I just finished reading the self-penned autobiography of British wrestling legend “Judo” Al Marquette.
Now, he wasn’t the only man to use the nickname “Judo”. He’s not even the only “Judo Al” (Lord Alfred Hayes also donned that name) but he certainly did have an interesting career during the golden era of British wrestling.
When I saw the book on sale on eBay for a decent price, I thought I’d give it a go. I’d heard the name Al Marquette in passing before but was ashamedly ignorant about his career, outside of being on a show with Andre The Giant in 1969.
It was a chance to jump in and learn about a period of time in British wrestling that isn’t often covered. He was a star in the 60s during a time when nobody was touting their martial arts skills like he was.
He faced a number of big stars and talked about them all with reverence in the book – sometimes at the expense of discussing his own career.
The Book Doesn’t Focus On Al Marquette Enough
It should really be a rule that autobiographies should focus on the author themselves.
This is something Al Marquette really struggles with. Wherever he struggles putting himself in the spotlight or just thinks his story isn’t interesting to tell, we won’t know. However, the book severely lacks an insight into his life and career as a professional wrestler.
There’s really no discussion of his life before wrestling. Aside from a couple of pages own story is barely mentioned until we get into his debut in wrestling.
Judo Al says he’s a master at the martial art but I would have liked a little bit of colour to really illustrate that point. Kendo Nagasaki’s book had chapters upon chapters about his life before wrestling and his journey into martial arts. Judo Al Marquette barely gives it a mention, which is a real shame.
A lot of the book even veers away from Marquette completely and tells a false tale of British wrestling history. He has chapters about famous wrestling families, masked wrestlers and some of the most unusual wrestlers in Britain, with very little mention of the author himself.
If it was billed as a less-serious look at wrestling history, it still would have been lacking in information but at least it wouldn’t pretend to be following Marquette’s career.
I really wanted to learn about the Judo master himself, but I came out knowing that he was a wrestler who used to wrestle in a Judo gi and not much else.
This wasn’t the only issue, though.
He Sticks To Kayfabe Throughout The Whole Book
The real issue with the book is that at no point will Al Marquette admit that wrestling may be slightly fake.
The whole book he talks about the entire business being real – the fights were real fights with no hint at a fight ever being fixed.
Even in 2004 when the book was released it was common knowledge that the wrestling business was as bent as a nine-bob note.
From the start of his career to the very end, there is not one singular time that he admits the business to not be a legitimate one. There was one point near the end where he discussed some people saying some matches may be fixed, but poo-poos the idea completely.
It is an interesting read but you just know so much was left out in an effort to stick to Kayfabe. Maybe Al Marquette it would question his Judo skills to mention that wrestling wasn’t real, although I doubt anyone would begrudge an OAP in spilling the beans at this point.
So many backstage tales of people like Mick McManus, Jackie Pallo and Kendo Nagasaki could have been spilt, if only he had decided to tell the real story – not the fake version made up to fool the public (the ones who are buying your book, remember).
Even when talking about his debut in wrestling, he presents it as him using his superior Judo skills to overcome his opponent in an impromptu fight.
As if any wrestler would face a random martial artist without controlling the end of the match. That strategy only has downsides, as you either beat a non-wrestler and look cowardly or you lose to a non-wrestler and look like a wimp.
This point is the one that means I simply can’t recommend this book, unless to the hardened fan of Judo Al Marquette or British wrestling history.
You will learn some things about the business, but it’s all too easy to dismiss anything he says due to the secrecy surrounding the business.
Everyone knew it was fake during Judo Al Marquette’s heyday, but it appears nobody told him.
If you really want to read the book, you’ll have to get it second-hand on eBay or Amazon. I wouldn’t go out of your way, but it’s worth a couple of quid for an afternoon of reading.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
