam Calhounwho had wrestled under that name inNWA: All-Star Wrestlingand theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation.[12]Ruane's name was subsequently modified to "Giant Haystacks".[6]

In summer 1975, he moved toJoint Promotions,where he formed aheeltag team withBig Daddy(also a heel at this point).[4]Haystacks' TV debut came in July that year, when he and Daddy teamed up against the brothers Roy andTony St. Clair,losing by disqualification. Although mainly known as brutal superheavyweight heels who crushedblue-eyeopponents, they also had a majorfeudwith masked fellow heelKendo Nagasaki.[4]

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 onBritain'sITVSaturday sports showWorld of Sportany time they battled one another and establishing Haystacks as a household name during the 1970s and 1980s.[4][6]

On television, the feud began when the two reached the finals of a September 1977 four-man knockout tournament only for Haystacks to walk out in the opening seconds of the final match.[13]A November rematch between the two saw Daddy score a first fall early in Round One before Haystacks contrived to cause the referee to be crushed between himself and Daddy, resulting in a no contest.[13]Subsequent televised tag matches at Christmas that year and through 1978 would mostly result in Haystacks abandoning his partner to concede the losing falls to Daddy[13][14](although on one occasion in August 1978 Haystacks would return to knock out Daddy's tag partner Gary Wensor for a rare 2-1 victory.)[14]Haystacks would be inMighty John Quinn's corner for his loss to Daddy atWembley Arenain 1979 and would himself lose to Daddy at the same venue in 1981. From time to time in the 1980s, either man would turn up at the conclusion of the other's televised match to issue a challenge for a further singles bout. The feud would continue on and off, generally in tag team matches, until Daddy's retirement in December 1993.[4]

Meanwhile, on 23 November 1978 at theRoyal Albert HallHaystacks captured theBritish Heavyweight ChampionshipfromTony St. ClairbysplashingSt.Clair in the knees to win by a technical knockout. He lost the title back to St. Clair in April 1979 at the same venue by disqualification.[15]On 5th February 1991 in anangleat a TV taping forS4C'sResloshow inMachynlleth,Wales,Haystacks issued a challenge toPat Roach- having just been disqualified in a tag match (later released on VHS on theWrestling Madnesscompilation) pitting himself andDrew McDonaldagainst Roach andRobbie Brookside- for Roach'sEuropean Heavyweight Championship.[16]Haystacks defeated Roach for the title the following night February 6 inLlantrisant,GlamorganWales but lost it back to Roach later that year.[17]In late 1991 atFairfield Hall,CroydonHaystacks faced Nagasaki in a match - filmed for aBBC2Arenadocumentary on Nagasaki - for what was said to be theCWA World Heavyweight Championship(in fact held at the time byRambo) and was awarded the match and the championship when Nagasaki, suffering from cracked ribs, withdrew from the match and fled to the dressing room after being unmasked.[18]

Haystacks also wrestled all over the world.[10]Ruane wrestled inCalgary,Alberta,Canada forStu Hart'sStampede Wrestlingpromotion as the "Loch Ness Monster", managed by J.R. Foley fromWigan,England(alias John Foley, alumnus ofBilly Riley'sWigan Snakepitwrestling school). He also worked for theCWAinGermanyandAustria,winning several trophy tournaments there, as well as inIndia,[9]South Africawhere he feuded with local fan favourite Jan Wilkins andZimbabwe,where he was made an honorary citizen.[10]

In January 1996, after spending time as a debt-collector inManchester,selling cars, and undergoing knee surgery,[4]Ruane debuted in theUnited StatesforWorld Championship Wrestling,under the ring name "Loch Ness".[2][3][19]He served as a member of theDungeon of Doomwho were at that time, feuding withHulk Hogan.[6][10]However, the feud was short-lived, ending abruptly when Ruane was diagnosed with lymphoma and returned to Britain.[10]His last match was againstThe GiantatWCW Uncensored 1996,where he would lose in a short match.[20]

Personal life[edit]

Ruane, a private person, was a devout Catholic and refused to wrestle on Sundays.[10][6]He ate three pounds of bacon and a dozen eggs every morning to maintain his strength.[10]Ruane married his childhood sweetheart Rita Boylan at the age of 17 in 1965.[4]They had three sons, Martin, Stephen, and Noel.[6]All of them worked in construction.[9]

Death[edit]

On 29 November 1998, Ruane died oflymphomaat his home inPrestwich,Manchester.[19]He was 52, and was survived by his wife Rita and three sons.[6]

Other media[edit]

