View source for Giant Haystacks

{{short description|British professional wrestler (1946–1998)}}
{{for|the American wrestler|Haystacks Calhoun}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{use British English |date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
| name        = Giant Haystacks
| birthname   = Martin Austin Ruane
| image       = Martin Ruane.jpg
| caption     = Ruane in 1981
| names       = {{ubl|Giant Haystacks|Loch Ness|Loch Ness Monster|Luke McMasters}}
| height      = 6 ft 11 in<ref name="owow">{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/g/giant-haystacks.html|title=Giant Haystacks|date=14 July 2023 |publisher=Online World of Wrestling}}</ref><ref name="doom">{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/classics/kevin-sullivan-on-the-dungeon-of-doom/page-18|title=Inside the Dungeon of Doom|date=30 October 2013|access-date=2 December 2013|publisher=[[WWE]]}}</ref>
| weight      = 685 lb<ref name="doom"/>
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1946|10|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Camberwell]], London, England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1998|11|29|1946|10|10|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Prestwich]], Greater Manchester, England
| death_cause = [[Lymphoma]]
| billed      = [[Manchester]]<br>[[United States]] (in Germany/Austria)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxw4ddDwFV8&t=20s  Six man tag match tag match, Austria 1986, preceded by interview in which Haystacks refers to himself plus teammates Mal Kirk and Mighty John Quinn as "Us Americans". Event occurs at 0:20]</ref><br>[[Scottish Highlands]] (as Loch Ness)<ref name="big"/>
| trainer     =
| debut       = 1967
| retired     = 1996
| children    = 3
| spouse      = Rita Boylan 
| website     = 
}}

'''Martin Austin Ruane''' (10 October 1946 – 29 November 1998)<ref name="Indy obit">{{cite news |last=Szreter |first=Adam |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-giant-haystacks-1188816.html |title=Obituary: Giant Haystacks |work=[[The Independent]] |date=3 December 1998 |access-date=2 February 2009 }}</ref> was a British [[professional wrestling|professional wrestler]] of Irish parentage, best known by the [[ring name]] '''Giant Haystacks'''. He was one of the best-known wrestlers on the British wrestling scene in the 1970s and 1980s. He also worked in Canada and the United States under the name '''Loch Ness Monster''' or simply '''Loch Ness'''.

Ruane was known for his massive physical size, billed as standing 6&nbsp;ft 11 inch (2.11 m) tall and weighing from {{convert|31|st|lb kg}} at the beginning of his career to {{convert|48|st|lb kg}} by the end of it; at his heaviest, he weighed {{convert|49|st|13|lb|lb kg}}.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=4 December 1998|title=Giant Haystacks|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12021050.giant-haystacks/|access-date=3 February 2022|publisher=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]}}</ref> In the 1970s he formed a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] team with [[Shirley Crabtree|Big Daddy]]. After  Big Daddy turned [[Face (professional wrestling)|face]] and the team broke up, the two engaged in a long-running, high drawing feud. During his career, Ruane held the [[European Heavyweight Championship]] and [[British Heavyweight Championship]] in the UK, and won the [[Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship|Stampede International Tag Team Championship]] in Canada, with the [[Dynamite Kid]].

==Early life==
Ruane was born in [[Camberwell]], London, on 10 October 1946.<ref name="ox">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Ruane, Martin Austin (1946–1998) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |last=Matthew |first=Henry Colin Gray |author2=Brian Howard Harrison |pages=63 |isbn=0-19-861398-9 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 }}</ref><ref name="brew">{{cite book |title=Brewer's Britain & Ireland: The History, Culture, Folklore and Etymology of 7500 Places in these Islands |pages=191 |last=Ayto |first=John |author2=Ian Crofton |author3=Paul Cavill |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |year=2005 |isbn=0-304-35385-X }}</ref> He weighed 14&nbsp;lbs and 6 oz at birth.<ref name=":0" /> His father was from [[Ballyhaunis]], [[County Mayo]], Ireland.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |first=Richard |last=Holt |title=Ruane, Martin Austin [performing name Giant Haystacks] (1946–1998) |id=71383}}</ref> In 1949, when he was three years old, Ruane and his family moved from London to [[Broughton, Salford|Broughton]] in [[County Borough of Salford|Salford]], [[Lancashire]], which remained his home.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Slattery|first=Mark|date=29 March 2021|title=Remembering The Giant – Martin Ruane|url=https://northernlifemagazine.co.uk/remembering-the-giant-martin-ruane/|access-date=3 February 2022|publisher=NorthernLife}}</ref> He attended St. Thomas' School until he left aged 14.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=5 November 2000|title=OSM: Frozen in time - Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks|url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,,391071,00.html|access-date=3 February 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|publisher=Observer Sport Monthly}}</ref> He worked as a [[Wheel_tractor-scraper|scraper]] driver building motorways, and as a nightclub bouncer before a friend suggested he take up wrestling.<ref name="Indy obit" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

