I met him when I was in a pub in Salford with my grandad who'd popped in for a sly pint before we went home for dinner, I was 6 or 7, and wrestling was still on the telly on a Saturday afternoon, so being small and him being a celebrity and so huge, I was sat open gobbed and wide eyed at this man, always the 'baddy'. I think he overheard my grandad telling me to stop staring, and came over and asked what my name was and if I would like some crisps and a glass of pop and I couldn't speak as I was so starstruck and in awe. Anyway, he kindly bought a half of lemonade and a bag of cheese and onion crisps and gave them to me, and spoke to me about wrestling and who my favourite wrestler was etc etc. Got no sense and eventually left me and grandad to it. A few weeks later, my grandad had sloped off to the pub, and came back with a load of posters, signed photographs of Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy, Mick McManus, Cat-Weasel and other wrestling stuff that he had left for me, all written to me personally. Lovely sentiment, from a lovely bloke.
I was working as a barman in the 1980's in the Clonmel Arms hotel. Giant Haystacks wrestled there one night. After closing time he came to the bar. "Any chance of a pint" says he. I never saw anyone as big as him. " How many would you like " says I. " You're a funny little fella " says he. "Will you join me". I can truthfully say that I have never met a more decent or gentle person. Rest in peace big fella.
What an absolute beautiful man. Bullied as a kid, self conscious for the rest of his short life. But man did he live it! God bless you Mr. Haystacks. God bless you x
I served Haystacks at the station hotel in ayr in the mid 90s. He'd just came back from wrestling for WCW in America and wasn't in good health. Bad health aside I brought him at least 3 starters, 3 main courses and 3 deserts and I lost count how many pints. He was one thing f the nicest celebrities I've met and served, he even left me a generous tip. RIP BIG MAN.
RIP and thanks for the many nail biting, screeming and jumping around the sofas on Saturday afternoons with my uncle (RIP) when I was about 10 / 11 back in the early to mid 80's. Thank you both.
He'd go around the kids hospitals with Big Daddy and go into the terminal illness kids sections, sighing autographs etc. He did it because he genuinely loved those kids. RIP GH and BD and thanks for everything.
Martin was a devout Christian, and (out of the ring) one of the very nicest gentleman you could ever meet. He never had a single bad bone in his body. A truly great man.
The absolute best of British and Irish wrestling from any era. Loved this guy and a total gentleman. Had an elbow drop that made the ring jump a foot in the air. Terrifying!
God bless him he was a huge chap , I got to see him one time in paignton back in 87 I think and by god he was as big as they said he was , guy could fill a room all on his own
Some people you wouldn't want to fall out with because of how big they are but you just wouldn't want to fall out with him anyway because he was such a nice guy with nothing to prove. Have fond memories of watching him and all the others with my granddad in the 70's and 80's...... Now I'm a granddad myself!! Rip big fella.
He came to our Army camp in Munster ,Germany in the early 80s. as part of a wrestling tour with Tony St Claire. Ate about 6 meals in the cookhouse and at the end finished off two cheeseboard and biscuits. He asked if he could have another box of biscuits...our S/Sgt said "Tell him No". To which I said.."Have you seen the size of him? You bloody tell him " Some of the lads had photos taken with him. Really nice bloke...
They get safe little people on to talk about safe little things and plug safe little movies and autobiographies. That’s why nobody watches them and the alternative is the culture war bullshit which the likes of piers Morgan promotes that whips people up into hysterics.
I met him and a bunch of his fellow wrestling friends in a road side cafe somewhere in England in the early hours of the morning . I was on a cycling trip through England and I stopped at a 24 hour cafe around 2 in the morning for something to eat . A big van load of wrestlers all came in and giant haystacks was with them . I remember he sat on two chair's he was massive . I had a great chat with him and a bit of banter telling jokes . I got a great photo with him outside the cafe unfortunately it got lost .He was a really friendly guy .
First time I have seen this interview, despite following the wrestling faithfully every Saturday afternoon during my childhood. A very pleasant gentleman.
