Gable and me.

I knew who Dan Gable was when I was in high school. His exploits were well known to me, first at Waterloo West and then at Iowa State University. In 1969 or 70 (I don’t really remember which), I went to Ames to watch him wrestle. A friend of mine wrestled at Augustana College in Rock Island and was going to the meet and asked me to ride along and maybe share the driving. That night planted the seed that would blossom into my love for wrestling.

I remember one Sunday morning when I opened the Medd-O-Lane/Dairy Queen where I worked, bringing in the newspapers and seeing, “Gable Fails”.

In 1972 I watched on ABC as he and one of the greatest American freestyle teams ever assembled dominated the wrestling competition. Commentator, Frank Gifford, called Dan the most dedicated athlete he’d ever seen.

Somewhere in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, I went to my first University of Iowa dual meet. I didn’t go to many in those years, but we’re blessed in Iowa with Iowa Public Television College Wrestling broadcasts and I rarely missed one of those.

When my wife and I started dating in 1989 she bought our first Iowa season tickets. We’ve been in the same seats ever since.

I first met Dan in 1993. I was doing a little business with Eric and Adam Heneghan, who owned a small advertising agency, video production/editing company called Giant Step Productions. Eric had wrestled for Gable and some of their first work was producing videos for Dan. Once we learned of our mutual interest in wrestling, we generally spent more time talking about that than business.

Their studio was on the third floor of an older house not too far from the Iowa campus. One day I had an appointment with them and either Adam or Eric (I forget now) met me at the bottom of the outside steps that led up to the studio. He said, “You’re a big wrestling fan, right? Don’t you have season tickets?” I was puzzled because these were things we discussed frequently. I opened the door and was greeted by, “Hi, I’m Dan Gable.” My witty response – “I know.”

I’ve been known to have the occasional alcoholic beverage at the Cedar Rapids Marriott. I’ve also been known to talk endlessly about wrestling while there. One day I went in and a young bartender said, “Here, I have something for you.” It was a bar napkin with Gable’s autograph. Dan had been speaking at an I-Club meeting the night before and this young man (thank you, Chris) had made a point of getting the autograph for me. It is one of my most prized possessions.

Last year I launched Tickets for Kids. One day an envelope arrived with one of those pre-printed return address labels, “Dan Gable, Iowa City, IA”. It contained a check to Tickets for Kids. My wife asked if I was going to frame the check. Nope – I used it for what Dan intended – sending some kids to last season’s Division III Championships.

I framed the envelope.

I met Dan for the second time at a breakfast honoring longtime wrestling coach, athletic director and development director at both Coe and Cornell, Barron Bremner. The event was sponsored by what is now called the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum and he and I were both speakers at the event. He was still on crutches from the broken leg he had suffered in November, but he was gracious to everyone that wanted to talk to him – including me.

Shortly after that I learned that I had been awarded the National Wrestling Coaches Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling Award”. I was stunned. It is a tremendous honor to have my name associated in any way with his. It’s also quite humbling.

Dan officially retired from the University of Iowa Friday. The Cedar Rapids Gazette is featuring him in today’s edition. Several people are sharing their memories of Gable – including the infamous Barry Davis Hy Vee doughnut story.

My most lasting images of Dan Gable are both from the 1997 NCAA Championships. The first – pounding his crutch on the floor and yelling, “Strongest man in the world” when Jesse Whitmer won his title. Then when Bob Siddens handed Gable the team championship trophy – I cried.

I suspect it’s not going to be a leisurely retirement. He loves this sport more than most of us can imagine and I’m guessing he’s just getting ready to ramp up even greater efforts to grow the “world’s oldest and greatest sport” in America.

Is it a dual or a duel?

It has come and gone again – the only college wrestling event on ESPN’s list of “101 things every sports fan must experience before they die” – the Iowa/Iowa State dual. If Saturday’s edition was your first one you picked a good night. No – it was nowhere near a record turnout, but the announced 11,800+ attendance is likely to be the largest dual meet crowd in the country this year.

As has seemed to become tradition, there was one match that brought that crowd to its feet with a roar. At 141 pounds, Iowa redshirt freshman, Mark Ballweg, “came out the back door” on a shot taken by past All-American, Chris Drouin, and scored the winning takedown with just seconds left in the match. I still get goose bumps whenever I see a young Hawkeye wrestler experience one of those Carver Hawkeye Arena salutes for the first time.

It was also a historic night to be there. At the intermission the creation of the “Dan Gable Traveling Trophy” was announced. Each year the winner of the Iowa/Iowa State dual will take the trophy home for display. It’s a fitting way to honor a man who has not only meant so much to both institutions, but to the sport of wrestling. As the announcement ceremony was ending, Tom Brands trotted out of the tunnel to matside and hugged Gable. It was funny in a way – yet very poignant. Here were two men who appeared not to be comfortable hugging another man, doing so in front of almost 12,000 people. Then Gable walked to his family and his grandkids surrounded him. I have to admit that I choked up a bit. Those fans who chose to go up for ice cream missed some great moments.

I love dual meets – especially rivalry meets. I’ve been attending the Coe/Cornell meet for several years now and will do so again later this season. I’ve not yet gone to the Wartburg/Augsburg event, but hope to in the near future. I also believe that dual meets are the way we bring new fans to the sport. It’s just a natural tendency in college sports for fans to align themselves more fervently when an established rivalry is involved. Take Coe vs. Cornell for example. It is the oldest football rivalry west of the Mississippi. That spills over to other sports. When my daughter was playing tennis at Cornell, Luther was the established Iowa conference women’s tennis powerhouse(until dethroned by the Rams), but it was the Coe/Cornell meet that drew the biggest crowd. The wrestling dual will pack the Eby Fieldhouse in February just as it did the Small Multi-Sport Center last season.

I’m not the only one who sees the value in dual meets. A few weeks ago Sandy Stevens introduced me to John Graham, the co-founder of the Virginia Duals. To say that John is passionate about the dual meet format is quite an understatement. He and other members of the Peninsula Wrestling Association founded the Virginia Duals back in 1981 as a fund raiser. The event introduced the dual meet advancement tournament format to college wrestling. The Virginia Duals offers two intercollegiate and three high school divisions. This season’s edition will be held January 7th and 8th at the Hampton (VA) Coliseum. Led by Penn State the National College Division will feature five NCAA Division I top 25 teams. Teams from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Delaware are in the three high school divisions. As always it will be a great two days of wrestling. For more information visit their website.

The NWCA National Duals sprang from the Virginia Duals in 1989 and NWCA executive director, Mike Moyer, is also fervent in his support of the dual meet. The current National Duals format is the most unique in all of college wrestling. Top teams from all three NCAA divisions, the NAIA, the NJCAA and 8 women’s teams will all battle for the title of National Dual Champion for their respective divisions. At one time Minnesota might be wrestling Iowa State on Mat 5, while Grand View and Missouri Baptist square off on Mat 1. As you continue to scan the floor at the UNI Dome might see Coe and Delaware Valley battling on Mat 8 and the women from Oklahoma City University wrestling freestyle against the team from Jamestown College. The National Duals are a wrestling junkie’s dream. This season’s event will be held January 8th and 9th at the UNI Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Fan support is especially critical for both events this year. Hampton is one of the finalists in a bid to win the 2012 wrestling and weight lifting Olympic Trials. A strong turnout for the Duals can only enhance their chances.

As has been hashed and re-hashed everywhere in the wrestling media, the University of Iowa has declined an invitation to the National Duals this year. Like it or not, the attendance of the Iowa fan base is frequently crucial to the financial success of any event. The Hawkeyes are not competing that weekend and some Hawk fans will still attend National Duals – but I suspect that number will be nowhere near the total black and gold butts that would be in the seats if the Hawkeyes were on the mat.

