Tony Altomare

Professional wrestling career As a wrestler, Altomare was paired with Lou Albano, another Italian, in a stereotypical Italian gangster duo known as "The Sicilians." The pair won the Midwest tag team championship on the undercard of the June 30, 1961 Comiskey Park event starring Pat O'Connor and Buddy Rogers that set the all-time record gate in the United States to that point. Their realistic depiction of gangster characters caught the attention of actual mafiosi in 1961. In Chicago, Tony Accardo and two associates "requested" that Albano and Altomare cease using the word "mafia." During their run as Midwest tag team champions, personal differences with bookers and other wrestlers resulted in the pair abandoning the territory quickly enough that they did not lose the title before leaving. In July 1967, they won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship from Arnold Skaaland and Spiros Arion. Albano and Altomare held the championship for two weeks.

After Albano became a manager in 1970, Altomare continued as a singles wrestler, until retiring sometime before 1979. He then worked as a road agent and referee. In 1979, Vince McMahon, Sr. assigned Altomare to be the chaperone of a new and unruly wrestler named Hulk Hogan. Altomare befriended Hogan and thus frequently let Hogan do as he please, including partying and drinking before matches. Nonetheless, Altomare taught Hogan the basics of the wrestling business, in and outside the ring, and in his autobiography, Hogan called Altomare's appointment as his chaperone "one of the best gifts McMahon ever gave me."

In 1980, Altomare filled in for Afa in a three-on-three match alongside Sika and his old partner, Lou Albano, ten years after the breakup of The Sicilians. The two remained friends for life.

Later, Altomare was promoted to a low-level executive position within Vince McMahon, Jr.'s new WWF promotion. He was responsible for ensuring the arrival and sale of WWF-branded merchandise at wrestling shows. In 1984, he opened a wrestling school in Orange, Connecticut, called "The Factory," where he trained later superstars such as Ted Arcidi, Paul Roma, Steve Blackman, Rita Chatterton, and Doc Butler and established a training relationship with Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels.

Death Tony Altomare died in Stamford of heart failure on February 18, 2003, at the age of 74. He was buried in Spring Grove cemetery in Darien, Connecticut.

Championships and accomplishments Fred Kohler Enterprises Midwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Captain Lou Albano World Wide Wrestling Federation WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Captain Lou Albano