Giant Haystacks

Giant Haystacks
Ruane in 1981
Birth name	Martin Austin Ruane
Born	(1946-10-10)10 October 1946 Camberwell, London, England
Died	29 November 1998(1998-11-29) (aged 52) Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England
Cause of death	Lymphoma
Spouse(s)	Rita Boylan
Children	3
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Giant Haystacks Haystacks Calhoun Loch Ness Loch Ness Monster Luke McMasters
Billed height	6 ft 11 in (211 cm)[1][2]
Billed weight	685 lb (311 kg)[2]
Billed from	Scottish Highlands (as Loch Ness)[3]
Debut	1967
Retired	1996

Martin Austin Ruane (10 October 1946 – 29 November 1998)^[4] was a British 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 ft 11 inch (2.11 m) tall and weighing from 31 stone (430 lb; 200 kg) at the beginning of his career to 48 stone (670 lb; 300 kg) by the end of it; at his heaviest, he weighed 49 stone 13 pounds (699 lb; 317 kg).^[5][6] In the 1970s he formed a heel team with Big Daddy. After Big Daddy turned 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 International Tag Team Championship in Canada, with the Dynamite Kid.