==Professional wrestling career==
Ruane began wrestling in 1967, initially for the independent WFGB as "Luke McMasters" (later incorrectly reported as being his legal name).<ref>{{cite book |title=The Wrestling |first=Simon |last=Garfield |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=1996 }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In the early 1970s, Ruane worked for [[All Star Wrestling#1970s - Wrestling Enterprises|Wrestling Enterprises (of Birkenhead)]], where he was billed as "Haystacks Calhoun", after the American wrestling star [[Haystacks Calhoun|William Calhoun]] who had wrestled under that name in [[NWA: All-Star Wrestling]] and the [[WWE#World Wide Wrestling Federation|World Wide Wrestling Federation]].<ref>''[[The Wrestling]]'', [[Simon Garfield]], [[Faber & Faber]] 1996 edition, page 138</ref> Ruane's name was subsequently modified to "Giant Haystacks".<ref name=":0" />

In summer 1975, he moved to [[Joint Promotions]], where he formed a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] tag team with [[Shirley Crabtree|Big Daddy]] (also a heel at this point)<!---WORTH EMPHASISING AS DADDY IS WELL-REMEMBERED IN THE UK AS A BABYFACE/BLUE-EYE--->.<ref name="Indy obit" /> Haystacks' TV debut came in July that year, when he and Daddy teamed up against the brothers Roy and [[Tony St. Clair]], losing by disqualification. Although mainly known as brutal superheavyweight heels who crushed [[face (professional wrestling)|blue-eye]] opponents, they also had a major [[feud (professional wrestling)|feud]] with masked fellow heel [[Peter Thornley|Kendo Nagasaki]].<ref name="Indy obit" />

Daddy in particular heard cheers during this feud and eventually completed a turn to blue-eye. This was cemented when Haystacks and Daddy broke up their tag team in 1977 and feuded with each other, with Haystacks remaining as the heel, resulting in high ratings on [[United Kingdom|Britain]]'s [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] Saturday sports show [[World of Sport (British TV programme)|''World of Sport'']] any time they battled one another and establishing Haystacks as a household name during the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Indy obit" /><ref name=":0" />

On television, the feud began when the two reached the finals of a September 1977 four-man knockout tournament only for Haystacks to walk out in the opening seconds of the final match.<ref name=yr1977>{{Cite web | url=https://www.itvwrestling.co.uk/77.html | title=Itvwrestling.co.uk - 1977 }}</ref> A November rematch between the two saw Daddy score a first fall early in Round One before Haystacks contrived to cause the referee to be crushed between himself and Daddy, resulting in a no contest.<ref name=yr1977 />  Subsequent televised tag matches at Christmas that year and through 1978 would mostly result in Haystacks abandoning his partner to concede the losing falls to Daddy<ref name=yr1977 /><ref name=yr1978>{{Cite web | url=https://www.itvwrestling.co.uk/78.html | title=Itvwrestling.co.uk - 1978 }}</ref> (although on one occasion in August 1978 Haystacks would return to knock out Daddy's tag partner Gary Wensor for a rare 2–1 victory.)<ref name=yr1978 /> Haystacks would be in [[John Quinn (wrestler)|Mighty John Quinn]]'s corner for his loss to Daddy at [[Wembley Arena]] in 1979 and would himself lose to Daddy at the same venue in 1981. From time to time in the 1980s, either man would turn up at the conclusion of the other's televised match to issue a challenge for a further singles bout. The feud would continue on and off, generally in tag team matches, until Daddy's retirement in December 1993.<ref name="Indy obit" />

Meanwhile, on 23 November 1978 at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], Haystacks captured the [[British Heavyweight Championship]] from [[Tony St. Clair]] by [[Professional wrestling strikes#Big splash|splashing]] St.Clair in the knees to win by a technical knockout.  He lost the title back to St. Clair in April 1979 at the same venue by disqualification.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrestling-titles.com/europe/uk/joint/joint-bri-h.html|title=British Heavyweight Title [Joint Promotions] (Great Britain)|website=Wrestling-Titles.com}}</ref> On 5 February 1991 in an [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#angle|angle]] at a TV taping for [[S4C]]'s ''[[Orig Williams|Reslo]]'' show in [[Machynlleth]], [[Wales]], Haystacks issued a challenge to [[Pat Roach]] – having just been disqualified in a tag match (later released on VHS on the ''Wrestling Madness'' compilation) pitting himself and [[Drew McDonald (wrestler)|Drew McDonald]] against Roach and [[Robbie Brookside]] – for Roach's [[European Heavyweight Championship]].<ref>[https://www.itvwrestling.co.uk/other.html#1991  ''Reslo'' results 1991-includes details and embedded video of the match and subsequent challenge – ITV Wrestling, JNLister, retrieved October 5, 2023]</ref> Haystacks defeated Roach for the title the following night on 6 February in [[Llantrisant]], [[Glamorgan]] Wales but lost it back to Roach later that year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/europe/uk/asw/asw-eu-h.html|title=European Heavyweight Title [All Star Promotions] (Great Britain)|website=Wrestling-Titles.com}}</ref>  