These events are both great opportunities for the wrestling community to demonstrate their support of the “world’s oldest and greatest sport”. We have chosen to support both of them with Tickets for Kids efforts. The National Duals effort is off to a good start. We have already received enough pledges and donations to send over 200 kids to a “day at the duals” including 25 that have been earmarked to introduce girls to wrestling.

We’ve not yet received our first Virginia Duals donation. Who out there wants to break the ice? We’ve got a lot of money to raise and a short time to do it – so forward this blog to everyone you can.

You can donate to buy tickets to either event by going to the Tickets for Kids website. Click on “Other Events” and then choose the one you wish to support. If you’re more comfortable sending a check, make it to “Tickets for Kids” and send it to

Tickets for Kids
c/o Jim Brown
130 24th St NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-4936

Please make note of which event you are supporting on your check.

Sadly, I can’t be at both events at the same time, but I hope to see many of you in Cedar Falls.

I'm thankful I never had to wrestle Tom Brands

In accordance with holiday tradition here is a list of things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful that Dan Gable never got me in the double arm bars. At age 60, my shoulders ache enough as it is. I’m also thankful to Eric and Adam Heneghan for introducing me to Dan. It has provided me with one of my favorite stories.

I am thankful for all of the people who have supported this blog – Danielle Hobeika, Al Bevilacqua, Bill Lahman, Barry Davis, Chad Zaputil, Johnny Cobb, the Rush Family, Jeff McGinness, Joe and Dee Pollard, Ken Chertow, Mark Ironside, Mike Clayton, Mark Palmer and others I’m forgetting at the moment – have a all contributed in some way to several blog editions.

I am thankful for the people I have met the past couple of years who battle every day for the future of this great sport (again, I’m sure to forget some) – Mike Duroe, Dick Simmons, Sandy Stevens, Jason Bryant, Lee Roy Smith, Richard Small, Mike Moyer, Tammy Tedesco, Dr. Tim Drehmer, Kyle Klingman, Kent Sesker, that Gable guy again. I have been honored to contribute in some small way to your efforts.

I am thankful for the people who have supported Tickets for Kids – to Fred Jones at the Cedar Rapids Marriott who has made the largest donation to date - to KJ Pilcher of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, whose feature on the effort really got the ball rolling – to Eric Betterman from The Open Mat who gave us our website (stop by now and make a donation) and Sandy Stevens who wrote about us in WIN. Thank you to the many generous donors who have made and continue to make it possible (so far) for well over a thousand kids to attend a big time wrestling event. I am especially thankful to Rod Frost and Gail Rush who, in separate efforts, have raised almost $2,000 this season.

I am thankful for a special group of friends who listen to my tired stories and patiently allow me to ramble on about the glories of wrestling. You know who you are – Jamie, Jacki, Jayme, Angela, Steve (who is finally going to his first wrestling meet this year), Curt (brother of an NCAA champion), Shane and – of course, former Cedar Rapids Kennedy wrestler – Lenny.

In today’s world of the blended family, I am thankful for Barb and Mike. I was once married to Barb and she is the mother of my two lovely daughters and remains one of my best friends. And Mike – I can’t say thanks enough. You see, many years ago when our house burned to the ground, it was Mike who got the girls out.

I am thankful for those two lovely daughters. No father could be prouder than I. I am thankful for the grandchildren who will run through the house today and yell and play and maybe stop for a second to hug Grandpa.

Finally, I am thankful for Cindy. Somehow, I won the marriage lottery. She loves me in spite of my many bad habits and has supported all of my meager efforts to help wrestling. But, really, she only has herself to blame – in her effort to hook me she did buy our first season tickets 20-some years ago.

I’m not sure why God chose to bless me in so many ways, but I am truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Do gold medals really matter anymore?

John Smith won two NCAA titles at Oklahoma State and then went on to win 2 Olympic Gold Medals and four freestyle World Championships. Dan Gable also won two NCAA championships while wrestling for the Iowa State Cyclones. Gable’s post-graduate freestyle career includes a Pan American Games title, the 1971 World Championship, the championship at the 1972 Tbilisi tournament and the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal. Bruce Baumgartner, too, was an NCAA champion while wrestling at Indiana State. In his storied freestyle career he accumulated more Olympic and World hardware than some entire countries have won.

For decades America’s best college wrestlers successfully transitioned from intercollegiate competition to the international stage. Glen Brand, Bill Smith, Doug Blubaugh, Tom Brands and countless others advanced from NCAA championship trophies to Olympic gold. And then – as if to keep the chain unbroken – many of them went in to coaching and trained the next generations of international freestyle champions.

At least to this fan, the chain seems to be weakening.

I like to watch all forms of wrestling and freestyle is no exception. But FILA, the international governing body of amateur wrestling, has changed freestyle rules so drastically in the last ten years that modern freestyle bears far less resemblance to American folkstyle wrestling than in years past. Do these changes contribute to the seeming American decline? I think so.

It’s not just that we wrestle a different style in America, it’s also that our organizational structure is different. The United States is one of very few countries in the world (Canada might be another) where kids get most of their wrestling opportunities within our schools – and American schools are almost inextricably tied to folkstyle wrestling. Most of the world’s wrestling powers develop their athletes through a “club” type system. Some of them may be privately funded and others government run, but this formula allows them to more freely adapt to changes in freestyle.

Here in the US our kids spend thousands of hours working toward winning first a city middle school tournament, and then a high school state championship and finally an NCAA crown – all in our prevalent “national” style. The most dedicated of those will spend a couple of “offseason” months competing in freestyle and/or Greco Roman wrestling. Thanks to USA Wrestling and Jason Bryant I just finished watching more hours than I should have of the Cadet and Junior Freestyle Championships in Fargo. By and large it was very entertaining wrestling, but I’m willing to bet that there are at least a half dozen 17-year-old kids in each of the former Soviet republics that could easily handle most, if not all, of out Junior Champions in freestyle competition. The number one reason is simple – those kids devote their entire lives to freestyle wrestling.

The disparity doesn’t disappear at the elite level. Our best wrestlers will have prepared for years to win an NCAA championship – or two – or three - and then at age 22 or 23 switch to a style where their opponents have a 10 – 15 year head start on them.

There are those who say the answer is simple – convert American interscholastic and intercollegiate wrestling to freestlye. If our primary goal for wrestling is to win more international medals that might be the answer. But what if our goal is to expose more kids to the intrinsic value of wrestling? Does a change in styles help there? I’m not sure – but I suspect not. It’s not that I think young athletes would naturally prefer folkstyle to freestyle. That defies logic. The difficulty would come at the teaching/coaching level. I fear that we would have too may coaches who, brought up completely in folkstyle, would lose their enthusiasm for the sport – and without motivated teachers we would see a drop in participation.

There is no rule that says a young American wrestler must follow the traditional path to Olympic glory. The recent improvement in American Greco-Roman wrestling may be due, in part, to more young athlete’s foregoing a college career to focus on their GR training. Let’s also not forget that America’s only freestyle gold medallist in Beijing, Henry Cejudo, opted to go directly from his high school graduation to the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Now there’s a new factor in the equation – Mixed Martial Arts. An international freestyle career has never been a gateway to great wealth for American competitors. Traditionally, the top athletes have earned a small stipend from USA Wrestling and supplemented their incomes with college assistant coaching jobs. The latter again brings the style conflict into play as they sacrifice their own freestyle training time to teach better folkstyle techniques to younger athletes.

Increasingly, graduating wrestlers are lured away from the sport by the potential for big money in MMA, where the top stars can earn six figures per bout. Former Oklahoma State Cowboy stars Jake Rosholt and Johnny Hendricks were among the first to eschew international wrestling competition and move quickly into MMA fighting. 2010 graduates Lance Palmer of Ohio State and Missouri’s Mark Ellis both recently announced upcoming forays into mixed martial arts. Will this trend continue and how will it impact the future of American wrestling?

Many MMA fans believe that the growth in “ultimate fighting” will only help wrestling when young grapplers see the potential for future wealth battling in the octagon. I’m not sure that I believe that premise. Look at baseball where even journeyman players are millionaires. Yet, participation in Little League has dropped 13% since 1997.