Seeing how nice and charming he was in real life just goes to show what a brilliant actor and performer he was. Thank you for posting this lovely snippet of him in real life.
When i was a kid in the 80's i saw giant haystacks fight big daddy, he was bloody huge, he was my favourite of the two wrestlers, good to hear from other commenters what a kind and humble giant he was.
watched him as a kid on the Liverpool Stadium, He left with his tag team partner Klondike Jake, in a Hillman Hunter , the chassis was about 4 inches off the ground .
I remember in my youth, watching Giant Haystacks wrestling Big Daddy on TV. I've never heard him speak before, and it seems appropriate that his roots were in the land of the little people. RIP
My papa met Giant Haystacks at Ayr racecourse when he worked there. He turned a corner and bumped into him, my papa said it was like walking into a wall. He also surprised by how nice he was compared to on TV.
His son Martin was working at our head office in Manchester, really great bloke, always looked forward to talking with him, and it was only when he told me who his dad was that I could see he was the spit of his dad, and then every time I saw him just reminded of 80’s wrestling
Yes I noticed that, that weight and frame must have put a huge stress on his heart. Although as others have mentioned it wasn't his heart that killed him, but still that heavy breathing in a sedintary situation is never good.
A mate of mine mentioned the "Big daddy splash" a while ago and I couldn't believe I'd forgotten that. LOL The Bid daddy splash! Hahahahahahaaa I was very young mind you. He was my favourite... 😎
a staple diet for many of us long before the razzmatazz of American style WWE/WWF lol...definitely miss those days and these literally giants amongst men
Brilliant Saturday mornings dickie Davis world of sport with a bit of wrestling, always was an event when big daddy and giant haystacks were on,,,,,,, easy, easy, easy, easy
I used to love watching World Of Sport on Saturdays when I was a kid in the ‘70’s. Giant Haystacks was great. He terrified me! lol I’ve since learned that he was a very nice man who was a friend of Paul McCartney’s. Giant may have been a good person, but he didn’t suffer fools. I remember watching an interview he did on Ulster Television round 1980 where he threw a sports journalist to the ground! That guy suffered from broken ribs. It was the talk of the school yard for days. It’s on UA-cam. Thanks for the memories Giant! You were great.
Nice to see an interview with the real man, not playing his Giant Haystacks villain character. He sounds a really nice bloke in real life. Such an entertainer too, as kids in the 1970s we absolutely loved the wrestling on Saturdays, and would run around the house shrieking if Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks were top of the bill. Especially when BD pushed GH over the top rope, usually to land on & crush a fold up table covered with flowers.
He was a a fantastic entertainer. I used to love the evil glint in his eye and the way he flicked his hair back. When Rollerball Rocco came along, whom I assumed was Bob Carolgees in a lyotard he became my favourite but Haystacks was thrillingly scary.
Thing is, for big men like this your heart and lungs aren't much bigger than a normal sized man so there is vast strain on them. He was only 38 in this IV. Martin smoked as well.. and back then, diet wasn't really considered much..we pretty much lived out of frying pans in Britain and Ireland back then! Wasn't his ticker and lungs rhat got him, it was Cancer. He was wrestling Big Show when he was 50 but was already ill with it and a shadow of his former self. He died at 52.. a year younger than I am today.
Very very nice guy so gentile he loved his fans and had a passion for wrestling a legit tough guy to he would never stand for anyone bullying anyone I remember being in a mall and these guys in there 20s where picking on a girl and he manhandled them like a doll I was I am glad that wasn't me true story
I saw him wrestle live and I was struck by the fans being so silly as to throw rotten apples and shout ya dirty haysacks . Of course he was just doing his job. I could see the idiot fan annoyed him but despite being capable of lifting him out of his seat by one hand...he just took it. Nice guy. I also have a girl pal who knew him quite well via a relative, and again she says he was a great guy and used to pull a horse cart by the shafts for a stunt....great guy. Rip 👍
@@theradgegadgie6352 Gay Byrne was no where near 6 ft not to mind 6’1 tv can be a little deceiving when trying to compare the two up near each other. haystacks was yes in around 6’9
He was a gentle giant wasn't over keen on the attention but when you're as big as a house it's hard to blend in died suddenly way too young him and Big Daddy both missed greatly rest in peace big man love David 🙏🍀❤️
He's struggling for sure, pity. He was a great character and a gentleman. The wrestling was fantastic entertainment on a Saturday years ago. Popular and enjoyable
Went to see Giant Haystacks at Blackpool,1970. He stepped into the ring,threw his opponent into the sixth row of wooden seats ,the ambulance men wheeled him off and the fight was over!
