AVON— While cleaning her attic, the local widow of a former WWWF wrestler stumbled upon an important piece of wrestling history.
Avon resident Annie Barend found the original World Wide Wrestling Foundation title belt that has been missing since the early 1960’s.
Barend, the widow of former WWWF wrestler “Handsome” Johnny Barend, discovered the title wrapped in a towel in the attic of her home on East Avon Road.
This provides the end of a story nearly a half century in the making.
Bruno Sammartino defeated the original WWWF champion, Buddy Rogers, known as “Nature Boy,” in a title bout at Madison Square Garden on May 17, 1963.
However, Sammartino was never awarded the belt that had belonged to Rogers. Instead, a new belt was made, and the original was thought to be lost.
Not knowing exactly what she had found, Barend had the belt authenticated by WWE belt maker Dave Millican, who then subsequently purchased the belt from Barend
“It makes you wonder what else is stashed away in people’s attics,” said Millican in an interview with SLAM! Magazine. “Annie didn’t even realize what she had—and why would she?”
Johnny Barend was a former partner of Rogers, when the two had previously defeated Sammartino in a tag-team match two months prior to the Rogers-Sammartino title bout in New York.
According to SLAM! Magazine, Bruno Sammartino never knew what happened to the original belt.
“They felt it wasn’t a good belt,” said Sammartino. “They went and made the one I wore all those years.”
Johnny Barend, lived in the area for years. He frequented the McDonald’s in Avon where he gathered with others sharing cups of coffee and sharing stories.