There was no one more popular in any sport at any time than Bruno!!
Wonderful article from a few years ago said he still worked out at age 77 -- even 82 seems to soon for a legend of his magnitude to be pinned (don't know cause)
sold out MSGarden countless times, also Boston Garden
In 1960, MSG almost imploded w/combination of fan cheers & Haystacks, as Bruno bodyslammed all 600 pounds of Haystacks Calhoun "& I thought the roof was going to pop off" Bruno recalled in the 2013 article
his match at BstnGhdn w/Killer Kowalski was a cultural epiphany for a 12 yr old kid sitting ringside w/his dad & a buddy -- RIP Bruno, youdaman sir
As a kid in the early 60's I was a huge wrestling fan. Samartino was an up and comer at the time. Got a chance to see him 'rastle as part of the undercard at the old Madison Square Garden with my dad, assorted relatives and almost 19,000 others June '62 in a card that featured Buddy Rogers, Antonino Rocca, Cowboy Bob Ellis, Johnny Valentine, the Fabulous Kangaroos, Skull Murphy, Bobo Brazil, Shoei Baba, Edouard Carpentier & assorted others. Great times.
One of the great "good guys" of the sport/spectacle with true wrestling (just missed making the 1956 USA Olympic wrestling team) and weight-lifting skills. RIP.
[Edited on 4/18/2018 by dzobo]
Definition of a true gentleman as well.
His life story would make an incredible movie. His mom hid him in the mountains of Italy during WWII to keep them safe and would sneak into town at night to get them food.
He was a personal fav of mine as a kid also - RIP Bruno!
“Bruno couldn’t do nothing wrong,” said Bucky Palermo, a former wrestling referee who owns a leather-working shop in Morningside. “He could’ve brought a gun in the ring and shot the other guy and they’d have cheered him. I’m not kidding. I’ve never seen a guy in sports loved so much by the fans. . Small kids, big kids, old people — everybody loved him. Especially the Italians.”