In late 1991 at [[Fairfield Hall]], [[Croydon]], Haystacks faced Nagasaki in a match – filmed for a [[BBC2]] ''[[Arena (British TV series)|Arena]]'' documentary on Nagasaki – for what was said to be the [[CWA World Heavyweight Championship]] (in fact held at the time by [[Luc Poirier|Rambo]]) and was awarded the match and the championship when Nagasaki, suffering from cracked ribs, withdrew from the match and fled to the dressing room after being unmasked.<ref>[[Arena (British TV series)|Arena]], ''Masters of the Canvas'' [[BBC2]] 1991</ref> Haystacks made sporadic defences of his title during 1992–1993 and he and Nagasaki continued their enmity, sometimes in tag matches where Haystacks teamed with lesser superheavyweight Scrubber Daly (Malcolm Hardimann) until Nagasaki's 1993 retirement. At this point manager [[Lloyd Ryan]] and Nagasaki impersonator [[Kendo Nagasaki#King Kendo (Dale_Preston)|King Kendo]] took over the feud, lasting until Haystacks's 1996 WCW debut. Indeed, prior to receiving his call-up for WCW, Haystacks had been advertised to face King Kendo in a lumberjack match at the same early 1996 Croydon show as was headlined by a troupe of [[Michinoku Pro]] wrestlers in a six man tag match.<ref>{{cite web | title=1994 to the present day RESULTS | url=http://britishwrestlingarchive.co.uk/1994%20to%20the%20present%20day%20RESULTS.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209173410/http://britishwrestlingarchive.co.uk/1994%20to%20the%20present%20day%20RESULTS.htm | archive-date=9 February 2009 | access-date=5 November 2025 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Haystacks also wrestled across the world.<ref name=":2" /> Ruane wrestled in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], Canada for [[Stu Hart]]'s [[Stampede Wrestling]] promotion as the "Loch Ness Monster", managed by J.R. Foley from [[Wigan]], [[England]] (alias John Foley, alumnus of [[Billy Riley]]'s ''Wigan Snakepit'' wrestling school). He also worked for the [[Catch Wrestling Association|CWA]] in [[Germany]] and [[Austria]], winning several trophy tournaments there, as well as in [[India]],<ref name=":1" /> [[South Africa]] where he feuded with local fan favourite Jan Wilkins and [[Zimbabwe]], where he was made an honorary citizen.<ref name=":2" />

===World Championship Wrestling (1996)===
====Loch Ness (1996)====
In January 1996, after spending time as a debt-collector in [[Manchester]], selling cars, and undergoing knee surgery,<ref name="Indy obit" /> while continuing a schedule of wrestling bookings, Ruane debuted in the [[United States]] for [[World Championship Wrestling]], under the ring name "Loch Ness".<ref name="doom"/><ref name="big">{{cite web|last=Melok|first=Bobby|date=8 October 2013|title=The ring's forgotten big men|url=http://www.wwe.com/classics/the-rings-forgotten-big-men/page-4|access-date=1 February 2014|publisher=[[WWE]]}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref name="cappetta">{{cite book |last=Cappetta |first=Gary Michael |title=Bodyslams!: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman |year=2006 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=1550227092 |page=182 }}</ref> He served as a member of the [[Dungeon of Doom]] who were at that time, feuding with [[Hulk Hogan]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> However, the feud was short-lived, ending abruptly when Ruane was diagnosed with lymphoma and returned to Britain.<ref name=":2" /> His last match was against [[Big Show|The Giant]] at [[WCW Uncensored 1996]], where he would lose in a short match.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodward |first=Hamish |date=2025-01-27 |title=Giant Haystacks Almost Wrestled Hulk Hogan In WCW! |url=https://britwrestling.co.uk/giant-haystacks-almost-wrestled-hulk-hogan-in-wcw/ |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Brit Wrestling |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Ruane, a private person, was a devout Catholic and refused to wrestle on Sundays.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> He claimed to have eaten three pounds of bacon and a dozen eggs every morning to maintain his strength.<ref name=":2" /> Ruane married his childhood sweetheart Rita Boylan at the age of 17 in 1965.<ref name="Indy obit" /> They had three sons, Martin, Stephen, and Noel.<ref name=":0" /> All of them worked in construction.<ref name=":1" />

