Pro Wrestling @ The Arena

I went to one pro wrestling match back in October of 1967 at The Arena in West Philly at 45th and Market Street and that was to see the great Bruno Sammartino. I was almost 16 and went with some friends from high school. We took the Market Street elevated rail line. I think this was my first time going to an event at The Arena. In addition Gorilla Monsoon was wrestling that night too. General admission was $2.00. We also got to see a tag team match with a group of midgets. Very weird and very sixties.

I watched quite a few pro wrestling matches on TV throughout the 1960's. Me and my brother Tom often watched wrestling with our Uncle Tom, my grandmother's brother, in his third floor mancave in the house with my two great-aunts around the corner from us on Seymour Street. I'm sure his sisters would not had let him take us to see wrestling matches like he did taking us down to Phillies games.

I did some research on wrestling at The Arena and on Bruno Sammartino in particular. He wrestled at The Arena in Philly 22 times in 1967 and 28 times in 1968. Overall he had 189 matches in 1967 and he won 128 of them. In 1968 he had 203 matches and won 151. 

Later I would also see a roller derby match there, some basketball games and two concerts in 1968... The Doors and The Mothers of Invention. The Arena opened in 1920 but lost most of it's bookings for concerts and sporting events after The Spectrum opened in late 1967. The Arena was destroyed by an arson fire in 1983.