June 29, 2022 • 30 mins
Warning: This episode contains graphic content. Listener discretion is advised.
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Welcome to Grappling With Canada! Each month Andy "The Taxman" is joined by various guests to take a deep dive into the past of some of Canada's most influential, infamous and impressive Wrestling exports! Not a Canadian? Don't worry, no passport needed! The international connections of wrestling with and to Canada will surprise you!
In this special episode, The Taxman takes a look at the story of Nanjo Singh, the murder of Betty Singh, and the rumor that Frank Tunney bailed him out of prison.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today's episode deals with mature subject matter as well as graphic descriptions of domestic violence.
(00:08):
Listener discretion is strongly advised.
(00:31):
Hello everyone and welcome back to an ongoing series of episodes that are kind of companion pieces if you will to the flagship program of Grappling with Canada.
As with those programs and these ones I'm your host as usual The Taxman.
Now normally these special episodes have been episodes that are showcasing some really cool projects that people are involved with and working on in and around the Canadian professional wrestling history side of things.
(01:03):
You can go in the back archives and hear some great conversations with individuals like authors Vance Nevada, Mike Richards and Stephen Bell as well as the guys from the Canadian Wrestling Archives as well as some other cool episodes that are kind of companions like I said to the Grappling with Canada flagship program.
(01:24):
However today is quite a departure from what we're normally doing and I'm going to explain a little bit about why this is a special episode and not information that is going to be completely included in July's episode of Grappling with Canada.
But before we get into that once again I'm your host as usual The Taxman. If this is your first time to the program welcome. You can go in the back catalog and find all of the deep dive full length episodes of Grappling with Canada featuring some incredible talents such as Chief Don Eagle, Billety Rivers, Gene Kieniskey, Stu Hart, the Monster Ripper, Rhonda Singh as well as many others in this audio feed.
(02:10):
Speaking of which wherever you are listening to this audio feed whether that's Apple podcasts, Amazon podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google podcasts wherever you buy sell trade barter or steal your favourite podcasts you will find Grappling with Canada.
While you are there please remember to leave a 5 star rating and where possible a written review. This is especially important on Apple podcasts.
(02:35):
If you leave a 5 star rating and a written review when I see it I will make sure that I read it on the next available program of Grappling with Canada.
As well you can find all links to this and many more things such as the official t-shirt store of Grappling with Canada where there's a special on right now if you're probably listening to this program.
(02:59):
Also the classic Grappling with Canada logo t-shirts just want to mention as well as usual that those are the proceeds from those t-shirts are being donated to charity as usual.
So I wanted to get all the plugs out before we get into today's subject matter because like I said the majority actually that's a complete lie every single special episode has been dedicated to a project not related to the current month's episode of Grappling with Canada.
(03:36):
This one's the exception because I'm going to be covering an individual and a topic matter that while it is tied to July's episode I really didn't want it to end up being one of the focal points of July's episode.
I think you'll understand why my reasoning of that is as we kind of proceed and explain a little bit of today's episode.
(04:06):
Now with all that being said there is and was a content warning at the start of this episode.
So if domestic abuse if murder if anything like that triggers you in any way shape or form feel free to sit this one out.
It's not going to be for everybody.
(04:28):
Normally if you've listened to previous episodes like the Dino Bravo episode like most recently with the Chief Don Eagle episode when it's come to serious incidents that have happened especially in the Don Eagle episode there was two of them that were discussed.
The death of Don Eagle and the death of Don Eagle's wife as well.
(04:53):
I tried very hard to not get too deep into the weeds about what actually happened.
Most of that is out of respect for the people involved but a lot of it as well is out of respect for the families because there are families of the individuals who listen to this program.
(05:15):
Now why that's different today.
I feel like I cannot explain some of the backstory about this individual what happened who was involved and really what ended up happening after the fact because some of that has been misreported over the years and as you know many historians and just you know the.
(05:43):
It just goes without saying right if you hear a story gets passed on the story gets bigger than it gets passed on that story gets bigger and soon you've kind of you've lost the plot and now things are added to the story that are possibly not really related in any way shape or form to what the original story was.
So today is going to be a very factual presentation of what happened with this individual who this individual was and I'm sure that when you hear July's episode you'll understand where this individual fits into that person's story so.
(06:22):
This episode is not going to be a long one as my usual deep dives are to be perfectly Frank as impressive as this individual's career was there's truthfully not a whole lot of meat on the bone and.
You know it's hard to kind of stretch out a couple hour episode on something like this flip side of that is I can't tell the story in July if I don't cover this aspect of it and again kind of debunk and rule out and rule in some information that has been kind of.
(06:57):
Skipped over banded about or presented without fact without actual research behind it and has unfortunately in some circumstances been accepted as truth so I hope that.
In this episode today we can kind of shed some light on this person what actually transpired because I have court cases court documents that I've uncovered and and we can really you know kind of shed some light on the after effects as well.
(07:32):
Many of which are going to be discussed in the long form episode of our July subject matter now I know that I've kind of long windedly.
Presented a case for this nameless individual if you will.
So perhaps we should explain who this individual was exactly.
(07:57):
Today we're looking at the curious case of Nanjo Singh now Nanjo Singh for many people who may not be familiar with them.
He was at one time a groundbreaking professional wrestler working in the honestly tippy top pro wrestling cities when he was in his 20s.
