Characters No. 2. Lord James 'Tally Ho' Blears
- thewhale
- Aug 31, 2016
- 1 min read
Okay, most sports have their fair share of colourful characters, but surfing seems to have a plethora of personalities that keep us entertained. Here are some of those characters in all their glory:
Lord James 'Tally Ho' Blears was an English born (Tyldesley, Lancashire 1923) wrestler who made a cameo in Bruce Brown's, The Endless Summer. He passed away at the ripe old age of 92 this year after a fascinating and inspirational life as a wrestler and surfer amongst other things. At his peak as a surfer in the 1950s he was widely considered to be a real gentleman of surfing, rarely saying a negative word and becoming 'the voice of Hawaiian surfing' as a commentator.

James Blears, 1949
His name was simply James Blears, but he took on the aristocratic English title as part of his wrestling persona; he wore a monocle, a cape and carried a cane, as above.
His life as a wrestler was eventful enough, but he also survived capture by the Japanese in World War 2, when he was a radio operator in the Merchant Navy; he jumped overboard to get away and was eventually picked up by a passing allied vessel. He began his sporting life as a swimmer selected to participate for the Great Britain team in the 1940 Olympics, but was unable to compete due to the Second World War.
He certainly was a real character, who was much loved by all in the surfing world.
Read more about this fascinating character here:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/legendary-surfer-wrestler-and-surf-commentator-passes-at-92-lord-james-blears-1924-2016_136512/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_James_Blears
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