Sandy Barr, 1966

Portland pro wrestling legend Sandy Barr passed away in his St. Johns flea market—where he continued to wrestle until his death at age 69—last Saturday. Tonight, the show goes on at the Sandy Barr Flea Market (7220 N Burlington, St. Johns, 8 pm), where a presumably huge number of local wrestlers, fans, and former students will turn out to honor the late wrestler-turned-promoter.

I first encountered Barr about two years ago when I was working on a story about a local midget wrestler, Little Nasty Boy. It was my first visit to Barr’s flea market, where the matches were held every Tuesday night, and one of the wrestlers was a no-show. So for the first match of the night, this old man in tiny trunks came trotting out to the ring in flip flops, and then proceded to deliver a pretty damn good 10-minute match with Nasty, who accused Barr’s toenails of being illegal weapons.

I hung around the flea market for a month or two, taking notes and photos, but in classic old school wrestling tradition, Barr hated my snoop-y presence the whole time, I later learned. And that’s what he was—old school. He loved wrestling—in and out of the rig—and from what I understand, he loved St. Johns, too. Tonight’s show should be nothing less than a heartfelt tribute to a man who dedicated most of his life to Portland wrestling. For more of Barr’s story, click here.