Looking here I would say he was around 6ft 6 -8. Great to see him do his head shake to move his hair from his face always remembered him doing that in the heat of battle on a Saturday afternoon.
It's funny how they made that huge chair that actually made Haystacks look small. Like all big wrestlers Haystcks' size was exaggerated, he was around 6'7-8 not 6'11 or 7 foot.
He was 6.11 at his peak but as he got older he suffered with bad posture and lost a few inches, if you look at him from the mid 70s compared to later he stood much taller
@@ragnarragnarson5184 yep... I was 6' when I was 45. I'm 53 now and 5'11.. You shrink as you age and the bigger you are the more you shrink. With Martin it's literally the weight on his joints and spine.
Giant haystacks was a popular British wrestler and loved watching his matches on itv wrestling in 1980s and his actual height was 6ft 8 inches tall and claimed 6ft 11 inches rip big man.
An old woman I met years ago was a massive wrestling fan. At one venue she waited by the door to see the wrestlers arrive, and when Giant Haystacks walked past, she was so terrified of him that she physically shook with fear. One of the other wrestlers saw her and asked her what was wrong. When she told him she was terrified of Haystacks, the wrestler laughed and said ‘wait here’. He returned with Giant Haystacks in tow, who politely asked her why was she so scared of him? He explained to her that there was no need to be scared of him as the wrestlers weren’t allowed to harm members of the audience, and basically acted like a total gent towards her. She was NOT a fan of Big Daddy, however, who according to her was nothing like his image and was not a nice bloke.
Never met Haystacks, but did bump into Big Daddy one day. We had just finished swimming lessons at school and Big Daddy was in the leisure centre changing room. There was a wrestling match on on the gym opposite.
I think you might be mistaking the WWF with their competition WCW (World Championship Wrestling). Haystacks did in fact have a short tenure in WCW under the name Loch Ness. It seemed like he was going to have a match with Hulk Hogan in the future but, due to health issues, this never happened. He died a couple of years later.
Reading these comments, it seems everyone in the UK claims to have met him. Unfortunately I wasn’t one of them, but I wish I could have had the pleasure.
Yoh have to understand that wrestling in the UK was quite an intimate affair. It would be town halls in front of 200 people, working class folk. Everyone knew everyone and after the fights you'd always see the wrestlers. There was no kayfabe in the UK so you'd bump into Martin and the others in a Cafe before the match and they would all be sharing a table, smoking and guzzling bacon and eggs. Don't forget how much smaller the UK is and that wrestling was a small crowd pastime limited to a few geographic areas.
It's ironic that most of the "giants" in pro wrestling. Are truly big of heart outside of the business. Whether it be Andre the Giant, Yokozuna, or Giant Haystacks. God bless all of them.
Oh this brings back memories of me late mum, she was crazy about wrestling, mick mcmanus, big daddy and giant haystack, there was a wrestler that covered his face but cant remember his name, but me mum well if she were ringside would definitely be waving a brolly, Ahh great memories
I met him when I was in a pub in Salford with my grandad who'd popped in for a sly pint before we went home for dinner, I was 6 or 7, and wrestling was still on the telly on a Saturday afternoon, so being small and him being a celebrity and so huge, I was sat open gobbed and wide eyed at this man, always the 'baddy'. I think he overheard my grandad telling me to stop staring, and came over and asked what my name was and if I would like some crisps and a glass of pop and I couldn't speak as I was so starstruck and in awe. Anyway, he kindly bought a half of lemonade and a bag of cheese and onion crisps and gave them to me, and spoke to me about wrestling and who my favourite wrestler was etc etc. Got no sense and eventually left me and grandad to it. A few weeks later, my grandad had sloped off to the pub, and came back with a load of posters, signed photographs of Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy, Mick McManus, Cat-Weasel and other wrestling stuff that he had left for me, all written to me personally. Lovely sentiment, from a lovely bloke.