Do we, as fans, really care what happens on the international stage? Unfortunately, I suspect that the answer is that fewer and fewer of us do. If you are among those who do, there is a way to help our top freestyle, Greco-Roman and women wrestlers. The Living the Dream Fund was created to provide cash rewards for medal winners at the World Championship and Olympic competition. An American gold medallist in Moscow in September will receive $50,000 from the fund, while a silver medal is worth $25,000 and a bronze will net $15,000. You can contribute online at the Living the Dream website. You'll be strengthening American wrestling.

Three years and counting

I am astonished that you are reading this. This week marks the third anniversary of The View from Section GG and I still can’t believe that anyone reads it. I have no special knowledge or “inside information”. I can’t tell you how to execute a good ankle pick – but I know one when I see one. I just love this sport and the blog gives me a chance to write about it from a fan’s perspective. There seems to be a prevailing belief that only ex-wrestlers and their families can appreciate wrestling. Not so.

This adventure has so far led me down paths I never imagined were possible. The last 12 months have been both hectic and exciting. I started working on Tickets for Kids just about a year ago. The idea was pretty simple – the more kids that are exposed to the excitement of the higher levels of wrestling, the more of them will try or continue on in the sport. Through your generosity we were able to raise enough money to send 600 youngsters to the Saturday morning session of the 2010 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.

As in all such endeavors, you can’t do it alone. KJ Pilcher from the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote an article about the project and donations got an immediate boost. Cornell College athletic director John Cochrane, assistant AD Dick Simmons and head coach Mike Duroe were extremely helpful. (Incidentally, Dick Simmons is one of the hardest working men in wrestling that you may not have heard of – serving the last three years as tournament director of the DIII Championships). Iowa Conference Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen and Anthony Holman from the NCAA helped cut through the red tape. Fred Jones from the Cedar Rapids Marriott made our largest donation - $2,000. Dozens of fans from all over the country also contributed.

Oh – the people I’ve met in the last year – including two Olympic gold medallists. I sat behind Bill Smith and his family at the University of Northern Iowa homecoming football game. Earlier in the day he and the rest of the 1950 Iowa State Teachers College NCAA championship team had been inducted into the UNI Hall of Fame. I spent the entire first half of the game mentally rehearsing how I would introduce myself to him at half time. Somehow I managed to pull it off without sounding like the goober fan that I tend to be. I wasn’t quite so erudite when Kyle Klingman from the Dan Gable International Wrestling institute and Museum (now the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum) unexpectedly introduced me to Ed Banach. I think I said something witty like, “ooba gubba hum”.

Speaking of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – I finally actually met its executive director, Lee Roy Smith, at National Duals. Lee Roy has supported this blog from almost the beginning and I’m not sure that I would still be doing it if not for his early encouragement.

National Duals also gave me the chance to meet a couple of guys who are passionate about their teams and this wonderful sport. Steve Hayleck has been fighting in the trenches for Title IX reform for years. Steve is a former Maryland wrestler and tireless worker for the Terrapin wrestling program. He writes so seriously about Title IX that when I met him I was surprised by his quirky sense of humor. I’ll also never forget how graciously he allowed me to butcher his last name for two days.

Dr. Tim Drehmer came to Cedar Falls to support his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes. While there he also did yeoman’s duty at the Adam Frey memorial table. I enjoyed meeting him and will always be thankful for his efforts.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank Tim Dennis (father of NCAA finalist, Daniel) for his time helping with the Adam Frey table.

I got to spend some time with Lloyd Corwin one night in March. In one of life’s strange twists, I actually met Lloyd over 25 years ago in a business setting. He was a two-time Division I All-American for Cornell College in the ‘50s and only ever lost three college matches. His victories included one over future Olympic champion and Distinguished Member of the Hall of Fame, Doug Blubaugh. Lloyd is a charming gentleman with an infectious laugh and I enjoyed every minute I spent with him.

I would be falsely modest if I didn’t admit that two of my proudest moments came this year at the NCAA Division III Championships. I was selected to be a marshal for the Parade of Champions on the evening of the finals. It was thrilling to be surrounded by the past, present and future of the sport.

The Thursday night before the championships, I was awarded The National Wrestling Coaches Association Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling” Award. To have my name associated with Gable’s in any way is incredibly humbling. I will treasure that moment forever.

Here’s what I’ve learned in the last three years. We fans don’t have to sit on the sidelines and watch this sport be assaulted by outside influences. In fact – we owe it to the future of wrestling to get off of our butts and work for its salvation. There are countless opportunities to help – from getting more kids on the mat to fighting for your favorite college program to supporting our Olympic athletes. Pick one and join the battle. If a short, fat, balding 60 year-old fan in Cedar Rapids, Iowa can do it – so can you.

The legacy of the Cedar Valley

I suppose it started with Finn Eriksen 77 years ago. That’s the year that Eriksen led New Hampton to a share of the Iowa high school wrestling championship. Since that title in 1933 the Cedar Valley – Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Waverly, Gilbertville, New Hampton and a dozen other small Iowa towns - has influenced American wrestling at all levels.

Take Finn Eriksen for example. It wasn’t just that he started the most storied program in Iowa high school history – Waterloo West. Eriksen, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, introduced practices that we now take for granted – like summer camps and coaching clinics.

Since those days in the 1930’s wrestling rooms in the Cedar Valley have produced future NCAA championship athletes and coaches, Olympic medallists, some of the sport’s preeminent officials and enough Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame that maybe they ought to have their own wing.

In 1943 Roy Jarrard took over for Eriksen at Waterloo West and led the the Wahawks to three consecutive Iowa high school team championships. Those three teams featured three athletes who won 7 individual state titles and had a runner-up finish. As college freshmen those three – Dick Hauser, Lowell Lange and Leo Thomsen – helped carry Cornell College to the 1947 NCAA and AAU team championships.

Iowa State Teachers College finished second to Cornell in 1947. In fact, Coach Dave McCuskey’s ISTC teams were national powers from 1946 to 1953, winning the NCAA team title in 1950. Olympic champion Bill Smith and silver medallist Gerry Leeman and three-time NCAA champions Bill Koll, Bill Nelson and Keith Young all wrestled in Cedar Falls for McCuskey.

Bob Siddens also wrestled on those teams. His career record as the wrestling coach at Waterloo West was 327-26. His wrestlers would go one to win multiple Big 8, Big 10 and NCAA titles. He coached two 2X NCAA champs who would help their universities win national team titles – Dale Anderson at Michigan State in 1967 and Dan Gable in 1969 and ’70.

It’s impossible to mention everyone – UNI graduate Jim Miller who has so far led Wartburg College to seven NCAA Division III team championships, NCAA champions like Joe Gibbons and Chuck Yagla from Waterloo Columbus and Daryl Weber from Gilbertville Don Bosco and Hall of Fame official Mike Allen from Waterloo East and UNI are just some. Even the sport’s most prolific writer (and founder of the Hodge Trophy) – Mike Chapman - hales from Waterloo.

Then there’s Gable. His career as athlete, coach and ambassador is unrivaled.

As of last Thursday there’s a new player in the Cedar Valley. Doug Schwab was announced as the new head wrestling coach at the University of Northern Iowa. Schwab, a native of Osage, IA and former NCAA champion has been an assistant at the University of Iowa for the past four seasons and has been instrumental in the Hawkeyes’ last three NCAA title runs. He takes over a program that had, perhaps, lost sight of its legacy.

Doug mentioned both that legacy and the Cedar Valley during his press conference. The three 2010 Iowa high school team champions are Cedar Valley schools, Waverly-Shell Rock in AAA, Denver-Tripoli in AA and Gilbertville Don Bosco in A and Schwab inherits a recruiting class that includes two young men from Don Bosco and one from Denver-Tripoli.