Unfortunately by the time he was in his 40s he was in jail that's something we're going to get to a little bit later.
(08:22):
Now some of his back story is shrouded in conjecture some aspects have it that he immigrated here from Pakistan.
Other sources claim that he was adopted and brought here to Canada till he grew up in Calgary but regardless of how he came to be here.
(08:43):
The fact is that he ended up being raised in Calgary Canada.
He worked a variety of jobs before finding his way into the world of professional wrestling.
He was powerfully built with a handsome movie star face which you would think would have made him a baby face.
However his true calling was being a villain and unfortunately that translated into reality as well.
(09:05):
As a Sikh Nanjo Singh wore a turban but he adopted elements of Islam such as kneeling in prayer towards Mecca as part of his pre-match rituals.
He was often called a Hindu a slur by many of the fans of the era.
He drew such hatred for the fans that he was stabbed, burned, dragged from the ring and beaten on multiple occasions.
(09:27):
Now something that we're going to get into a little bit later in our discussion is the fact that because of Nanjo Singh and his immense heat from the crowd.
That was the reason that Maple Leaf wrestling ended up instituting the ramp to the ring.
Something that you're going to hear in July's episode of Grappling with Canada.
Now Nanjo's signature hold was the Cobra Deathlock.
(09:49):
He got over that gimmick offering a thousand dollars to anybody who could escape it.
While he is rarely praised as one of the city's top stars, he was for many years in Toronto at least and for the most part in Calgary as well.
He was unquestionably a precursor for individuals like the Sheik, Tiger Jeet Singh and like Great Gama Singh.
(10:13):
Now he never actually used any weapons in his matches although he was quite the wild character.
He had some incredible feuds with Whipper Watson, Jim Londus, Mad Mountain Dean, Don Leo Jonathan among many others.
Now for a little bit of backstory I'm also going to quote directly from his obituary from the Calgary Herald.
(10:37):
He loved to work out at the gym and lift weights.
He achieved many provincial championships in handball and wrestling and in wrestling he also qualified for the British Empire Games.
Exercise and fitness were an important part of his life.
He was a member of Boys Town and the Calgary YMCA for many years.
He was an avid fan of rodeo and football and played for the Calgary Bronx and the Calgary Stampeeders football team.
(11:03):
He took pride in his Calgary heritage and faithfully attended the Calgary Stampeed for many years.
Now he did end up passing away in April of 2006.
He ended up passing away from Alzheimer's.
Now I know you may be wondering why I would go into so much detail maybe glorifying somebody like this after you hear what I'm about to say.
(11:27):
However I feel like it regardless of what he ended up doing later on in life we need the full story of who this person was because it really is going to feed quite a bit into again our July's deep dive episode.
Now you heard me preface this earlier on in my description of Nanjo Singh that he was a heel in the wrestling ring and he was certainly a heel outside of it as well.
(12:00):
Now in the 50's Singh ended up marrying his first wife at the time her name was Betty and they were resettled in Philadelphia where they had opened a bar.
Now in 1958 is where the story gets very dark and again we're going to be going into some details that some individuals may find triggering so I apologize for that.
(12:22):
And again there were content warnings at the start of this for a very specific reason.
Now this clipping comes from the United Press from Philadelphia in January of 1958.
Nanjo Singh 41 years old former professional wrestler was held on homicide charges today in the fatal beating of his wife Betty 37 whose nude body was found Tuesday in the couple's apartment above a tap room that he operated in the Kensington section.
(12:52):
Singh who wrestled as the Hindu with the Cobra Deathlock was charged with homicide by fist and held for hearing today.
Singh who told detectives he found his wife missing from their bedroom when he awoke Tuesday refused to answer questions on the advice of council when he was charged formally on Tuesday night.
(13:13):
Detectives said that Mrs Singh's face was swollen greatly and that a trail of blood led from the kitchen to the bathroom where her clothes were found.
Police said that she was dead about 10 hours before her body was discovered.
Now this next article comes from the Philadelphia Inquirer from Thursday January 23rd of again 1958.
(13:35):
Singh a former professional wrestler was charged with the fatal beating of his wife in their Kensington apartment was held without bail for the grand jury yesterday at a hearing before the magistrate at the Montgomery Avenue's police station.
The nude body of Singh's wife was found by police Tuesday on the second floor kitchen above their tavern which the accused man operates at 3033 Kensington Avenue.
(13:59):
She had been beaten on the head and face.
The magistrate ruled that the case was made against Singh on the evidence presented by the witnesses in the hearing.
Detectives testified that Singh told them that he went to bed at 1030 PM Monday and left his wife tending the bar downstairs.
Singh told the detectives that he arose at 9am Tuesday and found his wife laying in the kitchen.
(14:23):
The detectives added that Singh told them that he had breakfast and went downstairs at 1130am.
In the tap room he met James Horvath of Part-Time Bartender.
They called a doctor who after examining the woman and finding her dead summoned police at 1203 PM.
Police said that Singh's underclothing was stained with blood.
(14:47):
Turner testified that there was no indications that anyone had broken into the establishment.
Singh's counsel asked for the release of his client on the grounds that the case had not been firmly established.
However the magistrate found that it had.
So we can kind of see where I'm sure that you sitting at home are kind of seeing the wheels turning in this case.