Brilliant story. Tough to find celebs that nice and humble these days. Sounds like a great guy
Nice story. He lived in earl street, lower Broughton, Salford
@@michaelroberts7374 Ah, it was in the Rainsough Brew pub. Makes sense that, didn't know he lives in Broughton.
Beautiful human being...
Great story about a sweet man. 👍🏼❤️
I was working as a barman in the 1980's in the Clonmel Arms hotel.
Giant Haystacks wrestled there one night. After closing time he came to the bar. "Any chance of a pint" says he. I never saw anyone as big as him. " How many would you like " says I. " You're a funny little fella " says he. "Will you join me". I can truthfully say that I have never met a more decent or gentle person. Rest in peace big fella.
Nice story dude👍
And then you woke up and saw that it was just a fat cow walking about your living room
@@leonardobenitz2653. Are you trying to be a poetic prick, well guess what, you achieved your goal...
@Michael Brazil you're hardly related to the Brazil's The 19th Hole in Irishtown?
@@shaneomahoney2703 it is I Shane. Only wish there were mobile phones then to record. He actually looked much bigger in real life than on the t.v.
What an absolute beautiful man. Bullied as a kid, self conscious for the rest of his short life. But man did he live it! God bless you Mr. Haystacks. God bless you x
For a man of his size to live to his mid 50's he was blessed
I served Haystacks at the station hotel in ayr in the mid 90s. He'd just came back from wrestling for WCW in America and wasn't in good health. Bad health aside I brought him at least 3 starters, 3 main courses and 3 deserts and I lost count how many pints. He was one thing f the nicest celebrities I've met and served, he even left me a generous tip.
RIP BIG MAN.
Saw him wrestle in Neptune Stadium in Cork City in about 1991, an absolute giant of a man and a great entertainer, RIP big man.
Was there that night. His opponent was 6 3 and 25 stone. Looked like a dwarf next to haystacks.
Did fit finlay and ultimate warrior wrestle on that card in neptune stadium?
Literally live a stone's throw from. Neptune and used to play basketball there as a young lad mad hearing he wrestled there
@@DC66DC Same here ✌️
Was there
RIP and thanks for the many nail biting, screeming and jumping around the sofas on Saturday afternoons with my uncle (RIP) when I was about 10 / 11 back in the early to mid 80's. Thank you both.
Love Martin gentle man great man sadly missed by many fans rip mate
All of the above is true , except I’m not dead
He'd go around the kids hospitals with Big Daddy and go into the terminal illness kids sections, sighing autographs etc. He did it because he genuinely loved those kids. RIP GH and BD and thanks for everything.
So did Mick McManus.
Martin was a devout Christian, and (out of the ring) one of the very nicest gentleman you could ever meet.
He never had a single bad bone in his body.
A truly great man.
Such a shame there's not a doco on the man
God bless him, just Superstar Graham and Sammartino chose to never wrestle on Sundays, I've never heard him use profanity..
Yes he was devout, would never wrestle on Sundays and the gentlist man outside the ring.
A giant among men but a heart of gold. God bless you Martin.
Thanks very much , you’re too kind
@@martinworld7214 hahaha
Happy memories
Bought my dad years of happiness
Thx Brother
I remember him years ago never heard him talk what a humble person RIP hope he made it
The poor fella can hardly breath
This is how most people wearing masks are today sure
I think he’s only 38 ish years of age ..
@@moc7323 This is how most 38 year old men now look after the lockdown.