I’ve long been a Doug Schwab fan. Yes, he won an NCAA championship in 1999, but it was his performance in Saint Louis in 2000 that most of us remember. Upset in the quarterfinals by #8 seed Carl Perry, Doug piled up bonus points in the consolation bracket that were invaluable to the Hawkeyes in a very close team race. If you’ve watched wrestling for any length of time you’ve seen it more than once – the favorite gets knocked off and then is unable to compose himself and give his best in wrestlebacks. Not Doug Schwab – he sucked it up and went out and beat the living snot out of people to come back and finish third.

That’s the level of determination he will need to turn around a program that finished 40th at the NCAA tournament six weeks ago. I suspect that he won’t settle for respectability. In fact, in his press conference he said he wants to “win it all”. You’d be disappointed if he said anything else, but I think he means it.

Good luck, Doug, and may you add an exciting new chapter to the story of Cedar Valley wrestling.

What is a legend?

“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

That line comes near the end of one of John Ford’s best westerns, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It is spoken by a newspaper editor after an interview with Jimmy Stewart’s character, Senator Ransom Stoddard. Stoddard has built a long, successful political career based on the “fact” that he killed the evil Liberty Valance in a gunfight. He has come home with his wife to bury the, now, unknown derelict Tom Doniphan (John Wayne). Stoddard reveals in the interview that it was Doniphan – not himself – who shot and killed Valance. An unnamed western territory became a state and thousands of new settlers arrived in part because of the accomplishments of “the man who shot Liberty Valance”.

The terms “wrestling legend” and “coaching legend” have been thrown around on the internet a lot lately – sometimes disparagingly. Occasionally, when we meet or observe “legends”, they disappoint us. It isn’t fair, really, to hold someone to a higher behavior standard than everyone else we encounter in life, simply because at one time they could beat the tar out of almost everyone on the wrestling mat.

For reasons beyond my comprehension, writing this blog has allowed me to meet “wrestling legends” – and some who, perhaps, ought to be legendary.

As a longtime Hawkeye fan, there’s a part of me that is supposed to be hard wired to root against anyone named Smith who wrestled at Oklahoma State. However, I’m not sure that I would still be writing this if it weren’t for Lee Roy Smith. From the very early days, Lee Roy has encouraged me. He has contributed to the blog and promoted it to others. Many fans know Lee Roy as an NCAA champion, World Silver Medallist, head coach at Arizona State University and participant in one of the most famous – and controversial – matches in American wrestling history. It’s his accomplishments as the executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum that, maybe, go unrecognized. During his tenure, the Hall of Fame has educated the public about the contributions wrestling and wrestlers have made to the defense of our freedom, the expansion of our ethnic diversity and the very growth of our nation. When I finally got to shake Lee Roy’s hand, he was as gracious in person as he has been in our internet correspondence.

When I met Lee Roy at the NWCA National Duals he was accompanied by Richard Small – a name that is legendary at Cornell College – but almost unknown to far too many in the wrestling community. Richard was a Midwest Classic Conference champion and a member of Cornell’s 1947 NCAA and AAU championship team. After graduation in 1950 he went on to be highly successful in the oil business. If the phrase “giving back” ever needed an illustration, Richard’s picture would be there. He has become Cornell’s most generous benefactor and supports wrestling both financially and as a member of the Board of Governors at the Hall of Fame. Upon introduction, he chose to thank ME for my tiny contributions to the sport. Richard, I’m not worthy.

Lloyd Corwin is an unassuming gentleman with an easy laugh. When you meet him it’s hard to imagine that in the 1950’s he was one of America’s toughest wrestlers. Competing at 147 pounds for Cornell College in the “pre-divisional” era, he was a two-time All-American, finishing second and third. Lloyd only lost three matches in his college career and in 1955 he defeated future Olympic champion Doug Blubaugh in the NCAA quarterfinals.

I met Lloyd recently when we were both selected to be marshals at the 2010 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. We struck up one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve ever had with a member of the wrestling community. He never once talked about himself, preferring instead to discuss Coe College’s Clayton Rush. Lloyd lives less than 15 miles from Clayton’s hometown and has been following his career since high school. Of all of the marshals, I think it was Lloyd who most genuinely enjoyed congratulating the young men as he handed them their All-American trophies. Lloyd probably doesn’t qualify as a “legend” in the minds of most fans, but he’s certainly among the top of my list of wrestling family members I’ve been lucky enough to meet.

I’ve never actually met Ben Peterson. A two-time NCAA champion at Iowa State and an Olympic gold medallist in 1972 (and silver medallist in 1976), Ben is truly a wrestling legend. In March, 2008 I was riding down the escalator at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids after the finals of that year’s Division III Championships. A crowd of teenagers surrounded a tall, bespectacled man who was talking to them. As I got to the bottom I thought, “Holy crap, that’s Ben Peterson.” As more people recognized him the crowd started to grow. He was letting the youngsters pass his gold medal among themselves while he was speaking. The message was simple, “Listen to your parents, listen to your teachers, listen to your coaches and work hard and you too can win one of those.” The kids were mesmerized.

Then there’s Dan Gable. I’ve watched Gable on, next to and off the mat for 40 years. I’ve seen the dominating athlete and the fiery coach who occasionally had to be restrained by an assistant. I’ve watched him sign autographs for everyone from little kids to Russian wrestlers. The two times that I’ve had the chance to talk to him he has been warm and engaging. In February we both spoke at an event honoring Barron Bremner. At one point Dan said, “I have a vision for wrestling that most people don’t understand – that’s way up there. We’ve got to build this sport.” It was the look in his eyes as he said it that grabbed me. It grabbed others as well.

When the legend and fact collide – and they’re identical – there’s no need to worry about which to print.

NCAA memories

“With that fall by Jeff McGinness, IOWA takes the lead.” That call by Sandy Stevens drew laughter from our section at the 1995 NCAA Championships. You see – the pin came in a pigtail match and scored the very first points in the tournament. Jeff would go on to win the first of his two NCAA titles.

Once again this year business obligations will keep me here in Cedar Rapids while the Championships play out in Omaha. I’ll catch what I can on the radio, the internet and television – but it just isn’t the same as being there. I’ve followed Nationals from afar many times, but my best memories are from the times when I attended.

I asked several people if they would be willing to share their favorite memories of the NCAA tournament.

Longtime Iowa Hawkeye fan, Roger Pilcher remembers 2000. “There are so many memories over the years, but one always stands out for me – Saint Louis in 2000. On that horrible Friday we had three #1 seeds go down. Jody Stritmatter and Doug Schwab lost in the morning and TJ Williams lost in the evening. The crowd was, of course, delirious as IOWA was pursuing its sixth consecutive national title. My brother and I were pretty low as we left the arena that night. It was a good thing the wrestlers didn’t hang their heads as much as we did, though. As low as we were that night, we were at least that high again the next morning as all three wrestled back to third place finishes. Doug Schwab was an absolute beast, punishing everybody he wrestled in consolations. For that performance alone, he will always remain one of my all-time favorite Hawkeyes.”

“Saturday night we watched Eric Juergens win a national title, acknowledging the Hawkeye fans in attendance, and IOWA got that sixth consecutive title”

Three-time NCAA champion, Olympic silver medallist and head coach at the University of Wisconsin, Barry Davis, remembers his first title as a competitor,”… as they announced your name to take the stand it was a FEELING that has never been matched. Also, as I went up to the stands to see my parents the Iowa fans had boxes of donuts and M & M’s waiting for me because that was the year I took off and Coach Gable found me at Hy-Vee”

As a coach, Barry has most enjoyed, “…watching Jeff Walters and Donny Pritzlaff winning their NCAA titles - just the look on their faces and knowing how much it meant to them."

Cedar Rapids Gazette writer and editor, J.R. Ogden has been covering the NCAA Wrestling Championships since 1985. Three of those events stand out in his mind.

“1985 – This I remember more for personal reasons than for anything at the tournament. This was my first NCAA tournament and my first year covering wrestling and the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes were in the middle of their 9-title stretch and I was driving into Oklahoma City – aka ‘enemy territory’. Listening to the radio I heard about big, bad Iowa coming to town, etc. I was actually worried my company car with Iowa plates might get vandalized.”

“1993 – This is one of the excellent tournaments Iowa State hosted. ISU always was one of the better places. Again this has to do with the Hawkeyes – Troy Steiner, weeks earlier, moving down a weight to make room for ‘super freshman’, Lincoln McIlravy. What I remember most is McIlravy’s championship bout, his come-from-behind victory and, especially, the third period. It is one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen.”

“1997 – Gable’s last as head coach. This is memorable for a lot of reasons – Iowa’s string of victories from Thursday night through most of Friday, its amazing performance with six finalists and five champs, seeing Oklahoma State coach John Smith, whose Cowboys were favored, at a local establishment that Friday night, hiding in the corner and obviously shell-shocked by Iowa’s performance. But the thing I remember most and hopefully always will is what happened AFTER the meet. Dan Gable took a chair in the middle of the UNI-Dome – possibly on some sort of makeshift stage, but that I can’t remember – and signed autographs long after the tournament was over. I remember finishing all my stories for the next day’s paper, at least an hour after the event and maybe two, and Gable was still signing autographs and a line remained.”

Almost every Hawkeye fan I’ve ever met who was in Cedar Falls in 1997 has that as their favorite National Tournament – for many of the reasons J.R. mentioned. I have two more that I hope I never forget. Jim Zalesky hugging Gable and Gable pointing his crutch at Jesse Whitmer and yelling, “Strongest man in the world!” after Whitmer’s Cinderella championship.

Finally, there was Sandy Stevens’ introduction of Bob Siddens as he presented the team championship trophy to Gable. That time Sandy made me cry.

On being a fan

I’m just a fan. However it came to happen – I love wrestling. The only wrestling I ever did was in junior high school intramurals. Then I went to watch Dan Gable wrestle in Ames and it started – my love affair with this sport.

Debbie Connell has been my friend for 40 years. I worked my way through Saint Ambrose College at a Dairy Queen in Davenport and Connell was one of my co-workers. If you’re ever in Carver Hawkeye Arena for a wrestling meet and the Hawkeyes come running out of the tunnel – look to the middle of the first row just above the tunnel and you’ll see Debbie and her sister Jodie. They’ve been season ticket holders longer than I have.

Debbie and I were reminiscing before the Iowa/Northwestern meet and she brought back a long forgotten moment. “Do you remember the time you and Mr. Simmons (one of our regular DQ customers) stood outside and talked about Gable after the ’72 Olympics? I can remember you guys talking for maybe half-an-hour.” Unlike today, when you have to get up at 2:00 AM to watch Olympic wrestling on the internet, we got to see Gable’s march to the gold on ABC. We got to hear Frank Gifford describe him as “the most dedicated athlete I’ve ever seen.”

Last night my name became officially linked with Dan Gable’s and I couldn’t be prouder – or more humbled. The National Wrestling Coaches Association presented me with the Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling” Award at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The plaque calls me “Ambassador for the Sport”. But folks, I’m just a fan. I started writing this blog in July, 2007 just because I wanted some place to talk about wrestling as fans do. The luckiest result has been that I have got to meet some wonderful people who work hard for this great sport.

Dick Simmons might be one of the hardest working people that the general wrestling public knows little about. The assistant athletic director at Cornell College, Dick has been the tournament director of the NCAA Division III Championships for the past three years. Whenever something needs to be done, he jumps in. At the 2008 DIII Championships, Dick was the guy who swept the mat before the finals. At the recent USA vs. Russia freestyle dual at Cornell, Dick saved the evening when the sound system failed during the playing of the Russian national anthem. While the crowd waited anxiously, he fixed the system and embarrassment was averted. When I needed help with Tickets for Kids, Dick was one of the first in line. Last night the NWCA honored Dick for his last three years’ of service to this event. He took his plaque, thanked the NWCA, shook hands with his Cornell associates and went back downstairs to finish preparations for the beginning of today’s wrestling.

When Mike Moyer calls you on the phone and says, “God told me to call you”, you know that there’s work to be done. I’ve received that call a couple of times. Last night I finally got to meet Mike, the executive director of the NWCA, in person. Life can be unfair. Whenever a college wrestling program gets dropped there are those who choose to malign Mike and his staff at. Unfortunately, they get little acknowledgment when new programs are added – and here’s the heartening truth – more wrestling teams have been added in recent years than have been lost. Thank you Mike, Pat (Tocci) and Tammy (Tedesco) for your tireless work.

If you’ve been around the sport for any time you know Jason Bryant and have read his articles and blogs and heard him talk on the radio or do match play-by-play on the internet. Jason is dauntless in his efforts to give wrestling better coverage and more exposure. He’s here in Cedar Rapids for the “DIIIs” and he and his broadcast partner, Kyle Klingman of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum, will provide live streaming of the finals Saturday night. Then its off to Omaha where they will “live stream” the entire Division II tournament and then the opening round of the “Big Dance” – the NCAA Division I Championships – and somewhere in there Jason has a wedding to plan.

When I started the blog I often didn’t know from one week to the next what the subject might be (that’s probably still more true than I care to admit). Somewhere along the line I encountered Danielle Hobeika. Wrestler, photographer and web designer, Danielle seemed a fascinating subject and she graciously agreed to be my first interview. Whenever anyone in the wrestling world needs a website quickly - from Save Oregon Wrestling to Cal State Bakersfield to Adam Frey – Danielle gets the job done.

At the time of the interview with Danielle she was on the staff at Beat the Streets and suggested that I interview Al Bevilacqua and write about BTS. Al’s passion is to make wrestling an urban sport. There are millions of kids in our largest cities who have few – if any – opportunities to wrestle. Al would like to see everyone of them – regardless of gender – on the mat.

More than any other person, it was Al who motivated me to get off my butt and try to do something. He was my role model when I developed Tickets for Kids and has been wonderfully supportive. Hundreds of kids will get to watch college wrestling tomorrow morning because Al Bevilacqua convinced me that a fan just might be able to have some kind of impact on the future of the sport.

Then there’s Gable. I had been introduced to Dan briefly about 17 years ago – just another one of thousands of fans he has met over the years. Four weeks ago today I got to be on the same program with him as the museum that bears his name honored Barron Bremner. Everyone knows Gable, but I’m not sure that everyone appreciates how passionately he works for the growth of wrestling. There’s a look in his eye when he talks about the future of the sport that inspires you to do whatever you can.

I’m just a fan – but then maybe so are you. What are you doing for wrestling today?

Recipe for a wrestling promotion

Ingredients

1 established wrestling organization
1 corporate sponsor
1 wrestling fan
2 college administrations
2 coaching staffs
1 theme
2 wrestling legends
miscellaneous additional “spices”

Steps

1. Established wrestling organization (Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum) selects theme(s) (Coe College vs. Cornell College dual meet and honoring Barron Bremner) for holding a wrestling promotional event.

2. Established wrestling organization contacts coaching staffs and administrations of the two colleges with the idea.

3. Schools respond in the affirmative.

4. Established wrestling organization contacts local fan to act as “organizer” for the event.

5. Established wrestling organization and fan meet and decide:

a. event promotion strategy.
b. “hook” – honoring Barron Bremner.
c. event expenses should be covered by sponsor, if possible.
d. event should be a fund-raiser for the two colleges’ wrestling programs.

6. Fan arranges venue and helps develop an invitation list.

7. Established wrestling organization finds corporate sponsor (Body Bar Systems) so that all ticket sale proceeds can be donated to the schools.

8. Established wrestling organization confirms the participation of 2 wrestling legends (Barron Bremner and Dan Gable).

9. Event is promoted with radio interviews, newspaper article, direct mail, emails and various online postings.

10. Event program is developed: speeches from the established wrestling organization, the fan, the two coaches, the guest of honor (Barron Bremner) and Dan Gable.

