Dec. 13, 1964 - Can a man who claims three college degrees, earns $50,000 a year, does 200 Hindu squats a day, and has an Eagle Scout medal presented by Barry Goldwater be all bad?
He can, of course, for money. Tonight, for the last time in 1964, a Madison Square Garden wrestling crowd will be able to boo, hiss, and disparage the infamous Dr. Jerry Graham (pictured in 1957) as well as get a first‐hand view of the “Fight for the Belt.”
Bruno Sammartino, a local “good guy,” will meet Gene Kiniski, a Canadian “bad guy,” for the “diamond‐studded, gold-plated” championship belt of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, an organization of imaginative wrestling promoters.
In their last match, Kiniski thought he had pinned Sammartino. He leaped from the ring and took the belt with him. The referee, however, had other ideas, and awarded the decision to Sammartino. Tonight, Sammartino is supposed to try to regain the belt, which Kiniski still has.
The semifinal event will pit Haystack Calhoun, whose weight varies “between 590 and 620 pounds, depending upon my liquid diet of the day,” against Gorilla Monsoon, a 350‐pounder who is billed as a Manchurian.
Regardless of the validity of their claims, they are expected to put on a good show. Jerry Graham will be there to make certain that they do. Graham is called the “shooter,” the informal leader of the troupe. He is supposed to keep order among his cohorts.
Professional wrestling is often ridiculed, but it is popular, and its profits keep rising. The Garden alone has grossed more than a half million dollars this season, its most successful to date.
For the wrestlers themselves, however, there are drawbacks that go along with the profits.
According to Calhoun, “My busiest week was when I wrestled in New York on Monday, Boston on Tuesday, Detroit on Wednesday, Chicago on Thursday, Denver on Friday, and San Francisco on Saturday.”
Says Graham: “We try to give the people what they demand, but we are constantly at the mercy of the public. If you put identical twins in the ring, the fans would choose sides.
“The trouble is that the fans forget that we are human beings outside of the ring. When I was wrestling in Mexico once, some of them attacked me after the match and chased me around the bull ring.”
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments