Al Hobman
Encyclopedia
Allan "Al" Hobman was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer
and promoter
. Hobman was one of the first homegrown stars to emerge from the Dominion Wrestling Union
, and later Steve Rickard
's All Star-Pro Wrestling, during the 1960s and 70s such as Tony Garea, Peter Maivia
and The Sheepherders
. Hobman twice won the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
from John Da Silva
in 1960 and Steve Rickard in 1964 with a combined reign of nearly 6 years as champion. He and Rickard were also the first New Zealand Tag Team Champions.
Prior to wrestling, Hobman had a successful athletic career playing rugby union
at Rongotai College
as a lock for Oriental Rongotai as well as a professional bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Australasia and Mr. New Zealand bodybuilding competitions in 1951.
Hobman wrestled throughout the world during his career, most often in Asia and the South Pacific, but also had successful stints in the United States, most notably, against then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski
in 1969. He was a successful promoter both prior to and during his later career, mainly working with Da Silva's Central Wrestling Association, and trained a number of wrestlers with Bruno Bekkar
at the famed Koolmans Gym
including Jock Ruddock and Butch Miller
; two of his four children, Kurt and Linda Hobman, both became wrestlers as well with the elder Hobman staging the country's first officially sanctioned women's wrestling match between his daughter and Dutch female wrestler Monica Schumaker.
He was among several New Zealand wrestling legends involved with Kiwi Pro Wrestling
, one of the first wrestling promotions to open since the close of All Star-Pro Wrestling in 1992, and inducted into KPW's New Zealand Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006. He also attended live events made other public appearances until his sudden death two years later. In 2009, less than a year after his death, Hobman was ranked No. 5 in a top ten list of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers by Fight Times Magazine.
, Allan Hobman was active in sports and athletics at a young age and began playing rugby union
at Rongotai College
as a lock for the Oriental Rongotai. Hobman weighed around 75 kg at this time and suffered constant injuries going up against 100 – 130 kg sized opponents. He was soon introduced to weightlifting by a friend of his and, with nutrition and training regimen, gradually built up his body-weight to around 110 kg. In addition to improving his performance in rugby, Hobman also took up competitive bodybuilding and won both Mr. Australasia and Mr. New Zealand titles in 1951.
Hobman spent much of his training at Koolman's Gym
in Wellington where he also acted as a sparring partner to boxers and wrestlers from both New Zealand and overseas. It was during this time that Hobman became interested in a professional career as a wrestler, which he described as being claimed by its "call", and was wrestling for promoters throughout the country by the late-1950s. His debut match against Australian wrestler Rick Wallace ended with his losing two falls to one in the Wellington Town Hall
. Wrestling for the New Zealand Wrestling Union
, he soon became a familiar face to New Zealand wrestling fans wrestling in nearly every town and city "from Kaitaia
to Invercargill
". Hobman was soon invited to his first overseas tour for Greek promoter George Gardiner in Australia followed by visits to the United States, Canada and the South Pacific; specifically the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Fiji, Malaysia and Singapore. He was also brought over to Japan by Canadian and Commonwealth Champion, Gordon Nelson.
, John Da Silva
, Pat O'Connor
and Bruno Bekkar
among others. One of his bouts against Becker in New Plymouth
featured Lofty Blomfield
as special guest referee. The proceeds from this match were donated to the Intellectually Handicapped Children’s Society
of which Blomfield was president. On 26 October 1960, Hobman defeated Da Silva for the vacant NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
. He won the title a second time from Steve Rickard
in 1964 and held the belt for three years before losing it to Da Silva in Wellington on 7 September 1967; his combined title reigns totalled nearly six years. He and Rickard also became the first New Zealand Tag Team Champions. On 22 April 1969, Hobman wrestled Gene Kiniski
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
in Portland, Oregon
.