(15:10):
And it kind of gets, boy, it gets worse from here. I'm going to continue.
Now this article comes from, again, the Philadelphia Inquirer.
This is from Wednesday, April 9th of 1958.
The mother of Mrs. Betty Singh testified in Court of Sessions Court yesterday that Ms. Singh was so badly beaten last January
that she was unable to recognize her daughter when she went to the morgue to identify the body.
(15:34):
The mother was the first witness called in the state trial of Nanjo Singh, a 260 pound former professional wrestler
who was charged with the fatal beating of his wife Betty on January 21st in their apartment over Singh's saloon at 3033 Kesington Avenue.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mrs. Dupade, a native of Ukraine, said that her daughter's features were consigned.
(15:58):
Considerably disfigured, but that she was finally able to identify the body through small scar on one of her wrists.
Asked why, prior to her visit to the morgue, she had not seen her daughter for five years.
She pointed a finger dramatically at Singh and said, he wouldn't let me see her.
Then she broke down and had to be assisted from the witness stand.
(16:21):
When she resumed her testimony, she told of an occasion some seven years ago when her daughter came and stayed with her for two months,
exhibiting quote, bad bruises and said that she had been the result of her being beaten by her husband.
Later, the mother said there was a reconciliation.
And it continues.
(16:42):
A young bartender who had been hired only three days before Mrs. Betty Singh was beaten to death testified yesterday that her husband,
Nandro Singh, an ex-wrestler turned saloon keeper, had forced him to view the women's battered body the night before he reported her quote, unconscious condition to the police.
Testifying at Singh's murder trial before the judge and a jury of six men and six women,
(17:06):
the bartender said that the 260 pound former wrestler, insisting that he was quote, in trouble, sought his help,
then told him to go home because apparently he had quote, no guts.
Full color pictures of the dead woman's multiple injuries, which Singh is accused of inflicting with his fists,
were shown to the jury on the screen set in the quarter sessions court.
(17:30):
It was considered that this was the first time that evidence had been so presented in Philadelphia.
The pictures fitted with the testimony of the doctor, the city's pathologist, who described the injuries in detail.
Dr. Campbell said his examination also showed that there was enough alcohol in Mrs. Singh's brain to have made her drunk at the time of death.
(17:52):
The state's star witness was James Haworth, whose home was not far from Singh's bar room at Kensington Avenue.
It was the apartment upstairs at Kensington Avenue address that Mrs. Singh was found beaten to death.
Haworth heard sounds of quote, banging, upstairs the night of January 20th, first at about 8.30 p.m.
(18:13):
after Singh had told him that he was going to go up to the apartment to eat, then later at 9.30 and then again at about 10.30.
Haworth said that it sounded quote, like someone was moving furniture around.
About 11.30, Haworth testified. Singh came downstairs in his underclothes and stood at the end of the bar.
(18:34):
I went over and he said, Are you my friend? I'm in trouble. I think she's dead. Close up the bar.
Haworth went on to relate how Singh offered him his hand and got the one customer out of the place, locked all the three doors and then forced him to go upstairs.
The next article that I'm going to read is regarding Singh's confession.
(18:59):
A county detective, this again comes from the, sorry, I should say the Philadelphia Inquirer in April 15th of 1958.
A county detective testified in court recessions court yesterday that Nanjo Singh admitted that he had killed his wife Betty last January 20th.
Singh is on trial for a judge, Earl Chuduff, and injury of six men and six women on a charge of murder.
(19:23):
The state contends that the former wrestler beat his wife to death.
County detective William Hipple was permitted to testify after the judge overruled an objection by the defense counsel.
Before overruling the objection, the judge examined Hipple at length in the absence of the jury.
According to Hipple, he and another county detective went to Singh's tap room at 3033 Kensington Avenue last February 7th to investigate a complaint
(19:52):
that Singh had threatened a man who had given the police information concerning Singh's wife's death.
Singh was out on bail at the time.
When we got there, said Hipple, Singh was ranting and raving and acting like a madman.
His eyes were glazed. He pounded on the bar with his fists.
But finally he agreed to go down to City Hall with us.
And on the way down I asked him, why did you do it, Joe?
(20:16):
To that Singh said, how much can you take?
She was drinking a fifth and a half every day.
She went through $50,000 of my money.
I gave her $600 to go to Florida, but I learned that she was in a hotel here with another man.
I didn't mean to kill her, he said.
I blacked out. Now I want to die. I want to go to the electric chair.
(20:39):
Hipple testified that Singh told him that the clothes that he had gotten rid of were of the bloodstained clothes, both him and his wife's.
The witness said that Singh admitted to lying to detectives when he told them of finding his body, or his wife's body, the next day.
Now the last article I'm going to read is the guilty verdict.
Singh guilty in slaying, again from the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, April 24th of 1958.
(21:08):
Singh, wrestler turned saloon keeper, was found guilty of second degree murder last night by a jury of six men and six women in the death of a man.
Singh was found guilty of murder of his wife Betty last January.
He faces a possible sentence of 10-20 years.
The jury delivered the verdict to Judge Earl Chudoff at midnight after delivering deliberating for five hours.
(21:30):
The delivery was marked with confusion and was followed by demand for a new trial by his defense counsel, who contended that the judge had committed an irreversible error in regards to his charge.
