The Antonino Rocca Centennial

I came across the 1962 Superman comic in the house my wife grew up in, and naturally became curious about the guest star, professional wrestler Antonino Rocca (Antonino Biassetton, 1921-1977). It’s not just anyone who can throw Superman out of a wrestling ring!

It turns out Rocca was kind of a legend in his time. He was interviewed by both David Brinkley and Edward R. Murrow in extended TV news segments in the late ’50s and early ’60s. He was known for his genuine athleticism. While he had his own patented move called the “Argentine Backbreaker”, he was even better known for his flying kicks and overall acrobatics. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he had played soccer and rugby, both sports that are very good for your wind. Rocca was actually Italian. He was born and and partly raised in Treviso, in the Veneto region. Then his family moved to Argentina. (Plainly not as refugees; Argentina was a completely lateral move in terms of Fascism in the ’30s, and long after, for that matter). Rocca started wrestling in the U.S. in the late ’40s.

You can also see Rocca in the 1976 horror film Alice, Sweet Alice with Lillian Roth and Brooke Shields, which I wrote about here. He was only 55 years old when he died of an infection the following year.