Much of his early career was spent in Rickard's NWA-affiliated All Star-Pro Wrestling, however, he also competed for smaller promotions such as South Pacific Wrestling Association and John Da Silva's Central Wrestling Association. Towards the end of the decade, he became a promoter for the CWA as well and trained a number of wrestlers out of Koolmans Gym
with Bruno Bekkar and George Kidd. Among his students were Jock Ruddock and Butch Miller
. Two of his four children, Kurt and Linda Hobman, also became professional wrestlers with Al Hobman promoting the first-ever women's wrestling match between his daughter, wrestling under the name Linda Tyson, and daughter Dutch professional wrestler Willen Schumaker, Monica Schumaker. Prior to 1973, female wrestling was illegal in New Zealand. He also made appearances on the popular television programme On the Mat
.
in May 2006. It was one of the first promotions to open since the close of All Star-Pro Wrestling in 1992, one of three major companies to emerge during the 2000s, with Hobman as one of its strongest supporters. He appeared at many of its live events and was one of several New Zealand wrestling legends to be interviewed by KiwiProWrestling.co.nz. Hobman was also inducted into the New Zealand Wrestling Hall of Fame by former student and KPW Commissioner Butch Miller on 8 December 2006, along with Bob Crozier, Bruno Bekkar and Rip Morgan
. He and other veterans also worked with KPW's younger wrestlers and remained closely associated with the promotion until dying unexpectledly at his home on 21 September 2008.
A month after his death, Kurt Hobman, Steve Rickard, Bruno Bekkar, Juno Huia, Cowboy Billy Wright, Ricky Wallace and Bob Crozier appeared at the KPW supercard "Halloween Howl 3" held in Wellington High School
to pay tribute to Hobman's passing; the main event between KPW Champion H-Fame and Inferno was dedicated to Hobman's memory. In a statement from KPW's website, Off the Ropes
play by play announcer Blair "The Flair" Rhodes wrote "Mr. Hobman was renowned not only as an exemplary sportsman in the ring, but was also remembered amongst all his peers as a gentleman outside the ring. Being such a man of real character and bearing, Mr Hobman was a true ambassador for the business of professional wrestling". Five months later, he was ranked No. 5 in a top ten list of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers by Fight Times Magazine.
Personal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
and promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
. Hobman was one of the first homegrown stars to emerge from the Dominion Wrestling Union
Dominion Wrestling Union
The Dominion Wrestling Union was the first professional wrestling promotion in New Zealand. It was one of two organisations first active in the Australasian region, along with Australia's Stadium Limited, and served as the country's single major promotion for 30 years until being succeeded by All...
, and later Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
's All Star-Pro Wrestling, during the 1960s and 70s such as Tony Garea, Peter Maivia
Peter Maivia
Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia was a American Samoan professional wrestler better known as "High Chief" Peter Maivia. He was head of the famous Samoan wrestling family...
and The Sheepherders
The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 year run on the independent wrestling circuit...
. Hobman twice won the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
The NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the primary singles title in the NWA-affiliated wrestling promotion NWA New Zealand. It is the first heavyweight championship in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world. It was first won by Gisborne Katene who defeated Frank Findlay in 1919...
from John Da Silva
John da Silva
John da Silva or John Silva is a former New Zealand wrestler and boxer. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games...
in 1960 and Steve Rickard in 1964 with a combined reign of nearly 6 years as champion. He and Rickard were also the first New Zealand Tag Team Champions.
Prior to wrestling, Hobman had a successful athletic career playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
at Rongotai College
Rongotai College
Rongotai College is an all-boys state secondary school in the south-eastern suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, New Zealand. The students are aged 12 to 19.The decile 6 school has a roll of over 650 students...
as a lock for Oriental Rongotai as well as a professional bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Australasia and Mr. New Zealand bodybuilding competitions in 1951.
Hobman wrestled throughout the world during his career, most often in Asia and the South Pacific, but also had successful stints in the United States, most notably, against then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. "Canada's Greatest Athlete" as he billed himself for promotional purposes was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta...
in 1969. He was a successful promoter both prior to and during his later career, mainly working with Da Silva's Central Wrestling Association, and trained a number of wrestlers with Bruno Bekkar
Bruno Bekkar
Brian Ashby is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler and trainer, known by his ring name Bruno Bekkar, who competed for Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and for other promoters in New Zealand and Australia from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1992...
at the famed Koolmans Gym
Anton Koolmann
Anton Koolmann was a wrestler and coach from Kuusalu Parish, Estonia who took part at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.-Career:...
including Jock Ruddock and Butch Miller
Butch Miller (wrestler)
Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...
; two of his four children, Kurt and Linda Hobman, both became wrestlers as well with the elder Hobman staging the country's first officially sanctioned women's wrestling match between his daughter and Dutch female wrestler Monica Schumaker.
He was among several New Zealand wrestling legends involved with Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Started in May 2006 by veteran New Zealand wrestler Rip Morgan, KPW was formed with the express purpose of taking NZ wrestling from club level to professional level and groom local wrestling talent...