11. Mix in a liberal quantity of spices like members of the legendary 1947 Cornell NCAA and AAU champions; 2X Cornell All-American , Lloyd Corwin – who beat 1960 Olympic champion, Doug Blubaugh, in the quarter finals of the 1955 NCAA championships; former Coe wrestler, Mark Olinyk, who was one of Gable’s workout partners before the 1972 Olympics; super fans like Rich Foens and Bob Majors and civic leaders who care about the future of wrestling tourism in Cedar Rapids.

12. Stir it all together with lots of stories, memories and the conviction that wrestling truly is the world’s greatest sport. Serve it HOT.


In the past few weeks, two more NCAA Division I universities, Duquesne and Cal State-Bakersfield, announced the elimination of their wrestling programs. The National Wrestling Coaches Association will once again do the yeoman’s share of the work in trying to save these programs. The rest of the wrestling community will respond with letters, petitions and donations and maybe – just, maybe – one, or both of those programs can be saved.

WAKE UP! The time to save a program is before it is threatened. These are overwhelmingly difficult economic times for most colleges and universities. Just assume that your favorite or closest wrestling team is potentially on the chopping block. Don’t spend your time whining and moaning and waiting for someone – the NWCA, the NCAA, the coach, the alumni – anyone else but you, to fix the problem. ACT! If your ideas for growing – yes, GROWING, intercollegiate wrestling are good enough to post on an online forum, they’re good enough to present to an athletic director or a wrestling coach or the president of the alumni association.

The above recipe can be modified to fit almost any school or situation and it “nourishes” the sport in many ways. Showing college administrators that wrestling is important to a community and to alumni is first among those. It also lays the groundwork for fund raising. I know it isn’t fair when a wrestling team has to raise money to save itself and a softball team doesn’t. SO WHAT! Life hasn’t been fair since Eve talked Adam into eating that apple. Get busy and endow this sport.

Kyle Klingman and Kent Sesker from the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum are to be commended for conceiving the Coe/Cornell breakfast. Thank you, Arno Niemand, of Body Bar Systems for sponsoring it.
Kudos also go to Coe AD, John Chandler; Cornell AD John Cochrane and assistant AD Dick Simmons and coaches Duroe and Oostendorp for their participation. However, the true “man of the hour” – the guy everyone came to see – was Barron Bremner.

It made for one heck of a day to be a wrestling fan.

Small gyms, big man

I live within walking distance of Coe College and once or twice a year I go to Eby Fieldhouse and watch the Kohawks wrestle. For the past few years I’ve made it a point to attend their November invitational.

Twice in January I spent the day at Cornell College in the Richard and Norma Small Multi-sport Center raising money for Tickets for Kids. Cornell AD, John Cochrane, allowed me to set up my table where the greatest traffic would pass – on the way to the mats and right next to the men’s restroom entrance. I was also right in the middle of a wrestling shrine. Behind me, over my left shoulder was the Cornell College Athletic Hall of Fame photo of Lloyd Appleton, longtime wrestling coach at the US Military Academy and Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Directly to my left were the photos of two other members of the NWHOF, three-time NCAA champ, Lowell Lange, and the winningest dual meet coach in the history of NCAA wrestling, Dale Thomas. A little farther down hangs the picture of Lloyd Corwin, a two-time All-American who beat 1960 Olympic gold medallist, Doug Blubaugh, in the quarter-finals of the 1955 NCAA championships. Then, 12 feet in front of me and just to the right was the really cool stuff – the 1947 NCAA and AAU championship trophies.

Yes, both of these schools have contributed much to the sport of wrestling, but they are, first and foremost, institutions of higher learning – turning out graduates who teach our kids, run our businesses and lead our communities. Each year students arrive on these campuses to build the foundation for their futures. Some choose also to toil in hot wrestling rooms and compete in relative anonymity simply because they love the sport.

One man – one big man – spent his career changing lives at both Coe and Cornell. Barron Bremner was a heavyweight wrestler at the University of Iowa. He also played football on the 1957 Hawkeye Rose Bowl and National Championship team. He then coached wrestling for 16 years at Cornell and 7 at Coe, compiling a 196-39-3 dual meet record. He also served as athletic director and led the financial development departments of both schools. He’s in both schools’ athletic halls of fame and the NCAA Division III Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame. But, there is more to Barron Bremner than wins and losses.

Television analyst, Tim Johnson, wrestled for Bremner at Coe. “Barron is a man that I deeply love. He is one of the reasons I often add to the bottom of my emails the byline, ‘Never underestimate the power and influence of a coach’”. Tim makes it a point to get together with his former coach at least once a year when he’s in Iowa for a broadcast.

Former Cornell wrestler, Tim Hicks, said, “I would have never continued my wrestling career without the influence of Barron Bremner. He was instrumental in luring me and other potential wrestlers to Cornell…”

There is one story about Barron that, perhaps, says more about him than any other. In an interview with wrestling writer and historian, Mark Palmer; Simon Roberts, the first African-American NCAA wrestling champion – and a team mate of Bremner’s at Iowa - related this, "The only time I can remember any open discrimination was Stillwater [Oklahoma], at the nationals [in 1956]," according to Roberts. "The Iowa team went downtown for our post weigh-in meal. They seated the entire team, about a dozen of us, including me. But the waitress brought glasses of water for everyone but me. Barron Bremner [Iowa heavyweight] seemed to notice it right away, didn't say anything to me, but got up and went over to talk to the waitress. She motioned toward the kitchen, so Barron went through the doors into the kitchen. He was there a few minutes, came out, then the manager or owner motioned to the waitress. They talked a bit, then she brought a glass of water to me. That was the end of it. I was served my meal with the rest of the team without any incident. And we didn't discuss it either."

This Friday morning, February 5th, the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum and Body Bar Systems will host a breakfast at the Cedar Rapids, IA Marriott celebrating the wrestling heritage of Coe and Cornell. Barron Bremner will be the guest of honor. Doors will open at 8:15, breakfast will be served at 8:30 and a short program featuring Bremner, Coe coach, John Oostendorp and Cornell coach, Mike Duroe, will follow at 9:00. Dan Gable is one of several wrestling dignitaries scheduled to attend. Tickets are $15 each and all proceeds will go to the Cornell and Coe wrestling programs. You can make reservations by email at orders@wrestlingmuseum.org or by calling (319)233-0745.

That evening Coe and Cornell will square off at Cornell in their annual dual meet. It will also be “Breast Cancer Awareness Night”. Last year’s meet was a barn burner and I expect much the same this year.

You shoulda been there

You shoulda been there - Saturday night – Carver Hawkeye Arena Iowa vs. Oklahoma State.

You shoulda been there for the history. When the Cowboys come to town it’s a major event. There’s no question that these are the two greatest programs in college wrestling history. The fans of each school love to debate the significance of their respective accomplishments. Cowboy fans like to point out that Ed Gallagher practically invented college wrestling, while those in the black and gold avow that Dan Gable re-invented it with the “Iowa Style”. No matter which side you’re on there’s no denying that when OSU comes to Iowa City there’s more Olympic and World Championship hardware in the building than some countries have amassed in the modern era of freestyle wrestling.

You shoulda been there for the fashion. From John Smith’s usual sartorial splendor to a guy in a gorilla suit, singlet and headgear to Royce Alger’s boots and cowboy hat – it was all there.

You shoulda been there for the ice cream. We took out a second mortgage on our house and then stood in line for twenty minutes to buy the favorite confection in CHA.

You shoulda been there for the noise. No – not the incessant pre-recorded, overloud rock anthems that seem to now be inseparable from any athletic event – I mean the crowd noise. Say what you will about Hawkeye fans – love us or hate us – we can make a racket. It always thrills me to see a young wrestler rewarded for an outstanding performance by the roar that only ever seems to happen in Carver. Montell Marion got his first taste of an ecstatic Hawkeye crowd Saturday night.