He died at 52 years of age .. looking at him here .. he done well to get another 15 years with the weight he was carrying.
@@misemefein100 Holy shit shut the fuck up lol one bad joke was enough you really had to come back for seconds.
The absolute best of British and Irish wrestling from any era. Loved this guy and a total gentleman. Had an elbow drop that made the ring jump a foot in the air. Terrifying!
God bless him he was a huge chap , I got to see him one time in paignton back in 87 I think and by god he was as big as they said he was , guy could fill a room all on his own
Such a gentleman in many ways, always interesting to hear him speak, so meek.
Some people you wouldn't want to fall out with because of how big they are but you just wouldn't want to fall out with him anyway because he was such a nice guy with nothing to prove. Have fond memories of watching him and all the others with my granddad in the 70's and 80's...... Now I'm a granddad myself!! Rip big fella.
He came to our Army camp in Munster ,Germany in the early 80s. as part of a wrestling tour with Tony St Claire.
Ate about 6 meals in the cookhouse and at the end finished off two cheeseboard and biscuits. He asked if he could have another box of biscuits...our S/Sgt said "Tell him No".
To which I said.."Have you seen the size of him? You bloody tell him "
Some of the lads had photos taken with him.
Really nice bloke...
😂
@Stanly Stud Cabbage Mechanics....
Munster eh? im a chef and as you might know theres a cheese called munster, (probably from there), one of the stinkiest cheeses ive ever smelled!!
Very soft spoken and a nice man, great days of the wrestling, big daddy v haystack. What a TV experience back in the 80z
I loved watching him wrestling in the 70s but never remember hearing him speak before . He's a big fella .
The giant chair is a move that really distinguished talkshows of that era to the sh*t nowadays. There is a touch of Art to it.
They get safe little people on to talk about safe little things and plug safe little movies and autobiographies. That’s why nobody watches them and the alternative is the culture war bullshit which the likes of piers Morgan promotes that whips people up into hysterics.
@@theoracle7148 Very well put
Still remember haystacks and big daddy . World of sport wrestling Saturday afternoon's in the 1980's . Great memories . Rip to them both😞♥️
what a great guy we loved you Martin x
He comes across as a nice fella.
I met him and a bunch of his fellow wrestling friends in a road side cafe somewhere in England in the early hours of the morning . I was on a cycling trip through England and I stopped at a 24 hour cafe around 2 in the morning for something to eat . A big van load of wrestlers all came in and giant haystacks was with them . I remember he sat on two chair's he was massive . I had a great chat with him and a bit of banter telling jokes . I got a great photo with him outside the cafe unfortunately it got lost .He was a really friendly guy .
he seamed a realy nice guy but i felt sorry for him when questions asked about his weight
@@shafiq1537 sorry but it's the elephant in the room if you forgive the pun
Chairs.
God bless his memory ❤💚☘️
First time I have seen this interview, despite following the wrestling faithfully every Saturday afternoon during my childhood. A very pleasant gentleman.
Never forgotten
Seeing how nice and charming he was in real life just goes to show what a brilliant actor and performer he was. Thank you for posting this lovely snippet of him in real life.
When i was a kid in the 80's i saw giant haystacks fight big daddy, he was bloody huge, he was my favourite of the two wrestlers, good to hear from other commenters what a kind and humble giant he was.
watched him as a kid on the Liverpool Stadium, He left with his tag team partner Klondike Jake, in a Hillman Hunter , the chassis was about 4 inches off the ground .
One of the highlights of my childhood was haystacks giving us all the two fingers from the ring when we booed him in our town hall. What a man 🤣
I remember in my youth, watching Giant Haystacks wrestling Big Daddy on TV. I've never heard him speak before, and it seems appropriate that his roots were in the land of the little people. RIP
💚 😁
He was English
@@tonymorph3672 , well he only missed being born in Ireland by two days.
The average height in Ireland is taller than the average height in england and the US
My papa met Giant Haystacks at Ayr racecourse when he worked there. He turned a corner and bumped into him, my papa said it was like walking into a wall. He also surprised by how nice he was compared to on TV.
