Bruno Sammartino - Wrestling Legend

Bruno Sammartino is the American dream for many people of his generation. Born in Italy in 1935, Sammartino lived in a small mountain village during World War II with his mother, brothers and sisters. As a child, he suffered from rheumatic fever and was saved by his mother nursing him. After going to America as a young boy, he grew from a small, weak figure to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion for over eleven years and an inspiration to everyone he met.

Sammartino had seven brothers and sisters, but four died because of sickness and hunger. His father went to America to find work and a place for his family to live while his mother took care of the family back home. When German soldiers came to Italy, Sammartino's mother had to sneak out of their hiding place to find daily food and supplies. Once she was captured but escaped from the Germans and another time she was shot in the shoulder. Because Sammartino did not have enough food or a warm place to stay, he caught rheumatic fever and would have died had it not been for his mother curing him with traditional herbal medicines.

When Sammartino and his family eventually tried to go to America to join his father, the United States Immigration Agency would not let him in because he was so sick. He had to go back to Italy until his health improved. When he finally was able to join his family in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was very small for his age and, so, was bullied by other boys. His older brother would fight for him. Sammartino decided to start lifting weights and exercising, and went from an undersized boy to a powerful 280 lb. (127 kg) man.

As a teenager, Sammartino grew stronger and stronger. He liked amateur wrestling and practised with the University of Pittsburgh team. He became famous for being so strong and would go on TV to show what he could do. When Sammartino was 24, he set a world record for bench pressing 565 lbs. (257 kg). A local promoter saw him and began training him as a professional wrestler. Combining his strength and new skills, Sammartino was even put in a special match with an orangutan, which he lost because he punched the animal in the stomach.

As time went on, Sammartino became more and more popular with fans. Italian-American fans and other immigrants made him the people's champion. He was one of them. He worked hard and made something of himself. People understood him and wanted to be like him since he always seemed to do the right thing. The more he wrestled the more people liked him and other famous wrestlers were learning about him and wanted to work with him because people paid to go and see him.

A major promoter named Vince McMahon, Sr. heard about him and came to watch him in the ring. This gave Sammartino his break and he went to fight in the New York area, becoming even more popular, with people shouting his name, 'Bruno, Bruno!' when he entered the ring. Sadly, six months into his career in WWWF, he hit another wrestler so hard that he suffered a heart attack and died during the match. This was hard for Sammartino, but it was not his fault that the other wrestler was unfit.

Sammartino had some problems with promoter Vince McMahon, Sr. and went to wrestle in other areas of the United States, including San Francisco. Sammartino felt he wasn't paid enough and decided to stop wrestling for a while and began working as a labourer. Soon after, a wrestling friend convinced Sammartino to try in Canada, which he did. Soon, McMahon talked to Sammartino and asked him to come back and try for the championship. Sammartino accepted and won the title from Buddy Rogers on 17th May, 1963. He kept it for seven years and eight months during his first run as champion and became a household name. Sammartino defended his championship all over the United States, Australia, Japan, Mexico and Argentina.

After nearly eight years as champion, Sammartino asked to take some time off to rest his body and spend more time with his family. When he lost the title in 1972 in Madison Square Garden, the most famous sports arena in New York, fans cried. The champions that followed him were not as popular as he was and Vince McMahon asked him to try again. McMahon gave Sammartino a better contract and Sammartino won the championship back at the end of 1973. He stayed champion for three and a half years, losing the title to Superstar Billy Graham on 30th April, 1977. Sammartino had fractured his neck during his second run and was tired of the pressure of being champion.

Sammartino never held the championship again, but did enjoy wrestling for fun and travelling around the world. During the 1980s, Sammartino worked for the new World Wrestling Federation (formerly WWWF) and its new owner, Vince McMahon Jr., as a TV commentator. Sammartino wrestled until 1988, when he left the WWF. He entered the Wrestling Hall of Fame in the spring of 2013.