You shoulda been there for the kids. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you know that I am obsessed with getting more kids on the mat. Saturday, the University of Iowa did one of those little things that helps grow the sport – they held a youth clinic before the meet. I know – lots of schools do that – and lots of schools give away tee-shirts to the attendees. It’s their last experience that may stand to inspire them as they journey through their wrestling careers. Many of them got to form a golden human tunnel through which the Hawkeyes entered. Just imagine that you’re ten years old, the lights go down, the fight song comes up and 11,000 fans jump to their feet and roar as Brent Metcalf runs by you. It’s something they’ll always remember.

You shoulda been there for the wrestling. Here comes that debate again. Fans of each school look disparagingly upon the wrestling “style” of the other. To Cowboy fans, Iowa wrestlers are “thugs” who just push and bully. The Hawkeye faithful believe that “track shoes” are a more appropriate footwear for the grapplers from Stillwater than are a pair of Asics Rulons. This argument has been going on for years and will continue to do so – probably for the rest of my life. No less of an authority than Ray Brinzer (one of only two wrestlers to compete for both schools) wrote about the “style” difference in WIN Magazine in 1996 and then posted it to his blog in 2005. Depending upon your viewpoint, Saturday you got to see either the worst or the best of the other’s philosophy. Each team won five matches, but Matt McDonough, Brent Metcalf and Jay Borschel scored enough bonus points to carry the day for the Hawks.

Yesterday, as I sat on my favorite perch at my favorite watering hole, I met another wrestling fan. He lives in Marion so he asked me at great length about the performances of the hometown “boys”, McDonough and Borschel. I described the matches for him, but closed with, “You shoulda been there.”

Finding the next Gable - or Smith - or Borlaug

It’s time to come clean. I’ve lied in this blog for two and a half years. I’ve always claimed that I never wrestled and that isn’t entirely true. I did win an 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L. Smart Junior High School. In 1963 every boy in Davenport, IA (it was a sexist world) was introduced to wrestling in some way. There were instructional units in our PE classes where we were taught the basics of the single leg takedown, the sitout and the half nelson. At the end of the unit the teacher would organize an intramural tournament and we were encouraged to enter.

At about the same time that I reached the apex of my wrestling glory, 130 miles to the northwest, in Waterloo, a kid named Gable was launching his career. It’s a story of 2 choices. I opted for being a really bad basketball player and he chose to become one of America’s greatest wrestlers. A few years later, in Del City, OK, some brothers named Smith were exposed to wrestling and chose to pursue their dreams – with John going on to win two Olympic Gold medals and four World Championships.

Long before I, or Dan Gable or the Smiths were born a kid named Norman Borlaug stepped on the mat in Cresco, IA. After his wrestling career at the University of Minnesota, he, too, made a choice – to go an to graduate school and earn a masters degree and PHD in plant pathology. His lifetime of food production research saved millions of people around the world from starvation and in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. Borlaug said of his wrestling background, “Wrestling taught me some valuable lessons. I always figured I could hold my own against the best in the world. It made me tough (my emphasis). Many times I drew on that strength.”

So – what’s the one common thread running threw Dr. Borlaug, Dan Gable, John Smith and me? We were all exposed to wrestling at an early age. We may have all taken divergent paths – but we all had the opportunity to learn the values of wrestling. I’m not sure that enough of today’s youth gets that opportunity.

What’s the answer? I don’t know – but here’s what I’m trying. I must begin by saying that I love NCAA Division III wrestling. Those guys really “get after it”. I’ve attended a few NCAA Division III Championships and the Saturday morning session might be my favorite part of that event. Everyone wrestling then is already an All-American and is battling to determine his spot on the podium. I’ll see more throws, reversals to pins – in general more excitement – in that one session than I might see in a whole season of Hawkeye dual meets. I know that the skill levels are different – but boy do I love watching DIII wrestlers.

What if kids who are new to wrestling got to see all of that fun and action? Would a few of them step on the mat for the first time? Would some of them get motivated enough to stick with the sport when it gets tough? I don’t know – but I’m hoping to find out. I’m raising enough money ($10,000) to buy 1,000 tickets to the Saturday, March 6, 2010 morning session of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA and giving them away to kids.

The tickets will go to a variety of kids. Many will be reserved for students at flood impacted elementary and middle schools in Cedar Rapids. Local youth organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs will also get some. Most will probably go to youth wrestling clubs. There is no geographical preference for the wrestling clubs – if you want to bring a group to Cedar Rapids, just let me know.
So far, support has been encouraging. Corporate pledges have reached over $4,000, including an extremely generous gift of $2,000 from the Cedar Rapids Marriott. When wrestling writer KJ Pilcher published an article about the project in the Cedar Rapids Gazette just before Christmas, I got another $600 in pledges in three days. Cornell College has allowed me to raise money on-site at wrestling events. To date a total of about $5,600 has come in.

Some folks have suggested that I should be happy with what has already been accomplished. That’s like suggesting that Gable should have been satisfied with two NCAA titles after the loss to Owings or telling John Smith that a couple of international championships are enough for any man. I won’t stop until we get 1,000 kids in that arena – and I may not stop then.

So, dear readers, I am asking you to help. Several of you already have and to those I offer my heartfelt thanks. But – there’s still work to be done. Will you who haven’t yet contributed join this elite group of fans?

If you want to make a pledge today email me at jim@dmsolutions4u.com. I’ll collect on your pledge in a couple of weeks when tickets actually go on sale. If you want to just write a check now, please make it to, “Tickets for Kids” and send it to:

“Tickets for Kids”
c/o Jim Brown
130 24th St NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-4936.

Your donation may just be the one that puts the next Gable or Smith or Borlaug on the mat.

Thank you,

Jim

PS If you have a group of kids that would like tickets, please email me.

Dear Santa 2009

Dear Santa,

I’m late with my list again – sorry.

First, thanks for giving us some of the things I asked for last year. I requested more wrestling opportunities in America’s largest cities and you sent Mike Rodriguez who, with the help of Mark Churella and others, launched Beat the Streets Detroit.

You packed your sleigh with new programs like Baker University and Lake Erie College. You brought intercollegiate wrestling opportunities to untapped areas when new teams were announced at Shorter College in Georgia, Wayland Baptist University in Texas and Ouachita Baptist in Arkansas. Someone at Norwich University must have moved from the “naughty” column to the “nice” column because you reinstated their program less than a year after they dropped it.

Thanks, also, for putting more wrestling coverage under my tree. Just yesterday I got to follow Wartburg’s Desert Duals through a live blog – and boy am I thankful! It’s pretty likely that there will be a shakeup in some individual Division III rankings after the action in Las Vegas.

I’ve kept a couple of items from last year on this year’s list. We still need more opportunities for girls to wrestle. The success of girls’ interscholastic wrestling in Texas, Hawaii, Washington and California and the growth of women’s intercollegiate programs prove that girls want to wrestle. They just don’t want to have to wrestle boys. Please, Santa, send us someone enlightened enough and with enough energy to lead the grassroots effort required to expand girls’ wrestling.

I’m still looking for a “shinier” version of freestyle wrestling, too. I’m afraid that even John Smith would look boring under the current rules.

I’m pretty greedy, so I’ve added a few things to this year’s list. Could we get more press conferences with Tom Brands? I know that a lot of fans love to hate Hawkeye wrestling, but Coach Brands just might be the most interesting interview in all of sports. “Poop his pants” has now been added to his long list of “quotable quotes”.

Can we get more kids on the mat? Dan Gable’s latest catchphrase is, “America needs wrestling”. I watched a video where he was wrapping up a clinic session and he explained a little about what he meant, “We need (toughness). If the power goes out and you need heat you need to be able to use a chainsaw. If the chainsaw breaks you need to be able to use an axe.” Wrestling teaches toughness and resiliency in ways that nothing else does. We need “tough” scientists like Norman Borlaug – and “tough” writers like John Irving – and “tough” leaders like Teddy Roosevelt. Where will they come from? You can be sure that some are going to walk off the mat and into greatness.