How he could do what he did is astonishing! He’s pretty much gassed out just coming out on to the stage….
His son Martin was working at our head office in Manchester, really great bloke, always looked forward to talking with him, and it was only when he told me who his dad was that I could see he was the spit of his dad, and then every time I saw him just reminded of 80’s wrestling
His heavy breathing was a red flag about his health and heart.
What a legion.
His death wasn’t anything to do with his heart in the end
Phil Mitchell breathes like that and he's alright.
Yes I noticed that, that weight and frame must have put a huge stress on his heart. Although as others have mentioned it wasn't his heart that killed him, but still that heavy breathing in a sedintary situation is never good.
No, but the weight caused cancer @arthurmorgan7086
This was 14 years before his death
Now that is amazing. I remember that wrestler
They all are quite condenseding in all the interviews of him
Brings back memories of some great bouts between the Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy!
A mate of mine mentioned the "Big daddy splash" a while ago and I couldn't believe I'd forgotten that. LOL The Bid daddy splash! Hahahahahahaaa I was very young mind you. He was my favourite... 😎
Watching this ugly creature is like having a nightmare
a staple diet for many of us long before the razzmatazz of American style WWE/WWF lol...definitely miss those days and these literally giants amongst men
@@leonardobenitz2653 shut up you prick.
Brilliant Saturday mornings dickie Davis world of sport with a bit of wrestling, always was an event when big daddy and giant haystacks were on,,,,,,, easy, easy, easy, easy
Lovely man, used to drink in Catholic clubs in Salford. Loved his Guinness
I used to love watching World Of Sport on Saturdays when I was a kid in the ‘70’s. Giant Haystacks was great. He terrified me! lol I’ve since learned that he was a very nice man who was a friend of Paul McCartney’s. Giant may have been a good person, but he didn’t suffer fools. I remember watching an interview he did on Ulster Television round 1980 where he threw a sports journalist to the ground! That guy suffered from broken ribs. It was the talk of the school yard for days. It’s on UA-cam.
Thanks for the memories Giant! You were great.
I was a child of the 80's, and I so remember Giant Haystacks. And also BIG DADDY.
Used to love watch him and big daddy wiv me nan great memories.
Nice to see an interview with the real man, not playing his Giant Haystacks villain character. He sounds a really nice bloke in real life. Such an entertainer too, as kids in the 1970s we absolutely loved the wrestling on Saturdays, and would run around the house shrieking if Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks were top of the bill. Especially when BD pushed GH over the top rope, usually to land on & crush a fold up table covered with flowers.
He almost tapped out just walking onto the stage!
😆
🤣
The big man was an absolute legend. I think he even wrestled in wwf for a short time under another name.
RIP Big Fella.
He was a a fantastic entertainer. I used to love the evil glint in his eye and the way he flicked his hair back.
When Rollerball Rocco came along, whom I assumed was Bob Carolgees in a lyotard he became my favourite but Haystacks was thrillingly scary.
He is bloody breathless!
His heart and lungs were under serious pressure lugging that around.
Thing is, for big men like this your heart and lungs aren't much bigger than a normal sized man so there is vast strain on them. He was only 38 in this IV. Martin smoked as well.. and back then, diet wasn't really considered much..we pretty much lived out of frying pans in Britain and Ireland back then!
Wasn't his ticker and lungs rhat got him, it was Cancer. He was wrestling Big Show when he was 50 but was already ill with it and a shadow of his former self. He died at 52.. a year younger than I am today.
Legend of a man 💪☘️
Haystacks and Big Daddy on Saturday TV in my youth was magic..
I remember Giant Haystacks going to Ireland and slamming a TV presenter onto the floor after he said wrestling was fake. It nearly killed him.
That was Jackie Fullerton....
ua-cam.com/video/z9bbqNIvCsk/v-deo.html
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Fullerton
It was a miracle he reached 52.
Defo. He looks fit to drop in this video.
