A biography for Bruno Sammartinohasn’t been written yet.
“I wasn't a 97-pound weakling. I was an 80-pound weakling.”
“I think people saw me as someone who was real, and not somebody subject to the criticism and ridicule given to my profession.”
“I complained about the gimmicks. All the nonsense and garbage. After a while I just said I would not wrestle with the guys wearing masks, or guys that had some get-up on. It was demeaning. I refuse to go onto the mat against a Christmas tree.”
“I could never imagine myself living anywhere but Pittsburgh.”
“We lived off the land in Italy.”
“People have no clue how demanding my schedule was back in the day. There were times when I might be home for just one or two days a month.”
“If anybody can really beat me, fine. But that's the only way I'll go down.”
“I am humbled that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be inducting me into the WWE Hall of Fame. The kindness and support that Arnold has shown me over the years is truly overwhelming.”
“I'm so grateful to America and my hometown of Pittsburgh. I love my city. I'm proud of being from here.”
“The last thing I want to do in Europe is drive.”
“My father bought a house in Panther Hollow. We were the first Italians in the neighborhood.”
“They said Babe Ruth built Yankee Stadium and Bruno Sammartino built the Garden. It always was my favorite place.”
“In my day, I, myself, in my prime, in the late-'50s-mid-'70s I was about 270-275. After I broke my neck and I was in the hospital for a month or so, I dropped the weight to about 250 and I kept that weight until I retired.”
“My jaw has been wired and rewired. It's incredible to think people would fake that.”
“Professional wrestling, when you're talking money, like they say, it's the root of all evil.”
“Listen, when I was real young, I thought I was made out of steel. I didn't think anything could hurt me, I was so powerful. But as time goes on, you find out you are not made of steel.”
“I sweat an awful lot.”
“Wrestling was my way of making a living. I did the very best I could.”
“I always used to get goosebumps in Madison Square Garden, because as soon as I started making my entrance, people would be chanting my name. 'BRU-NO! BRU-NO!'”
“I had a lot of my success due to appearing at the Garden. I wrestled there over 200 times, it's where I won the title, and it's where I picked up 630-plus pounds of Haystacks Calhoun.”