Quarried formally by the court choir, the foreman declared that Singh had been found guilty of second degree murder on one indictment.
(21:51):
Asked about a second indictment carrying two lesser counts of voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, Tarpey stood mute.
Judge Chudoff explained that the jury would have to make a decision on those counts.
They left, returned in 10 minutes, and declared Singh guilty of the lesser counts as well.
Judge Chudoff committed Singh to county prison pending formal motions for a new trial.
(22:16):
He ended up being sentenced to four to eight years in prison on Friday, November 14th of 1958.
Nanja was released from prison around 1966. I don't have the exact release date from prison, however.
It was early enough and this was a time that the wrestling season was still in full force with the Tunneys in Maple, or with Maple Leaf Wrestling.
(22:46):
Now, it's interesting because here's an individual who committed and was convicted of a horrific crime.
Ended up serving, I believe it was eight years total. Comes back to Canada.
I'm assuming that he was forced to come back to Canada.
(23:08):
And lo and behold, Frank Tunney is waiting for him.
And immediately plugs him into a main event series of matches with our July subject matter.
Something that we're going to be discussing later on in the upcoming July episode in great detail.
(23:29):
Now, to say it's a messy situation is quite the understatement, I would say.
Now, I have heard of a rumor that was... I'm not sure where it came from, but I had come across it in my research that
Frank Tunney had ended up essentially going to bat for Nanjo to get him out of jail early.
(23:53):
Specifically to come back to Maple Leaf Wrestling to work the main event series of matches that you're going to hear about
in the July episode of Grappling with Canada.
However, I have found no evidence to substantiate that claim.
And furthermore, it seems like it was legitimately just a coincidence.
Business was down with Maple Leaf Wrestling.
(24:16):
They were looking for a heel to really heat up the market.
And as seedy as it is, and wrestling is full of seedy behavior, as many of us understand and realize,
they went and got out the most hated, most vilified, most basically evil villain they possibly could.
(24:45):
And they brought him back to feud with the subject matter for July.
So, again, this was information that I really didn't want to bog down the July episode because, again,
it's hard to hear, it's certainly hard to read.
(25:09):
And I want to make one other thing, I guess, completely clear is I didn't go into this much detail
because I'm trying to slander the memory of Nanjo Singh.
Although, again, he did commit a murder.
There was a woman whose life was tragically cut short at 37 years old.
(25:33):
And that, in my opinion, is unforgivable, regardless of her alleged dealings with liquor
and stealing money and things of that nature.
A life was taken.
And we can't ignore that as wrestling fans, certainly as wrestling historians,
(25:55):
and certainly somebody like myself who's trying to paint a fair and accurate picture
and a truthful, more important picture.
I also really didn't want to sensationalize what happened.
I could have gone on and on and on.
There was about 40 articles between The Examiner, the Philadelphia Archives,
(26:18):
and several others that we could have been here for about an hour.
But I don't think that that's a proper way to cover this either.
However, it did need to be covered.
And again, I didn't want it to really bog down and take away from the July episode.
(26:39):
It should be noted as well that Nanjo Singh ended up remarrying.
He had several children and grandchildren of his own
and, like I said, had ended up passing away in Calgary in 2006.
So perhaps he was able to change his life around.
You would hope for that at least.
And again, if any of his family ended up listening to this episode,
(27:04):
again, I'm sure that the facts, as they were presented, are hard to hear.
Again, it's not being explained to disparage him,
but to give a fulsome picture of what ended up happening.
The reason, again, that I wanted to touch on this was twofold.
(27:25):
One, not to bog down next month's episode.
Two, to kind of dispel, again, that rumor that I had read online
that Frank Tutti had essentially bailed him out of jail to come and wrestle in Toronto,
which it's one of those rumors that is so crazy.
It could be true in the wild, wacky world of professional wrestling
(27:49):
and one that I was very keen to get into and debunk.
So I hope that I was able to accomplish that today.
So now that we've got into this,
I think we have an excellent teaser for who Nanjo came back to wrestle
(28:12):
in Maple Leaf Gardens in the mid-60s.
That person you're going to hear all about next month,
July 1st for the next episode of Grappler with Canada.
Again, if you're listening to this on any major podcasting platform,
especially Apple Podcasts, if you can go ahead and leave a five star rating
(28:37):
and a written review, I would very much appreciate that.
You can also find us on Twitter at 6underscorepodcast.
You can email me at any time, sixsidepod at gmail.com.
I read everything you guys send.
You can find all the links to everything related to this show
in the show notes for today's episode.
(28:59):
It includes different ways to listen to the program,
different ways to help donate to the program.
Very important at this time of year, if you'd like to donate to the program,
you get a big shout out on the next available episode,
as well as links to our Instagram, instagram.com slash Grappler with Canada,
as well our Facebook page.
Use that wonderful Facebook page search option
(29:22):
and find the Grappler with Canada page.
Come on in and like that, as well as come on in and join
the Canadian Professional Wrestling History Facebook group.
There's been a ton of tremendous information, photos, etc.
I've been shared in there, and I'm very thankful to everybody
for joining that group and making it a lot of fun to go back
(29:43):
and look at some of the stuff from the history of Canadian Professional Wrestling.
