SAMMARTINO, BRUNO LIVING LEGEND WRESTLING NEWS (1976)

HISTORY: Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). Widely recognized as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Sammartino's 2,803-day reign as WWWF World Heavyweight Champion is the longest in the championship's history as well as the longest world title reign in WWE history.

Born in Italy to a family of seven, Sammartino grew up in poverty. As a child, Sammartino survived the German occupation of Italy during World War II. In 1950, he came to the United States with his family, where they would settle in Pittsburgh. Sammartino would later take up bodybuilding before beginning his career as a professional wrestler in 1959.

Dubbed "The Italian Strongman” and "The Strongest Man in the World" early in his career, Sammartino later earned the title "The Living Legend". Known for his powerful bearhug finishing move, Sammartino wrestled for various territories in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) before joining the WWWF territory.

Already recognized as a future star, Sammartino won the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1963 after beating the inaugural champion, Buddy Rogers, in 48 seconds. He then held the title for a reign of a record 

of 1,237 days before gradually retiring from full-time competition.

After his retirement, Sammartino became a vocal critic of the drug use and raunchier storylines that became prevalent in the professional wrestling industry after his retirement but he reconciled with WWE in 2013 and headlined their Hall of Fame ceremony that year. Terry Funk commented that Sammartino "was bigger than wrestling itself".

Offered here is an original, Bruno Sammartino, BRUNO LIVING LEGEND Wrestling News All Star Edition No. 1 dated Oct. Nov. 1976.

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original, Bruno Sammartino, BRUNO LIVING LEGEND Wrestling News All Star Edition No. 1 dated Oct. Nov. 1976. The entire edition is deicated to Bruno Sammartino who is pictured on the front and back covers and inside. 32 pages complete plus covers. Tight binding. Clean inside and out. Not creased or torn. Not written on. Mild edge wear. Price sticker on back cover. 7 3/4" x 10 1/2."