Gordon Renton

? - May, 2008

He was 5ft 9ins, weighed 25 stones and at one time it would have taken six men to carry the bier. The gentle giant Gordon Renton, alias the fearsome "Farmers Boy", was much lighter when he died, aged 62..

Gordon was a professional wrestler from an earlier age, he traded blows with the likes of big daddy and kendo Nagasaki, and was coached by Mick Mcmanus. "He had to be so nasty" muses Jenny his widow.

Gordon also toured pakistan with giant haystacks who, being 7ft and 40 odd stones, ensured that not everything would be plain sailing. "Haystacks was scared of flying.they had to knock him out to get him aboard" recalls Jenny. "they booked four seats for him, but they hadnt counted on him going to the toilet, when the plane landed, they had to dismantle the toilet to get him off it again".

They lived in Catterick Village, North Yorkshire, had been married for 27 years. Invariably the villain in the ring, Big Gordon was every pound a gentleman outside of it. "he was nice as ninepence, daft as a brush, recalls Jenny. "hed do owt for anybody, except me, in 27 years i think he made me tea four times" "he wouldnt even get angry with me, if there was trouble brewing he would just take himself off to bed" She still has his £300 wrestling cape, bulls head motif on the back, and a leotard that once fitted Giant Haystacks.

Gordon insisted that non-televised fights werent fixed, admitted only that wrestlers knew how far to go without causing serious injury. it didnt always work out that way. "One fight in Catterick club he did a belly flop on this poor fella and his lips turned blue. i could see Gordons face, he thought he'd killed him" Our son Billy wanted to wrestle, but Gordon wouldnt let him. he had a lot of health problems, and it abuses your body. His decision to throw in the towel however, came after a fight in Inverness when the injuries were caused by a member of the audience. "this woman hit him with an umberella, so Gordon took it off her and snapped it. after that her husband laid about him with his walking stick. he went home with weals all over his back. "they werent paid much, whatever people thought, it just didnt seem worth it anymore, all the way to Inverness to be beated by an old man with a walking stick" Mind, there was also the incident at Darlington baths hall when Gordon's two sisters (one is my nana lol ),set about his opponent with hteir stilettoes.

Though he worked in agriculture, "The Farmers Boy" became a lorry driver, loved his family, loved his football. The house is hung with sunderland memorabillia; he was also a committee member of arngrove northern league side Northallerton Town, where they loved him. Steve, his son-in-law, remembers five of them heading in a ford corsair to a Darlington match at wembley, "i still dont know how everyone got in" he says. "like five sardines in a tin" says jenny.

Gordon had talked in 1974 of medical attempts, inevitably ill-fated, to get him to lose weight. "i only feel right when im about 26 stones"he said. His training diet included 12 pints a day, that morning he'd breakfasted on 6 rashers of bacon, a few sausages, four eggs and half a loaf. all he'd had during the day though was a steak and six potatoes. "he could be a champion but will have to get a bit more into condition" pormoter Max Crabtree observed.