Bruno Sammartino

with Jim Lachimia

PM: Professional football players didn't make much back then though, did they?
B.S.: No they didn't. And I asked right out, because I didn't know. I said: "Mr. Rooney, if I come to camp and I make it, what kind of money does it pay?" And a lot of people today wouldn't believe it, but a lineman back then, they made about $7,000 a year. That's a fact.

PM: Not too long after your Steelers experience, a wrestling promoter named Rudy Miller became intrigued by you. Was he able to offer you substantially more money?
B.S.: My family had been struggling, and I wanted to help out. So money was important, and he told me that the first year he could guarantee me between $30,000 and $35,000. I know that doesn't sound like much today, but back then it was enough to impress the heck out of me, and I said, "Yeah, I'd be interested." The next thing I know, they flew me to Washington, D.C. They put me in the ring with a guy or two. Nobody told me anything except, "See what you can do." I went in there and did what I knew how to do from the seven- or eight-year wrestling training that I had done, and they were pretty impressed. That's how I got started.

PM: You went on to become the biggest draw in professional wrestling. What do you think made you so popular?
B.S.: I went in the ring with a pair of boots and a pair of tights. There were no fancy robes, no fancy hair or anything like that. I think people took to me because they really believed in me. I was 6-feet tall, 275 pounds, and because of the hard, hard training that I did for all those years, I didn't look like a steroid freak. I looked like a legitimate, big, powerful, powerful guy, and people really believed in my strength. I got this reputation as the world's strongest wrestler, and yet I had terrific speed for a guy who was 270-odd pounds. The combination of the strength and the speed that I had - I think that's what impressed people.

PM: You traveled all over the world for matches: Japan, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. Where were you the most well-received?
B.S.: I would have to say Japan. The Japanese people were the most amazing because they wanted their Japanese wrestlers to win, but they showed great respect for the opponent. They always showed me great respect. If I stepped out of the hotel to take a walk - the sidewalks were always crowded with people waiting for the bus or whatever - they would spot you. They knew who you were, and they would all form a path for you, and when you walked by, they would all bow. It was such an unusual feeling to see that.

PM: How does your body feel these days? Are you still pretty active?
B.S.: I still train every day. I was very fortunate because I had some serious injuries, but I had some great, great doctors who performed some miraculous surgeries on me. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I do six miles of road work. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, I go to my gym downstairs and I pump iron for a couple hours. I keep my weight between 215 and 220 pounds. At this stage of my life, with everything I've put my body through, I thank my God every day for how good of shape I'm in.

PM: It sounds as if you're training for a fight.
B.S.: It's just a way of life for me. I was so deathly sick for years as a kid that when I got over that, there's almost a fear in you that if you don't [work out and stay active] that you might go back the other way. I don't want to do that, so I keep fighting on.