So for myself, the taxman, again, I know that this was a little bit of a weird episode,
quite the departure from what I end up normally doing on the flagship program,
but again, something that I really felt needed to be discussed
(30:05):
heading into July's episode.
So once again, for myself, the taxman, I will leave you, as I usually do,
at the end of the flagship programs.
Take care of yourselves and each other, and we'll see everybody on July 1st.
Today's episode deals with mature subject matter as well as graphic descriptions of domestic violence.
(00:08):
Listener discretion is strongly advised.
(00:31):
Hello everyone and welcome back to an ongoing series of episodes that are kind of companion pieces if you will to the flagship program of Grappling with Canada.
As with those programs and these ones I'm your host as usual The Taxman.
Now normally these special episodes have been episodes that are showcasing some really cool projects that people are involved with and working on in and around the Canadian professional wrestling history side of things.
(01:03):
You can go in the back archives and hear some great conversations with individuals like authors Vance Nevada, Mike Richards and Stephen Bell as well as the guys from the Canadian Wrestling Archives as well as some other cool episodes that are kind of companions like I said to the Grappling with Canada flagship program.
(01:24):
However today is quite a departure from what we're normally doing and I'm going to explain a little bit about why this is a special episode and not information that is going to be completely included in July's episode of Grappling with Canada.
But before we get into that once again I'm your host as usual The Taxman. If this is your first time to the program welcome. You can go in the back catalog and find all of the deep dive full length episodes of Grappling with Canada featuring some incredible talents such as Chief Don Eagle, Billety Rivers, Gene Kieniskey, Stu Hart, the Monster Ripper, Rhonda Singh as well as many others in this audio feed.
(02:10):
Speaking of which wherever you are listening to this audio feed whether that's Apple podcasts, Amazon podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google podcasts wherever you buy sell trade barter or steal your favourite podcasts you will find Grappling with Canada.
While you are there please remember to leave a 5 star rating and where possible a written review. This is especially important on Apple podcasts.
(02:35):
If you leave a 5 star rating and a written review when I see it I will make sure that I read it on the next available program of Grappling with Canada.
As well you can find all links to this and many more things such as the official t-shirt store of Grappling with Canada where there's a special on right now if you're probably listening to this program.
(02:59):
Also the classic Grappling with Canada logo t-shirts just want to mention as well as usual that those are the proceeds from those t-shirts are being donated to charity as usual.
So I wanted to get all the plugs out before we get into today's subject matter because like I said the majority actually that's a complete lie every single special episode has been dedicated to a project not related to the current month's episode of Grappling with Canada.
(03:36):
This one's the exception because I'm going to be covering an individual and a topic matter that while it is tied to July's episode I really didn't want it to end up being one of the focal points of July's episode.
I think you'll understand why my reasoning of that is as we kind of proceed and explain a little bit of today's episode.
(04:06):
Now with all that being said there is and was a content warning at the start of this episode.
So if domestic abuse if murder if anything like that triggers you in any way shape or form feel free to sit this one out.
It's not going to be for everybody.
(04:28):
Normally if you've listened to previous episodes like the Dino Bravo episode like most recently with the Chief Don Eagle episode when it's come to serious incidents that have happened especially in the Don Eagle episode there was two of them that were discussed.
The death of Don Eagle and the death of Don Eagle's wife as well.
(04:53):
I tried very hard to not get too deep into the weeds about what actually happened.
Most of that is out of respect for the people involved but a lot of it as well is out of respect for the families because there are families of the individuals who listen to this program.
(05:15):
Now why that's different today.
I feel like I cannot explain some of the backstory about this individual what happened who was involved and really what ended up happening after the fact because some of that has been misreported over the years and as you know many historians and just you know the.
(05:43):
It just goes without saying right if you hear a story gets passed on the story gets bigger than it gets passed on that story gets bigger and soon you've kind of you've lost the plot and now things are added to the story that are possibly not really related in any way shape or form to what the original story was.
So today is going to be a very factual presentation of what happened with this individual who this individual was and I'm sure that when you hear July's episode you'll understand where this individual fits into that person's story so.
(06:22):
This episode is not going to be a long one as my usual deep dives are to be perfectly Frank as impressive as this individual's career was there's truthfully not a whole lot of meat on the bone and.
You know it's hard to kind of stretch out a couple hour episode on something like this flip side of that is I can't tell the story in July if I don't cover this aspect of it and again kind of debunk and rule out and rule in some information that has been kind of.
(06:57):
Skipped over banded about or presented without fact without actual research behind it and has unfortunately in some circumstances been accepted as truth so I hope that.
In this episode today we can kind of shed some light on this person what actually transpired because I have court cases court documents that I've uncovered and and we can really you know kind of shed some light on the after effects as well.
(07:32):
Many of which are going to be discussed in the long form episode of our July subject matter now I know that I've kind of long windedly.
Presented a case for this nameless individual if you will.
So perhaps we should explain who this individual was exactly.
(07:57):
Today we're looking at the curious case of Nanjo Singh now Nanjo Singh for many people who may not be familiar with them.
He was at one time a groundbreaking professional wrestler working in the honestly tippy top pro wrestling cities when he was in his 20s.
Unfortunately by the time he was in his 40s he was in jail that's something we're going to get to a little bit later.
(08:22):
Now some of his back story is shrouded in conjecture some aspects have it that he immigrated here from Pakistan.
