bjgreenBy Betsy J. Green
Love Me. Love My Pig.
The man who claimed to be the welterweight wrestling champion of the world showed up in Santa Barbara in October 1918. The wrestler Peter Buzukos had clearly not done his homework (No one ever said wrestlers were smart, eh?) He was here to challenge Bull Montana, friend of “Flying A” actor Bill Russell, to a match. Montana was out of town, so there was no match.
However, Buzukos was successful in checking into a local hotel with his traveling companion with a minimum of fuss. His “therapy animal” was a pet pig.
One hotel here was very accommodating to an unusual guest. (Image: New York Public Library)
My next Way Back When book — 1918 — will be available in local bookstores in November, and at Amazon.com. This will be the fifth book in my series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time.
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