Ruane appeared in the filmsQuest for Fire(1981) andGive My Regards to Broad Street(1984);[4]the latter was written byPaul McCartney,who was a fan of Ruane, and both were later lifelong friends.[19][9]Roy Jenkins,Elizabeth the Queen Mother,andFrank Sinatrawere also fans of Ruane.[6][10]

In 1990, he also appeared onS4Cin an episode of theWelshlanguage soap operaPobol y Cwm,as himself when he came to the valley for a wrestling match with El Bandito (Orig Williams).[21]

Ruane released a single titled "Baby I Need You" in 1983.[22]

A play byBrian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon,Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks,was performed at theBrighton Festival Fringebetween 26 and 28 May 2011.[23][9]

Manic Street Preachersmention Giant Haystacks in their songMe and Stephen Hawkingfrom their ninth studio albumJournal for Plague Lovers(2009).[24]

In late 2021 a Giant Haystacks Retro figure was released by Chella Toys. There was a blue and brown variant for 2022 release.

In February 2022 writer Rob Cope released a memoirGiant Haystacks: My Heavyweight Herovia online publisherlulu.comdetailing his meetings with Haystacks, then in the last months of his life and the story the wrestler had told him of his life and career. The book was released to raise funds for theChristie Cancer Hospitalin Manchester.

Archival footage has been used when promoting various WWE events, including a video package duringClash at the Castle: Scotlandon June 15, 2024, whenWilliam Regalhosted a short video package discussing the history of British wrestling.[25]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Giant Haystacks".Online World of Wrestling. 14 July 2023.
  2. ^abc"Inside the Dungeon of Doom".WWE.30 October 2013.Retrieved2 December2013.
  3. ^abMelok, Bobby (8 October 2013)."The ring's forgotten big men".WWE.Retrieved1 February2014.
  4. ^abcdefghiSzreter, Adam (3 December 1998)."Obituary: Giant Haystacks".The Independent.Retrieved2 February2009.
  5. ^abcHolt, Richard. "Ruane, Martin Austin [performing name Giant Haystacks] (1946–1998)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71383.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  6. ^abcdefghijkl"Giant Haystacks".The Herald.4 December 1998.Retrieved3 February2022.
  7. ^Matthew, Henry Colin Gray; Brian Howard Harrison (2004). "Ruane, Martin Austin (1946–1998)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.Oxford University Press. p. 63.ISBN0-19-861398-9.
  8. ^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. p. 191.ISBN0-304-35385-X.
  9. ^abcdeSlattery, Mark (29 March 2021)."Remembering The Giant – Martin Ruane".NorthernLife.Retrieved3 February2022.
  10. ^abcdefghi"OSM: Frozen in time - Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks".The Guardian.Observer Sport Monthly. 5 November 2000.Retrieved3 February2022.
  11. ^Garfield, Simon (1996).The Wrestling.Faber & Faber.
  12. ^The Wrestling,Simon Garfield,Faber & Faber1996 edition, page 138
  13. ^abc"Itvwrestling.co.uk - 1977".
  14. ^ab"Itvwrestling.co.uk - 1978".
  15. ^"British Heavyweight Title [Joint Promotions] (Great Britain)".Wrestling-Titles.com.
  16. ^Resloresults 1991-includes details and embedded video of the match and subsequent challenge - ITV Wrestling, JNLister, retrieved October 5, 2023
  17. ^"European Heavyweight Title [All Star Promotions] (Great Britain)".Wrestling-Titles.com.
  18. ^Arena,Masters of the CanvasBBC21991
  19. ^abcCappetta, Gary Michael (2006).Bodyslams!: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman.ECW Press. p. 182.ISBN1550227092.
  20. ^Woodward, Hamish (2 January 2023)."The Tragic Death Of Giant Haystacks - The British Wrestling Legend".Retrieved28 January2023.
  21. ^"Michael Sheen ac enwogion eraill Pobol y Cwm".BBC Cymru Fyw(in Welsh). 3 June 2019.Retrieved21 February2022.
  22. ^"Giant Haystacks (3) - Baby I Need You".Discogs.1983.Retrieved16 January2020.
  23. ^"Big DaddyvsGiant Haystacks".Fringe Guru. 15 April 2011.Retrieved11 August2014.
  24. ^"ShieldSquare Captcha".www.songfacts.com.Retrieved21 February2022.
  25. ^WWE (29 May 2024).Countdown to Clash at the Castle: Scotland: June 15, 2024.Retrieved15 June2024– via YouTube.

External links[edit]

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