Other sources claim that he was adopted and brought here to Canada till he grew up in Calgary but regardless of how he came to be here.
(08:43):
The fact is that he ended up being raised in Calgary Canada.
He worked a variety of jobs before finding his way into the world of professional wrestling.
He was powerfully built with a handsome movie star face which you would think would have made him a baby face.
However his true calling was being a villain and unfortunately that translated into reality as well.
(09:05):
As a Sikh Nanjo Singh wore a turban but he adopted elements of Islam such as kneeling in prayer towards Mecca as part of his pre-match rituals.
He was often called a Hindu a slur by many of the fans of the era.
He drew such hatred for the fans that he was stabbed, burned, dragged from the ring and beaten on multiple occasions.
(09:27):
Now something that we're going to get into a little bit later in our discussion is the fact that because of Nanjo Singh and his immense heat from the crowd.
That was the reason that Maple Leaf wrestling ended up instituting the ramp to the ring.
Something that you're going to hear in July's episode of Grappling with Canada.
Now Nanjo's signature hold was the Cobra Deathlock.
(09:49):
He got over that gimmick offering a thousand dollars to anybody who could escape it.
While he is rarely praised as one of the city's top stars, he was for many years in Toronto at least and for the most part in Calgary as well.
He was unquestionably a precursor for individuals like the Sheik, Tiger Jeet Singh and like Great Gama Singh.
(10:13):
Now he never actually used any weapons in his matches although he was quite the wild character.
He had some incredible feuds with Whipper Watson, Jim Londus, Mad Mountain Dean, Don Leo Jonathan among many others.
Now for a little bit of backstory I'm also going to quote directly from his obituary from the Calgary Herald.
(10:37):
He loved to work out at the gym and lift weights.
He achieved many provincial championships in handball and wrestling and in wrestling he also qualified for the British Empire Games.
Exercise and fitness were an important part of his life.
He was a member of Boys Town and the Calgary YMCA for many years.
He was an avid fan of rodeo and football and played for the Calgary Bronx and the Calgary Stampeeders football team.
(11:03):
He took pride in his Calgary heritage and faithfully attended the Calgary Stampeed for many years.
Now he did end up passing away in April of 2006.
He ended up passing away from Alzheimer's.
Now I know you may be wondering why I would go into so much detail maybe glorifying somebody like this after you hear what I'm about to say.
(11:27):
However I feel like it regardless of what he ended up doing later on in life we need the full story of who this person was because it really is going to feed quite a bit into again our July's deep dive episode.
Now you heard me preface this earlier on in my description of Nanjo Singh that he was a heel in the wrestling ring and he was certainly a heel outside of it as well.
(12:00):
Now in the 50's Singh ended up marrying his first wife at the time her name was Betty and they were resettled in Philadelphia where they had opened a bar.
Now in 1958 is where the story gets very dark and again we're going to be going into some details that some individuals may find triggering so I apologize for that.
(12:22):
And again there were content warnings at the start of this for a very specific reason.
Now this clipping comes from the United Press from Philadelphia in January of 1958.
Nanjo Singh 41 years old former professional wrestler was held on homicide charges today in the fatal beating of his wife Betty 37 whose nude body was found Tuesday in the couple's apartment above a tap room that he operated in the Kensington section.
(12:52):
Singh who wrestled as the Hindu with the Cobra Deathlock was charged with homicide by fist and held for hearing today.
Singh who told detectives he found his wife missing from their bedroom when he awoke Tuesday refused to answer questions on the advice of council when he was charged formally on Tuesday night.
(13:13):
Detectives said that Mrs Singh's face was swollen greatly and that a trail of blood led from the kitchen to the bathroom where her clothes were found.
Police said that she was dead about 10 hours before her body was discovered.
Now this next article comes from the Philadelphia Inquirer from Thursday January 23rd of again 1958.
(13:35):
Singh a former professional wrestler was charged with the fatal beating of his wife in their Kensington apartment was held without bail for the grand jury yesterday at a hearing before the magistrate at the Montgomery Avenue's police station.
The nude body of Singh's wife was found by police Tuesday on the second floor kitchen above their tavern which the accused man operates at 3033 Kensington Avenue.
(13:59):
She had been beaten on the head and face.
The magistrate ruled that the case was made against Singh on the evidence presented by the witnesses in the hearing.
Detectives testified that Singh told them that he went to bed at 1030 PM Monday and left his wife tending the bar downstairs.
Singh told the detectives that he arose at 9am Tuesday and found his wife laying in the kitchen.
(14:23):
The detectives added that Singh told them that he had breakfast and went downstairs at 1130am.
In the tap room he met James Horvath of Part-Time Bartender.
They called a doctor who after examining the woman and finding her dead summoned police at 1203 PM.
Police said that Singh's underclothing was stained with blood.
(14:47):
Turner testified that there was no indications that anyone had broken into the establishment.
Singh's counsel asked for the release of his client on the grounds that the case had not been firmly established.
However the magistrate found that it had.
So we can kind of see where I'm sure that you sitting at home are kind of seeing the wheels turning in this case.
(15:10):
And it kind of gets, boy, it gets worse from here. I'm going to continue.
Now this article comes from, again, the Philadelphia Inquirer.
This is from Wednesday, April 9th of 1958.
