Different era: Pro wrestling was once big In Fayette County
Submitted
Bruno Sammartino
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Professional wrestling great Johnny DeFazio died on Feb. 26 at 80 years old.
When I read about the passing of former Western Pennsylvania professional wrestling great Jumping Johnny DeFazio my mind went back to a time when pro wrestling was huge on local television and pro wrestling shows were a staple on the local scene.
DeFazio passed away on Feb. 26 at the age of 80. He along with Bruno Sammartino, Ace Freeman and a host of others were part of my childhood. Studio Wrestling was must-see TV on WIIC-TV Channel 11, the forerunner of what is now known as WPXI-TV. The show started in 1959. Staff newsman Mark Shaffer was the original host of the shows, which were presented live from the Channel 11 studios. He was succeeded by the legendary Bill 鈥淐hilly Billy鈥� Cardille, who also made his mark as host of 鈥淐hiller Theater鈥� on WIIC.
鈥淯sed to be the whole city would be tuned into Channel 11,鈥� DeFazio said in 1985. 鈥淭hey used to watch it with their dinner. Wrestling was the hottest show they had.鈥�
I wasn鈥檛 a huge pro wrestling fan 鈥� after all I knew it was scripted 鈥� but I appreciated the entertainment value. High school gyms throughout Fayette County and the Mon Valley played host to the shows presented by regional promoters like Sammy Asto, Ray Fabiani and Joseph 鈥淭oots鈥� Mondt who went from promoting shows at a tiny North Side venue called 鈥淭he Islam Grotto鈥� to packing in tens of thousands of fans to outdoor shows at Forbes Field.
In 1961, Mondt began using the newly built Pittsburgh Civic Arena to run indoor shows on a monthly basis.
Back in the 1950s, one of WWWF蘑菇视频 co-founders, Mondt created Spectator Sports, a Pittsburgh-based promotion under WWWF蘑菇视频 territory (then Capitol Sports), which he ran until 1966 and then turned over to WWWF World Champion Sammartino.
The Studio Wrestling promotion was a stopping point for national stars such as Gorilla Monsoon, The Crusher, Bill Watts, George Steele, and Bobo Brazil, as well as featuring local talent like De Fazio, Frank 鈥淐arnegie Cop鈥� Holtz, Hurricane Hunt, Tony 鈥淭he Battman鈥� Marino, and John L. Sullivan (who later gained fame as Johnny Valiant). Sammartino sold the promotion in 1971. He was later asked by the new Buffalo-based owners to help with the booking of Pittsburgh area shows. The local Studio Wrestling TV show was canceled in 1974, and the promotion shut down.
Ace Freeman took over promotions in the 1980s. Upon retirement from the ring, he ran the Pittsburgh office when Sammartino owned the promotion, which was then called Spectator Sports, Inc. and headquartered in the Plaza Building in downtown Pittsburgh.
Freeman supervised the shows that ran in the small towns surrounding Pittsburgh. He and Rudy Miller handled all the detail work. Freeman later partnered with Gene Dargan, another promoter who handled shows in the outlying towns like Johnstown and Altoona. After the Pittsburgh office closed, Freeman had the phone number transferred to his house and ran things out of there until the WWF expansion forced him out in the 1980s.
I traced wrestling shows in Fayette County back to December 1940. The Uniontown Morning Herald reported that Jules Beck of Pittsburgh promoted an All Star Wrestling Show at the Uniontown Roller Rink Arena featuring the wrestler The French Angel.
Wrestling events continued to pop up in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s at Uniontown High School, Connellsville High School, Masontown and at North Laurel Gymnasium to name a few spots.
I attended a wrestling show at North Laurel in 1966. Sammartino headed that card against The Beast. The co-feature was The Battman versus Dr. Bill Miller. Another top attraction had Hangman Jim Grabmire opposing Frank Holtz. The event also featured a four-man tag team with Freeman and DeFazio against tough guys Ron Romano and Frank Durso.
Sammartino蘑菇视频 longtime friend Dominic DeNucci of New Sewickley Township was a tag-team partner with Sammartino on wrestling tours throughout North America, Japan and Australia and talked about what it was like back in the day.
鈥淓verybody knew Bruno; wrestling fans and regular people, too,鈥� DeNucci said. 鈥淗e was popular everywhere and nobody can say anything bad about him. Not because he passed away, but because that was his life. He was respectful to everyone. I mean, you didn鈥檛 want to step on his foot obviously. But he understood you have to be respectful to the people who come out to see you. If they want to talk to you and take your picture, you let them.鈥�
Great memories of pro wrestling from a different era.
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.