==Death==
On 29 November 1998, Ruane died of [[lymphoma]] at his home in [[Prestwich]], [[Greater Manchester]].<ref name="cappetta"/> He was 52, and was survived by his wife Rita and three sons.<ref name=":0" />

==Other media==
Ruane appeared in the films ''[[Quest for Fire (film)|Quest for Fire]]'' (1981) and ''[[Give My Regards to Broad Street (film)|Give My Regards to Broad Street]]'' (1984);<ref name="Indy obit" /> the latter was written by [[Paul McCartney]], who was a fan of Ruane, and both were later lifelong friends.<ref name="cappetta"/><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodward |first=Hamish |date=2025-02-04 |title=Giant Haystacks and Paul McCartney Became Friends On The Set Of Their Failed Movie |url=https://britwrestling.co.uk/giant-haystacks/paul-mccartney |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Brit Wrestling |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Roy Jenkins]], [[Elizabeth the Queen Mother]], and [[Frank Sinatra]] were also fans of Ruane.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodward |first=Hamish |date=2025-02-04 |title=That's Life! Frank Sinatra Was (Allegedly) A Fan Of Giant Haystacks |url=https://britwrestling.co.uk/thats-life-frank-sinatra-was-allegedly-a-fan-of-giant-haystacks/ |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Brit Wrestling |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1990, he also appeared on [[S4C]] in an episode of the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] language soap opera ''[[Pobol y Cwm]]'', as himself when he came to the valley for a wrestling match with El Bandito ([[Orig Williams]]).<ref>{{Cite news|date=3 June 2019|title=Michael Sheen ac enwogion eraill Pobol y Cwm|language=cy|work=BBC Cymru Fyw|url=https://www.bbc.com/cymrufyw/48497323|access-date=21 February 2022}}</ref>

Ruane released a single titled "Baby I Need You" in 1983.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

A play by [[Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon]], ''Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks'', was performed at the [[Brighton Festival Fringe]] between 26 and 28 May 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fringeguru.com/editorial/brighton-2011/big-daddy-vs-giant-haystacks-preview.html |title=''Big Daddy'' vs ''Giant Haystacks'' |work=Fringe Guru |date=15 April 2011 |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-date=12 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812211809/http://www.fringeguru.com/editorial/brighton-2011/big-daddy-vs-giant-haystacks-preview.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":1" />

[[Manic Street Preachers]] mention Giant Haystacks in their song "Me and Stephen Hawking" from their ninth studio album, ''[[Journal for Plague Lovers]]'' (2009).<ref>{{Cite web|title=ShieldSquare Captcha|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/manic-street-preachers/me-and-stephen-hawking|access-date=21 February 2022|website=www.songfacts.com}}</ref>

In late 2021 a Giant Haystacks Retro figure was released by Chella Toys. There was a blue and brown variant for 2022 release.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

In February 2022 writer Rob Cope released a memoir ''Giant Haystacks: My Heavyweight Hero'' via online publisher [[lulu.com]] detailing his meetings with Haystacks, then in the last months of his life and the story the wrestler had told him of his life and career. The book was released to raise funds for the [[Christie Hospital|Christie Cancer Hospital]] in Manchester.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Archival footage has been used when promoting various WWE events, including a video package during [[Clash at the Castle: Scotland]] on 15 June 2024, when [[William Regal]] hosted a short video package discussing the history of British wrestling.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo1UzfT7JB8 |title=Countdown to Clash at the Castle: Scotland: June 15, 2024 |date=2024-05-29 |last=WWE |access-date=2024-06-15 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==Championships and accomplishments==
* '''British Wrestling Federation'''
** BWF [[European Heavyweight Championship]] (1 time)
* '''[[Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom#Joint Promotions|Joint Promotions]]'''
** Joint Promotions [[British Heavyweight Championship]] (1 time)
* '''[[Stampede Wrestling]]'''
** [[Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship|Stampede International Tag Team Championship]] (1 time) – with [[Dynamite Kid]]
*'''''[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'''''
**[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Worst Wrestler|Worst Wrestler]] (1996)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1187884|Martin Ruane}}

{{Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haystacks, Giant}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century male professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:Deaths from lymphoma in England]]
[[Category:English male professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:People from Camberwell]]
[[Category:Professional wrestlers from London]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the London Borough of Southwark]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Swinton, Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the City of Salford]]
[[Category:Stampede Wrestling alumni]]
[[Category:Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]
[[Category:Loch Ness Monster]]