The mother of Mrs. Betty Singh testified in Court of Sessions Court yesterday that Ms. Singh was so badly beaten last January
that she was unable to recognize her daughter when she went to the morgue to identify the body.
(15:34):
The mother was the first witness called in the state trial of Nanjo Singh, a 260 pound former professional wrestler
who was charged with the fatal beating of his wife Betty on January 21st in their apartment over Singh's saloon at 3033 Kesington Avenue.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mrs. Dupade, a native of Ukraine, said that her daughter's features were consigned.
(15:58):
Considerably disfigured, but that she was finally able to identify the body through small scar on one of her wrists.
Asked why, prior to her visit to the morgue, she had not seen her daughter for five years.
She pointed a finger dramatically at Singh and said, he wouldn't let me see her.
Then she broke down and had to be assisted from the witness stand.
(16:21):
When she resumed her testimony, she told of an occasion some seven years ago when her daughter came and stayed with her for two months,
exhibiting quote, bad bruises and said that she had been the result of her being beaten by her husband.
Later, the mother said there was a reconciliation.
And it continues.
(16:42):
A young bartender who had been hired only three days before Mrs. Betty Singh was beaten to death testified yesterday that her husband,
Nandro Singh, an ex-wrestler turned saloon keeper, had forced him to view the women's battered body the night before he reported her quote, unconscious condition to the police.
Testifying at Singh's murder trial before the judge and a jury of six men and six women,
(17:06):
the bartender said that the 260 pound former wrestler, insisting that he was quote, in trouble, sought his help,
then told him to go home because apparently he had quote, no guts.
Full color pictures of the dead woman's multiple injuries, which Singh is accused of inflicting with his fists,
were shown to the jury on the screen set in the quarter sessions court.
(17:30):
It was considered that this was the first time that evidence had been so presented in Philadelphia.
The pictures fitted with the testimony of the doctor, the city's pathologist, who described the injuries in detail.
Dr. Campbell said his examination also showed that there was enough alcohol in Mrs. Singh's brain to have made her drunk at the time of death.
(17:52):
The state's star witness was James Haworth, whose home was not far from Singh's bar room at Kensington Avenue.
It was the apartment upstairs at Kensington Avenue address that Mrs. Singh was found beaten to death.
Haworth heard sounds of quote, banging, upstairs the night of January 20th, first at about 8.30 p.m.
(18:13):
after Singh had told him that he was going to go up to the apartment to eat, then later at 9.30 and then again at about 10.30.
Haworth said that it sounded quote, like someone was moving furniture around.
About 11.30, Haworth testified. Singh came downstairs in his underclothes and stood at the end of the bar.
(18:34):
I went over and he said, Are you my friend? I'm in trouble. I think she's dead. Close up the bar.
Haworth went on to relate how Singh offered him his hand and got the one customer out of the place, locked all the three doors and then forced him to go upstairs.
The next article that I'm going to read is regarding Singh's confession.
(18:59):
A county detective, this again comes from the, sorry, I should say the Philadelphia Inquirer in April 15th of 1958.
A county detective testified in court recessions court yesterday that Nanjo Singh admitted that he had killed his wife Betty last January 20th.
Singh is on trial for a judge, Earl Chuduff, and injury of six men and six women on a charge of murder.
(19:23):
The state contends that the former wrestler beat his wife to death.
County detective William Hipple was permitted to testify after the judge overruled an objection by the defense counsel.
Before overruling the objection, the judge examined Hipple at length in the absence of the jury.
According to Hipple, he and another county detective went to Singh's tap room at 3033 Kensington Avenue last February 7th to investigate a complaint
(19:52):
that Singh had threatened a man who had given the police information concerning Singh's wife's death.
Singh was out on bail at the time.
When we got there, said Hipple, Singh was ranting and raving and acting like a madman.
His eyes were glazed. He pounded on the bar with his fists.
But finally he agreed to go down to City Hall with us.
And on the way down I asked him, why did you do it, Joe?
(20:16):
To that Singh said, how much can you take?
She was drinking a fifth and a half every day.
She went through $50,000 of my money.
I gave her $600 to go to Florida, but I learned that she was in a hotel here with another man.
I didn't mean to kill her, he said.
I blacked out. Now I want to die. I want to go to the electric chair.
(20:39):
Hipple testified that Singh told him that the clothes that he had gotten rid of were of the bloodstained clothes, both him and his wife's.
The witness said that Singh admitted to lying to detectives when he told them of finding his body, or his wife's body, the next day.
Now the last article I'm going to read is the guilty verdict.
Singh guilty in slaying, again from the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, April 24th of 1958.
(21:08):
Singh, wrestler turned saloon keeper, was found guilty of second degree murder last night by a jury of six men and six women in the death of a man.
Singh was found guilty of murder of his wife Betty last January.
He faces a possible sentence of 10-20 years.
The jury delivered the verdict to Judge Earl Chudoff at midnight after delivering deliberating for five hours.
(21:30):
The delivery was marked with confusion and was followed by demand for a new trial by his defense counsel, who contended that the judge had committed an irreversible error in regards to his charge.
Quarried formally by the court choir, the foreman declared that Singh had been found guilty of second degree murder on one indictment.
(21:51):
Asked about a second indictment carrying two lesser counts of voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, Tarpey stood mute.
Judge Chudoff explained that the jury would have to make a decision on those counts.
