ALLENTOWN, Pa. — As we close in on the Labor Day weekend, people are heading to the Great Allentown Fair.
This year marks the return of professional wrestling to the fairgrounds.
If these walls could talk… The Ringer’s Roost, right across from the Allentown Fairgrounds, was the wrestlers go-to when what’s now WWE would have monthly TV tapings at the Agri-Plex. A framed photo on the wall shows Andre the Giant holding down the main chair at the bar.
Jim Marino remembers those days well.
“Actually a couple of kids, Whitehall kids, that I know, were the Nasty Boys. The Nasty Boys are very good friends with Don the owner here. So shout out to Knobs and Sags, the Nasty Boys from Whitehall, PA. Yeah, they used to come in here too,” said Marino, customer at the Ringer’s Roost.
Beth Reccak remembers serving the wrestlers, including the Nasty Boys, after a reunion show at the fairgrounds about 20 years ago.
“Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake came in the kitchen. Justin, which is Don’s son, got his hair cut with the barber shears. Nice little clip job!” she said.
Bill Bain was competing in the main event Thursday night, making new memories, while continuing a legacy of lunacy at the Fairgrounds.
“It’s an honor to say you’ve been in the same venue as Andre, Hogan, Bruno, Zbyszko. That’s wrestling legacy. A lot of guys don’t realize what that means, but to someone who’s been around for a while, you can’t really put it in to words to be able to come to such a historic area and perform,” Bain said.
The guys weren’t in town for a long time. They were in town for a good time.
Marino is happy to see the tradition live once again.
“It’s cool because it is a tradition over at Ag Hall,” he said.