Martin Austin Ruane, born on 10 October 1946, and passing away on 29 November 1998, was a British professional wrestler of Irish parentage. He was best known by his ring name, Giant Haystacks, one of the most recognizable figures in British wrestling during the 1970s and 1980s.
Ruane was renowned for his immense size, billed at 6 ft 11 inch (2.11 m) tall. His weight varied throughout his career, starting at 31 stone (430 lb; 200 kg) and reaching 48 stone (670 lb; 300 kg) by the end. At his heaviest, he weighed 49 stone 13 pounds (699 lb; 317 kg).
If you mention British wrestling, you more than likely associate it with the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks.
Giant Haystacks in action, showcasing his imposing size and wrestling prowess.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Ruane was born in Camberwell, London, on 10 October 1946, weighing 14 lbs and 6 oz at birth. His father was from Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland. In 1949, when he was three years old, Ruane and his family moved from London to Broughton in Salford, Lancashire, which remained his home.
Although his parents wanted him to become a musician, with his mighty large hands Haystacks found it hard to play the piano, and after many jobs which included building, tyre maker and club bouncer haystacks finally found what he was good at, professional wrestling. He started wrestling in 1967.
Ruane began wrestling in 1967, initially for the independent WFGB as Luke McMasters (later incorrectly reported as being his legal name). In the early 1970s, Ruane worked for Wrestling Enterprises (of Birkenhead), where he was billed as Haystacks Calhoun, after the American wrestling star William Calhoun who had wrestled under that name in NWA: All-Star Wrestling and the World Wide Wrestling Federation.
British wrestling Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks. 18th June, 1981, Wembley Arena.
The Rise to Fame: Teaming with and Feuding with Big Daddy
In summer 1975, he moved to Joint Promotions, where he formed a heel tag team with Big Daddy (also a heel at this point). 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 blue-eye opponents, they also had a major feud with masked fellow heel Kendo Nagasaki. 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 Britain's ITV any time they battled one another and establishing Haystacks as a household name during the 1970s and 1980s.
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One of the most recognized British wrestlers of all time, Martin Ruane (his real name) AKA Giant haystacks died on Sunday November 29th, 1998 after a 2-year battle with cancer.
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. 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.
Audiences of 10 million a week watched Giant Haystacks on TV. Haystacks was seen hauling his massive bulk around the ring and making very short work of his opponent. Haystacks and Daddy didn't meet that often in the ring, but when they did meet it had the audiences glued to their seats, two of the biggest men not just in British wrestling but in the world would lock horns in the ring.
Haystacks would also take on smaller opponents, which would look like David meeting Goliath all over again. Haystacks would work on his smaller opponent by throwing him around the ring and putting his opponent in to sleeper holds and nerve holds.
Haystacks was the most hated man in British wrestling, hated where ever he wrestled, which was almost all over the world. Haystacks played the heel to perfection, and would give the crowd the one finger many years before Steve Austin.
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A classic showdown: Big Daddy versus Giant Haystacks.
Championships and International Wrestling
Meanwhile, on 23 November 1978 at the Royal Albert Hall, Haystacks captured the British Heavyweight Championship from Tony St. Clair by splashing St.Clair in the knees to win by a technical knockout. He lost the title back to St. Clair.
Haystacks wrestled all over the world, to name a few countries Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, Africa (He was actually made an honorary citizen of Zimbabwe), Canada and the USA. He was a spectacle to be seen.
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).
In late 1991 at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, Haystacks faced Nagasaki in a match - filmed for a BBC2 Arena documentary on Nagasaki - for what was said to be the CWA World Heavyweight Championship (in fact held at the time by 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.
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 King Kendo took over the feud, lasting until Haystacks's 1996 WCW debut.
Highlights of Giant Haystacks' career included battling Andre The Giant in New Zealand and Canada, winning several prestigious German tournaments, defeating Kendo Nagasaki to become the CWA World Heavyweight Champion and finally signing a three year deal with WCW to tag as Loch Ness with Hulk Hogan.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Later Years
In January 1996, following a short retirement and a stint as a debt collector, Ruane debuted in the United States for World Championship Wrestling, under the ring name Loch Ness. He served as a member of The Dungeon of Doom and feuded with Hulk Hogan.
It was in 1996, on a routine trip home from America the big man fell ill and collapsed at his Manchester home, he was taken to hospital and that is where surgeons found inoperable stomach cancer. It was initially thought that chemotherapy had kept the demon disease at bay, but sadly he lost his greatest battle on 29th November 1998 aged just 52.
Media Appearances and Legacy
Ruane appeared in the film Quest for Fire (1981) and the film Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984). The latter was written by Paul McCartney, a fan of Ruane.
Such a large man was always going to get the attention of television and film producers, Haystacks performance in Brian Glover's acclaimed TV play about wrestling "The Wild Bunch" led to him being offered a role opposite Sir Paul McCartney in the former Beatle's big screen extravaganza "Give My Regards To Broad Street". Haystacks also appeared in the Academy award nominated "Quest For Fire" and in many films and commercials abroad.
Among his fans was the Queen Mother who admitted to watching British wrestling every Saturday afternoon, and announced Haystacks was here favorite wrestler. After a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Frank Sinatra claimed that he had seen the Giant on television that afternoon and stated that he thought that British wrestlers were the best in the world.
On 29 November 1998, Ruane died of lymphoma in Prestwich near Manchester. He was survived by his wife Rita and three sons.
Outside of the ring Giant Haystacks was a gentle and quietly spoken man, greatly respected by the wrestling business and a much-loved husband to wife Rita and their three sons. His mighty presence is still missed by wrestling fans globally.
In late 2021 a Giant Haystacks Retro figure was released by Chella Toys. 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.
Haystacks had you glued to the sets every time you seen him on TV, and if you had the privilege to see him live you would get scared just seeing him perform in the ring. I had the privilege to watch Haystacks live many times, and each time he would scare me. It was his huge frame and ring psychology that would not just imitate his opponent but the crowd as well.