@@David-cm4ok He certainly sounds as though he has trouble breathing in the video. He died of lymphoma in 1998.
@@davidmacgregor5193 very waxy looking too, sweaty. If that's hodgkins, my dad died of the same thing. Brutal.
@@davidmacgregor5193 yes! It wasn't a heart attack that killed him, it was cancer unfortunately.
Bout ready to Keel over just walking out on stage…. Bless him.
Awesome video, keep em coming 🖐️
What an awesome guy he was R.I.P 🙏
Seems like a sound fella
A real gentleman, God rest his soul.
Hes a legend
God bless you giant a stacks 👍🏻💯
Very very nice guy so gentile he loved his fans and had a passion for wrestling a legit tough guy to he would never stand for anyone bullying anyone I remember being in a mall and these guys in there 20s where picking on a girl and he manhandled them like a doll I was I am glad that wasn't me true story
I saw him wrestle live and I was struck by the fans being so silly as to throw rotten apples and shout ya dirty haysacks . Of course he was just doing his job. I could see the idiot fan annoyed him but despite being capable of lifting him out of his seat by one hand...he just took it. Nice guy. I also have a girl pal who knew him quite well via a relative, and again she says he was a great guy and used to pull a horse cart by the shafts for a stunt....great guy. Rip 👍
He used to drink in the pub opposite Dale Martins hq and sit on two bar stools whilst downing about six pints in two minutes.
3:45 Fasten your seat belts and put your cigarettes out 😂😂😂 different times indeed.
Jeasus I didn't realise Gay Byrne was 6' 1"
Neither did I.
No Gays the little fella
I met him, about 5'10.
@@kybone25 Considering how big Stax is, Byrne can't be only five ten.
@@theradgegadgie6352 Gay Byrne was no where near 6 ft not to mind 6’1 tv can be a little deceiving when trying to compare the two up near each other. haystacks was yes in around 6’9
He was a gentle giant wasn't over keen on the attention but when you're as big as a house it's hard to blend in died suddenly way too young him and Big Daddy both missed greatly rest in peace big man love David 🙏🍀❤️
And good old uncle Gaybo decides to get an armchair that was two tones too big for him and based the whole interview around his size
An amazing man The Legend ❤
To see how labored his breathing is here, it's absolutely _bonkers_ to think he was a pro wrestler.
He's struggling for sure, pity. He was a great character and a gentleman. The wrestling was fantastic entertainment on a Saturday years ago. Popular and enjoyable
I know a guy around 30 and he must be 20 stone plus. Sit next to him and hear him breathe lt is too much for the body to deal with.
Thanks!
My pals house backed onto his.Said he was the nicest of blokes you could meet.
Went to see Giant Haystacks at Blackpool,1970. He stepped into the ring,threw his opponent into the sixth row of wooden seats ,the ambulance men wheeled him off and the fight was over!
when you hear his breathing he did well to get to 51.
Looking here I would say he was around 6ft 6 -8. Great to see him do his head shake to move his hair from his face always remembered him doing that in the heat of battle on a Saturday afternoon.
met him a few times and still have his autograph boy was he big
RIP never forgotten.
It's funny how they made that huge chair that actually made Haystacks look small. Like all big wrestlers Haystcks' size was exaggerated, he was around 6'7-8 not 6'11 or 7 foot.
He would have looked like a peanut if a 10 ft 2,200 lb Kodiak was in the room
He was 6.11 at his peak but as he got older he suffered with bad posture and lost a few inches, if you look at him from the mid 70s compared to later he stood much taller
Still bloody huge
@@ragnarragnarson5184 yep... I was 6' when I was 45. I'm 53 now and 5'11..
You shrink as you age and the bigger you are the more you shrink. With Martin it's literally the weight on his joints and spine.
Lovely guy. Rest in peace.
My grandfather's family are Ruanes from Kiltimagh, Mayo!
Are you 7 ft tall as well?😁
Mayo could have done with him in the 80's up full forward.
Dry up.
He's a big lad for fourteen.
