Billy Riley

United Kingdom
Born 1896, Leigh
Died 1977-09, Wigan
10.4

Description

Billy Riley (1896–1977) was an English catch wrestler and coach. He founded Riley's Gym, later known as the Snake Pit, in Wigan in 1948. He trained Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, and other wrestlers who became foundational figures in catch wrestling, professional wrestling, and modern MMA.

Teachers (3)

  • Willie Charnock
    sports_martial_artsCatch Wrestling Probable
    Probable
    Riley trained under Willie Charnock, Peter Burns, and Waino Ketonen; documented in wrestling history but details are sparse
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Riley trained under Willie Charnock, Peter Burns, and Waino Ketonen; documented in wrestling history but details are sparse
    “Trainer: Willie Charnock”
    — Billy Riley (Wikipedia EN)link history info
  • Peter Burns
    sports_martial_artsCatch Wrestling Probable
    Probable
    Riley trained under Willie Charnock, Peter Burns, and Waino Ketonen; documented in wrestling history but details are sparse
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Riley trained under Willie Charnock, Peter Burns, and Waino Ketonen; documented in wrestling history but details are sparse
    “Trained by [...] Peter Burns”
    — Billy Riley (Wikipedia EN)link history info
  • Waino Ketonen
    sports_martial_artsCatch Wrestling Probable
    Probable
    Riley trained under Willie Charnock, Peter Burns, and Waino Ketonen; documented in wrestling history but details are sparse
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Riley trained under Willie Charnock, Peter Burns, and Waino Ketonen; documented in wrestling history but details are sparse
    “Trained by [...] Vaino Ketonen”
    — Billy Riley (Wikipedia EN)link history info

Students (1)

  • Karl Gotch
    sports_martial_artsCatch Wrestling Probable
    Probable
    Gotch trained at Billy Riley's Snake Pit in Wigan, acknowledged as the center of catch wrestling; well-documented in wrestling history
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    location_onThe Snake Pit badge (1955–1960)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Gotch trained at Billy Riley's Snake Pit in Wigan, acknowledged as the center of catch wrestling; well-documented in wrestling history
    “He learned catch-as-catch-can and professional wrestling at the Snake Pit under Billy Riley and Billy Joyce”
    — Karl Gotch (Wikipedia EN)link history info

Sources

Billy Riley (Wikipedia EN)link history info

Identifiers

https://martial.is/entity/01KYEZC879D48ZHB2QX45XRS35
Wikidata

Cite and reuse

CC BY-SA 4.0expand_more
Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Billy Riley. In Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01KYEZC879D48ZHB2QX45XRS35 - CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01KYEZC879D48ZHB2QX45XRS35, author = {Muñoz, Frederico}, title = {Billy Riley}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database}, year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url = {https://martial.is/entity/01KYEZC879D48ZHB2QX45XRS35}, urldate = {ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
data_object JSON-LDdata_object Turtle

Database content on this page is CC BY-SA 4.0; the database right is separately reserved. Licensing