The idea of having a brick & mortar Pro Wrestling hall of fame has been discussed for many, many years. Pro Wrestling is a sport like no other. A pro wrestler is a unique individual. The wrestling fraternity has a long list of tough men who had to be able to take care of themselves both in the ring and negotiating in the office. Tony Vellano has taken an idea to honor these men and women and transformed that idea into a magnificent hall of fame and museum dedicated solely to Professional Wrestling. But it is not just the building at 30 East Main St. in Amsterdam that embodies the Hall. Tony, along with much assistance from George Steele, Mike Capano, Bob Bryla and a host of others, has fashioned a legitimate Hall of Fame that can stand proudly alongside any other sports hall of fame. The PWHF is registered with the state of New York as a Hall of Fame and is run "by the book". Inductees are voted in by their peers..... and everyone involved in the process does so voluntarily, starting with Tony and including everyone else involved with the Hall. A testament to the authenticity of this Hall can be certified by the names who have attended PWHF functions without compensation. Men and women who's livelihood depended on people paying to see them perform have attended PWHF functions to be honored and to honor the sport of Pro Wrestling. Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Fabulous Moolah, Killer Kowalski, George Steele, Angelo Savoldi, Gene Kiniski, The Destroyer, Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Ted DiBiase, Nick Bockwinkel, Penny Banner, Harley Race, Mae Young, Don Leo Jonathan, Roddy Piper, Danny Hodge, Lou Albano, Jay Strongbow, Billy Graham, Paul Orndorff and many, many more have all paid homage to the Hall of Fame that honors their accomplishments and the great sport of Professional Wrestling. If you haven't been to the Hall, it will only take one visit to make you fall in love with it. See you in Amsterdam !!!!!
John Pantozzi
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Blog: A Venture Worth Fighting For
less than a month to go and it is getting hectic...rooms to rent...air flights to confirm...banquet preparations, bus confirmation...etc...etc...etc...not to mention an occassional bout of ego's here and there...but it is, what it is, in the life of the Pres of the PWHF...I can see why this venture hasn't been done before, I can see how hard it really is to maintain...I have wondered on more than one occassion, why I got involved at all...but, this HOF is something that is needed, and should have been assembled years ago, and now I find that this venture is very much worth fighting for...in a world of smoke and mirrors, to try to keep class and character in regards to the PWHF, is a daily battle, for it is a never ending fued between what is right and what, they who challenge, try to take from the Hall...agreed, there are many more than I ever thought there would be, in support of this Institution, but you run into that one or two that just want to take, take, take. thank God that they are getting to be in the minority as time goes by...I guess I am just blowing off steam, because I am in the middle of one of these such scenerios as i write this column, and it troubles me that with all the hard work that is done to promote this Hall of Fame, that we/I have to be burdened with such nonsense...for those that are close to me, you know of what and whom I am speaking of...for those that are not, you will have to wait until my memoirs when i retire....
-Pres