, one of the first wrestling promotions to open since the close of All Star-Pro Wrestling in 1992, and inducted into KPW's New Zealand Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006. He also attended live events made other public appearances until his sudden death two years later. In 2009, less than a year after his death, Hobman was ranked No. 5 in a top ten list of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers by Fight Times Magazine.
Early athletic and wrestling career
A lifelong resident of WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, Allan Hobman was active in sports and athletics at a young age and began playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
at Rongotai College
Rongotai College
Rongotai College is an all-boys state secondary school in the south-eastern suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, New Zealand. The students are aged 12 to 19.The decile 6 school has a roll of over 650 students...
as a lock for the Oriental Rongotai. Hobman weighed around 75 kg at this time and suffered constant injuries going up against 100 – 130 kg sized opponents. He was soon introduced to weightlifting by a friend of his and, with nutrition and training regimen, gradually built up his body-weight to around 110 kg. In addition to improving his performance in rugby, Hobman also took up competitive bodybuilding and won both Mr. Australasia and Mr. New Zealand titles in 1951.
Hobman spent much of his training at Koolman's Gym
Anton Koolmann
Anton Koolmann was a wrestler and coach from Kuusalu Parish, Estonia who took part at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.-Career:...
in Wellington where he also acted as a sparring partner to boxers and wrestlers from both New Zealand and overseas. It was during this time that Hobman became interested in a professional career as a wrestler, which he described as being claimed by its "call", and was wrestling for promoters throughout the country by the late-1950s. His debut match against Australian wrestler Rick Wallace ended with his losing two falls to one in the Wellington Town Hall
Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall is a concert hall and part of the municipal complex in Wellington, New Zealand. The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1901 and construction began the following year. It was officially opened on 7 December 1904....
. Wrestling for the New Zealand Wrestling Union
Dominion Wrestling Union
The Dominion Wrestling Union was the first professional wrestling promotion in New Zealand. It was one of two organisations first active in the Australasian region, along with Australia's Stadium Limited, and served as the country's single major promotion for 30 years until being succeeded by All...
, he soon became a familiar face to New Zealand wrestling fans wrestling in nearly every town and city "from Kaitaia
Kaitaia
Kaitaia is a town in the far north region of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula which is about 160 km northwest of Whangarei. It is the last major settlement on the main road north to the capes and bays on the peninsula...
to Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
". Hobman was soon invited to his first overseas tour for Greek promoter George Gardiner in Australia followed by visits to the United States, Canada and the South Pacific; specifically the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Fiji, Malaysia and Singapore. He was also brought over to Japan by Canadian and Commonwealth Champion, Gordon Nelson.
Headliner during the 1960s and 70s
Hobman was not only as a formidable journeyman wrestler but was also a top draw in his native country with bouts at the Wellington Town Hall against The Great Zorro, Tony "The Greek" KontellisTony Kontellis
Tony Kontellis , is a former Australian professional wrestler.Kontellis has worked for many wrestling promotions throughout his career, including WCW Australia and WWWF for Vince McMahon Sr..- Career :...
, John Da Silva
John da Silva
John da Silva or John Silva is a former New Zealand wrestler and boxer. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games...
, Pat O'Connor
Pat O'Connor (wrestler)
Patrick John "Pat" O'Connor , was a professional wrestler from New Zealand. O'Connor was regarded as one of the premier workers of his era...
and Bruno Bekkar
Bruno Bekkar
Brian Ashby is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler and trainer, known by his ring name Bruno Bekkar, who competed for Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and for other promoters in New Zealand and Australia from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1992...
among others. One of his bouts against Becker in New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
featured Lofty Blomfield
Lofty Blomfield
Meynell Strathmore Blomfield was a New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ringname Lofty Blomfield, who was arguably the country's most popular wrestler during the 1930s and 40s...
as special guest referee. The proceeds from this match were donated to the Intellectually Handicapped Children’s Society
IHC New Zealand
IHC New Zealand is a New Zealand non-governmental organization providing support and care for people of all ages with intellectual disabilities.The acronym stands for "Intellectually Handicapped Children"....
of which Blomfield was president. On 26 October 1960, Hobman defeated Da Silva for the vacant NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship
The NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the primary singles title in the NWA-affiliated wrestling promotion NWA New Zealand. It is the first heavyweight championship in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world. It was first won by Gisborne Katene who defeated Frank Findlay in 1919...