They left, returned in 10 minutes, and declared Singh guilty of the lesser counts as well.
Judge Chudoff committed Singh to county prison pending formal motions for a new trial.
(22:16):
He ended up being sentenced to four to eight years in prison on Friday, November 14th of 1958.
Nanja was released from prison around 1966. I don't have the exact release date from prison, however.
It was early enough and this was a time that the wrestling season was still in full force with the Tunneys in Maple, or with Maple Leaf Wrestling.
(22:46):
Now, it's interesting because here's an individual who committed and was convicted of a horrific crime.
Ended up serving, I believe it was eight years total. Comes back to Canada.
I'm assuming that he was forced to come back to Canada.
(23:08):
And lo and behold, Frank Tunney is waiting for him.
And immediately plugs him into a main event series of matches with our July subject matter.
Something that we're going to be discussing later on in the upcoming July episode in great detail.
(23:29):
Now, to say it's a messy situation is quite the understatement, I would say.
Now, I have heard of a rumor that was... I'm not sure where it came from, but I had come across it in my research that
Frank Tunney had ended up essentially going to bat for Nanjo to get him out of jail early.
(23:53):
Specifically to come back to Maple Leaf Wrestling to work the main event series of matches that you're going to hear about
in the July episode of Grappling with Canada.
However, I have found no evidence to substantiate that claim.
And furthermore, it seems like it was legitimately just a coincidence.
Business was down with Maple Leaf Wrestling.
(24:16):
They were looking for a heel to really heat up the market.
And as seedy as it is, and wrestling is full of seedy behavior, as many of us understand and realize,
they went and got out the most hated, most vilified, most basically evil villain they possibly could.
(24:45):
And they brought him back to feud with the subject matter for July.
So, again, this was information that I really didn't want to bog down the July episode because, again,
it's hard to hear, it's certainly hard to read.
(25:09):
And I want to make one other thing, I guess, completely clear is I didn't go into this much detail
because I'm trying to slander the memory of Nanjo Singh.
Although, again, he did commit a murder.
There was a woman whose life was tragically cut short at 37 years old.
(25:33):
And that, in my opinion, is unforgivable, regardless of her alleged dealings with liquor
and stealing money and things of that nature.
A life was taken.
And we can't ignore that as wrestling fans, certainly as wrestling historians,
(25:55):
and certainly somebody like myself who's trying to paint a fair and accurate picture
and a truthful, more important picture.
I also really didn't want to sensationalize what happened.
I could have gone on and on and on.
There was about 40 articles between The Examiner, the Philadelphia Archives,
(26:18):
and several others that we could have been here for about an hour.
But I don't think that that's a proper way to cover this either.
However, it did need to be covered.
And again, I didn't want it to really bog down and take away from the July episode.
(26:39):
It should be noted as well that Nanjo Singh ended up remarrying.
He had several children and grandchildren of his own
and, like I said, had ended up passing away in Calgary in 2006.
So perhaps he was able to change his life around.
You would hope for that at least.
And again, if any of his family ended up listening to this episode,
(27:04):
again, I'm sure that the facts, as they were presented, are hard to hear.
Again, it's not being explained to disparage him,
but to give a fulsome picture of what ended up happening.
The reason, again, that I wanted to touch on this was twofold.
(27:25):
One, not to bog down next month's episode.
Two, to kind of dispel, again, that rumor that I had read online
that Frank Tutti had essentially bailed him out of jail to come and wrestle in Toronto,
which it's one of those rumors that is so crazy.
It could be true in the wild, wacky world of professional wrestling
(27:49):
and one that I was very keen to get into and debunk.
So I hope that I was able to accomplish that today.
So now that we've got into this,
I think we have an excellent teaser for who Nanjo came back to wrestle
(28:12):
in Maple Leaf Gardens in the mid-60s.
That person you're going to hear all about next month,
July 1st for the next episode of Grappler with Canada.
Again, if you're listening to this on any major podcasting platform,
especially Apple Podcasts, if you can go ahead and leave a five star rating
(28:37):
and a written review, I would very much appreciate that.
You can also find us on Twitter at 6underscorepodcast.
You can email me at any time, sixsidepod at gmail.com.
I read everything you guys send.
You can find all the links to everything related to this show
in the show notes for today's episode.
(28:59):
It includes different ways to listen to the program,
different ways to help donate to the program.
Very important at this time of year, if you'd like to donate to the program,
you get a big shout out on the next available episode,
as well as links to our Instagram, instagram.com slash Grappler with Canada,
as well our Facebook page.
Use that wonderful Facebook page search option
(29:22):
and find the Grappler with Canada page.
Come on in and like that, as well as come on in and join
the Canadian Professional Wrestling History Facebook group.
There's been a ton of tremendous information, photos, etc.
I've been shared in there, and I'm very thankful to everybody
for joining that group and making it a lot of fun to go back
(29:43):
and look at some of the stuff from the history of Canadian Professional Wrestling.
So for myself, the taxman, again, I know that this was a little bit of a weird episode,
quite the departure from what I end up normally doing on the flagship program,
but again, something that I really felt needed to be discussed
(30:05):
heading into July's episode.
So once again, for myself, the taxman, I will leave you, as I usually do,
at the end of the flagship programs.
Take care of yourselves and each other, and we'll see everybody on July 1st.
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