Bless him
Imagine being stuck in the toilet while landing. Must have been an experience 😂
You'd be crapping yourself
Very happy Saturday Wrestling afternoons,memories. Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks...... All so very different now!
⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐
What I learned from this video is that Grampa is huge too. Haystacks didnt even make him look short! Giant was 6ft 11.
The man nearly passed out walking from backstage to the chair 😂 How was he able to perform in the ring?
That and think he wresled a match not long before this and studio lights are boiling
He barely wrestled. Just bumping his belly up against Big Daddy's.
He only had little over 100 matches and he wrestled almost 20 years
Giant haystacks was a popular British wrestler and loved watching his matches on itv wrestling in 1980s and his actual height was 6ft 8 inches tall and claimed 6ft 11 inches rip big man.
Legend. R.I.P
An old woman I met years ago was a massive wrestling fan. At one venue she waited by the door to see the wrestlers arrive, and when Giant Haystacks walked past, she was so terrified of him that she physically shook with fear. One of the other wrestlers saw her and asked her what was wrong. When she told him she was terrified of Haystacks, the wrestler laughed and said ‘wait here’. He returned with Giant Haystacks in tow, who politely asked her why was she so scared of him? He explained to her that there was no need to be scared of him as the wrestlers weren’t allowed to harm members of the audience, and basically acted like a total gent towards her.
She was NOT a fan of Big Daddy, however, who according to her was nothing like his image and was not a nice bloke.
The Captain said "Put your cigarettes out". The good old days!
Never met Haystacks, but did bump into Big Daddy one day. We had just finished swimming lessons at school and Big Daddy was in the leisure centre changing room. There was a wrestling match on on the gym opposite.
World of Sport Legend.
He had just started with the WWE when he was diagnosed with cancer. He died shortly afterwards.
It was wcw not wwf/e
There are a few matches on youtube
He was supposed to be being built up for a feud with hogan
@@benwoolsey1953 Haystacks also wrestled at WCW UK tour house shows in the UK in the early 90's as well as working for Max Crabtree and Brian Dixon.
What an athlete
Remember watching him in blackpool i was in awe of the size of him
This guy almost had a career in wwf has it was known back in the day but sadly died before it happened.
I think you might be mistaking the WWF with their competition WCW (World Championship Wrestling). Haystacks did in fact have a short tenure in WCW under the name Loch Ness. It seemed like he was going to have a match with Hulk Hogan in the future but, due to health issues, this never happened. He died a couple of years later.
He was 10 years to old
Born in England and I still here irish twang
Reading these comments, it seems everyone in the UK claims to have met him.
Unfortunately I wasn’t one of them, but I wish I could have had the pleasure.
I met him, had his autograph.
Yoh have to understand that wrestling in the UK was quite an intimate affair. It would be town halls in front of 200 people, working class folk. Everyone knew everyone and after the fights you'd always see the wrestlers. There was no kayfabe in the UK so you'd bump into Martin and the others in a Cafe before the match and they would all be sharing a table, smoking and guzzling bacon and eggs.
Don't forget how much smaller the UK is and that wrestling was a small crowd pastime limited to a few geographic areas.
@@neilclark1681proof
It's ironic that most of the "giants" in pro wrestling. Are truly big of heart outside of the business. Whether it be Andre the Giant, Yokozuna, or Giant Haystacks. God bless all of them.
its like the annoying barking dogs. always the small ones.
the big ones just have nothing to proof and they know it.
He was 6'8 and not 7ft.
6'11
@gorgeousgeorge3947 6'11 may have been a lie. If you watch his match against The Giant in WCW he was significantly taller than him.
An absolute legend an seemed like a real gentleman
People who say height doesnt mean anything and theres no height privilege, look at the respect he gets just for being tall and big.
Oh this brings back memories of me late mum, she was crazy about wrestling, mick mcmanus, big daddy and giant haystack, there was a wrestler that covered his face but cant remember his name, but me mum well if she were ringside would definitely be waving a brolly, Ahh great memories
Kendo Nagasaki.