. He won the title a second time from Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
in 1964 and held the belt for three years before losing it to Da Silva in Wellington on 7 September 1967; his combined title reigns totalled nearly six years. He and Rickard also became the first New Zealand Tag Team Champions. On 22 April 1969, Hobman wrestled Gene Kiniski
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. "Canada's Greatest Athlete" as he billed himself for promotional purposes was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta...
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
Much of his early career was spent in Rickard's NWA-affiliated All Star-Pro Wrestling, however, he also competed for smaller promotions such as South Pacific Wrestling Association and John Da Silva's Central Wrestling Association. Towards the end of the decade, he became a promoter for the CWA as well and trained a number of wrestlers out of Koolmans Gym
Anton Koolmann
Anton Koolmann was a wrestler and coach from Kuusalu Parish, Estonia who took part at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.-Career:...
with Bruno Bekkar and George Kidd. Among his students were Jock Ruddock and Butch Miller
Butch Miller (wrestler)
Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...
. Two of his four children, Kurt and Linda Hobman, also became professional wrestlers with Al Hobman promoting the first-ever women's wrestling match between his daughter, wrestling under the name Linda Tyson, and daughter Dutch professional wrestler Willen Schumaker, Monica Schumaker. Prior to 1973, female wrestling was illegal in New Zealand. He also made appearances on the popular television programme On the Mat
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
.
Retirement and later years
Retiring by the 1980s, he remained absent from the industry for a quarter of a century until the opening of Kiwi Pro WrestlingKiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Started in May 2006 by veteran New Zealand wrestler Rip Morgan, KPW was formed with the express purpose of taking NZ wrestling from club level to professional level and groom local wrestling talent...
in May 2006. It was one of the first promotions to open since the close of All Star-Pro Wrestling in 1992, one of three major companies to emerge during the 2000s, with Hobman as one of its strongest supporters. He appeared at many of its live events and was one of several New Zealand wrestling legends to be interviewed by KiwiProWrestling.co.nz. Hobman was also inducted into the New Zealand Wrestling Hall of Fame by former student and KPW Commissioner Butch Miller on 8 December 2006, along with Bob Crozier, Bruno Bekkar and Rip Morgan
Rip Morgan
Mike Morgan is a former professional wrestler from New Zealand who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling best known as Rip Morgan. Best known as one half of the New Zealand Militia in WCW with Jack Victory...
. He and other veterans also worked with KPW's younger wrestlers and remained closely associated with the promotion until dying unexpectledly at his home on 21 September 2008.
A month after his death, Kurt Hobman, Steve Rickard, Bruno Bekkar, Juno Huia, Cowboy Billy Wright, Ricky Wallace and Bob Crozier appeared at the KPW supercard "Halloween Howl 3" held in Wellington High School
Wellington High School
Wellington High School is a co-educational secondary school in downtown Wellington, New Zealand. In 2005 the roll was approximately 1100 students. It was founded, as Wellington College of Design, in the 1880s with the intention of providing a more appropriate education for the Dominion than the...
to pay tribute to Hobman's passing; the main event between KPW Champion H-Fame and Inferno was dedicated to Hobman's memory. In a statement from KPW's website, Off the Ropes
Off The Ropes
Off the Ropes is a professional wrestling television program for Kiwi Pro Wrestling . The show debuted on Prime TV in New Zealand on 15 November 2009.-Show history:...
play by play announcer Blair "The Flair" Rhodes wrote "Mr. Hobman was renowned not only as an exemplary sportsman in the ring, but was also remembered amongst all his peers as a gentleman outside the ring. Being such a man of real character and bearing, Mr Hobman was a true ambassador for the business of professional wrestling". Five months later, he was ranked No. 5 in a top ten list of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers by Fight Times Magazine.
Professional wrestling
- Kiwi Pro WrestlingKiwi Pro WrestlingKiwi Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Started in May 2006 by veteran New Zealand wrestler Rip Morgan, KPW was formed with the express purpose of taking NZ wrestling from club level to professional level and groom local wrestling talent...
- New Zealand Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
- NWA New Zealand
- NWA New Zealand Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA New Zealand Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the primary singles title in the NWA-affiliated wrestling promotion NWA New Zealand. It is the first heavyweight championship in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world. It was first won by Gisborne Katene who defeated Frank Findlay in 1919...
(2 times) - NWA New Zealand Tag Team Championship (1 time, first) – with Steve RickardSteve RickardSydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
- NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship