Quotes from Bruno Sammartino

The things that Billy Graham says, I really have no idea why he says them. He talks about things without really knowing all the facts. I just think there's something wrong with the man.

I weighed 84 pounds when I was 14. I was an easy target for the other kids.

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.

I like a match that shows strength, stamina, scientific technique.

The sacrifice musicians make, the results they achieve are fantastic. These are the big people as far as I am concerned. So if they are temperamental, I don't hold it against them after all they had to go through to get to the top.

I lost a brother and a sister, and I came down with rheumatic fever.

Franco Corelli is my favorite tenor.

I would be a fool to tell you that there was no fixing. You ask if wrestling is for real? Well, I think my own body answers that question.

You look at success and thank God and the fans for the success. It's why I always feel indebted to the fans.

I was in the business for almost a quarter of a century, and I'm very proud of my career.

I held the title for almost eight years the first time and then I lost it at the Garden. But, then I came back and took it again for another four years.

In Europe, I was just a little guy... the winters in the mountains were very nasty.

My jaw has been wired and rewired. It's incredible to think people would fake that.

They say it's all fake, but there's nothing fake when a guy picks you up and slams you down or throws you out of the ring onto a concrete floor. They say, 'Yeah, but you know how to land.' Well, you try landing on a concrete floor.

If people took the time to leave their homes and bought a ticket with their hard-earned cash to see me perform, the least I could do was give it everything I had every time out.

Let's face it, I'm a has-been.

I never had a gimmick. All I had was a pair of boots and a pair of tights.

After I retired, I spent a quarter of a century in the business, and when I retired and a new regime took over, Vince McMahon Jr. and that, and in the beginning I went back to help out. I color commentated with him, but then I started to see things that were disturbing to me.

Wrestling isn't looked upon like the other sports of football, baseball, basketball and hockey.

To be honored with the WWE Hall of Fame, I cannot put into words how big it is for me.

A lotta stuff has been written about me that I never said. Stories that were lies. One guy wrote that young as I was during World War II, I actually got a rifle and fought off the Germans. Which is ridiculous, insane. I was just six.

I was never going to do anything that would have brought shame to my family. I owed too much, and I wanted them to be proud to say that they were Bruno Sammartino's mother and father.

I've had 10 major operations. Four back surgeries. A hip replacement. A broken neck... But I consider myself lucky. I keep thinking after all these surgeries, my luck is going to run out.

I didn't care if I was aching or hurting. I wanted to give the fans their money's worth.