Finally, I want more wrestling events in Cedar Rapids. This is a great town, filled with wonderful people – many of whom are still struggling with the devastation of the 2008 flood. By some estimates we are still hundreds of millions of dollars and several years away from a full recovery. Last year, wrestling tourism – the Iowa High School Dual Championships and the NCAA Division III Championships – contributed roughly a million and a half dollars to the local economy. What better way to fight off our backs than wrestling. How about the World Team Trials – or another USA vs. Russia event, but let’s make it even bigger and better. Maybe we could add a kids tournament. Is it too much to ask for people to equate Cedar Rapids with wrestling? I don’t think so.

Until next year, Santa.

Jim Brown

Cedar Rapids, IA

Wrestling fan

The doers

Dan Gable was wounded, but showed up and did his job. Dan fell and broke a bone in his leg on Thanksgiving, but he was in Ames last night with broadcast partner Tim Johnson to cover the Iowa vs. Iowa State dual. It was the opening telecast of Iowa Public Television’s 34th season of bringing wrestling to fans in Iowa, southern Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, western Illinois and northern Missouri.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, IPTV used the event as a fund raiser – and, true to form - Dan got out his checkbook. He does a fabulous job of “working his audience”. A couple of weeks ago when a touring team of Russian wrestlers was in the area for one of the “Russia vs. USA” Gable invited them to his house. In last night’s appeal he said that those young Russian wrestlers knew about Iowa and where Iowa is on the map. Then he pulled out the “exclusivity” motivator, “They probably don’t know about anyplace else in America, but they know about Iowa and wrestling.”

It’s a sign of what Dan Gable has become – American wrestling’s top advocate. In the past few weeks he has been in California to support the NWCA All-Star Classic and Cal-State Fullerton wrestling; then he was in Mount Vernon, Iowa signing autographs and contributing to the webcast of Russia vs. the USA and last night he was at Hilton Coliseum – crutches and all. He gives speeches, helps with clinics, raises money for new programs – anything that will grow the sport. It goes even beyond that. On Friday, November 20th several wheel-chair bound persons attended the Iowa City Duals. Gable spent time with every one of them – talking, signing autographs and laughing.

It’s no secret that I’m a Gable fan. It was a trip to Ames to see him wrestle that first drew me to the sport. I’d like to think that he has inspired me in some part to achieve whatever small successes I have. He and my father have been the shining examples of a principle in which I’ve come to believe – “Don’t talk – act”.

Wrestling is blessed with lots of “doers” - Michael Novogratz and Al Bevilacqua at Beat the Streets, J Robinson, Mike Moyer at the NWCA, Jason Bryant, Kyle Klingman, Lee Roy Smith and dozens of others from volunteer table workers to the parents who run youth wrestling clubs. Many contribute without any recognition.

Here’s my challenge – tell me about your favorite unsung wrestling “doer”. Who is that person you know who has worked countless hours to get more kids on the mat or more fans in the seats? You can send an email to me at jim@dmsolutions4u.com, leave a blog comment or respond to a forum thread. After Christmas I’ll include your top nominations in a blog. Here’s your chance to thank that person you’ve always wanted to thank or tell someone’s good story.

And, Dan – thanks.

When 1 meets 2

The anticipation is growing. Number 1 versus number 2 in a contest that won’t determine, but may well influence the outcome of a national championship. No – not Florida and Alabama for the SEC football championship. It’s time again for the annual dual wrestling meet between The University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones – one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. ESPN has included this event on its list of “101 Things All Sports Fans Should Do Before They Die”. If you’re a wrestling fan and have never attended – shame on you.

The meet has somewhat of a different feel this year because former Iowa State coach and Cyclone icon, Cael Sanderson, has moved on to become the head coach at Penn State. Sanderson has been replaced by Kevin Jackson who in his collegiate competitive days transferred to Iowa State after LSU dropped wrestling. His matches with Iowa’s Royce Alger are legendary.

Legend – that’s part of the appeal. Fans on both sides have their favorite moments. For many Cyclone fans it’s Dave Osenbaugh pinning Lou Banach. Fanatics in black and gold favor a similar upset by Brooks Simpson over Eric Voelker. Each was a major upset and each won the meet.

The last three editions have featured newsworthy “extracurricular” aspects. In 2006 Iowa coaches Tom Brands and Dan Gable squared off in a heated debate with Sanderson and his assistant, Tim Hartung. It generated one of the most famous photos in recent years. Then came “the curtain” in 2007. Iowa State athletic director, Jamie Pollard, decided to limit seating by curtaining off thousands of seats. (Note: this will not be done this year.) Last year’s edition brought a new NCAA dual meet attendance record. People traveled from all over the country just to be able to say that they were there that night.

This year’s battle will feature two senior-dominated lineups, but two redshirt freshmen just might provide the highlight bout of the night. Both are three-time Iowa high school champions and both are off to undefeated and dominating starts in their first year of varsity competition. The Cyclones’ Andrew Long is from Creston and the Hawks’ Matt McDonough is from Marion.

For over 30 years Iowa Public Television has broadcast this and dozens of other top quality wrestling meets. Thanks to IPTV we’ve had the chance to see future Olympic and World Champions like Kenny Monday, Kendall Cross, John Smith, Tom and Terry Brands, Randy Lewis, Ed and Lou Banach, Cael Sanderson and Kevin Jackson as collegians. IPTV has used this broadcast as a fund raising event for the past several years. In these days of statewide budget cuts they’ll need your support more than ever. A feature of the telecast has been when Dan Gable gets out his checkbook and writes his check “on air” (by the way – according to IPTV’s public records – he writes a big one).

If you’re one of the 30,000 or 40,000 people watching the telecast – please call and make your pledge. If you’re going to be in Hilton Coliseum for the live action, stop now and send your check to

Friends of IPTV
PO Box 6400
Johnston, IA 50131

Make that number 1 on your agenda.

The Russians were here, the Russians were here

If you wanted to learn how to hold a wrestling event, you should have been at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA last night. The USA vs. Russia dual meet had everything a gala should have – pageantry, history, star power, mystery, excitement and a “standing room only” house.

Here are some random observations.

The kids

It was heartening to see so many youngsters at the meet. There must have been at least 40 kids from the North Cedar Wrestling Club seated near me – and what a great job their coach did! He took them on a tour of the facility including taking them to Cornell’s outstanding wrestling room.

As is always the case, dozens of kids had to get Dan Gable’s autograph. However, it was especially encouraging to see some of them – especially the younger ones – getting the autographs of the Russian athletes and coaches. There’s one young man from Linn-Mar who better hang on to that shirt.

The history

Cornell College is one of the most unique places in American wrestling history. It’s the smallest school (620 students at the time) and the only private school ever to win the NCAA Division I championship. It was my good fortune to get to meet, and sit next to, Bob Majors. Bob wrestled at Cornell in the ‘50s and was a team mate of Cornell greats like Warren DePrenger and Lloyd Corwin (who defeated 1960 Olympic champion, Doug Blubaugh in the 1955 NCAA semi-finals). It was a treat for me to listen to Bob talk about wrestling.

Master of ceremonies, Scott Casber, did an excellent job of emphasizing the historical aspects of the evening. He introduced former Cornell wrestlers Richard Small and Lynn Stiles and pointed out American wrestling legends Randy Lewis, Tom and Terry Brands and Zeke Jones.

One of my favorite memories from the event will be the looks on the faces of those young Russian wrestlers when Gable walked over and introduced himself and shook their hands. They have the same respect for him that we do.

I left the event with a distinct feeling of the links between the past of wrestling to the present of wrestling to the future of wrestling.

The crowd

I imagine that fans in other parts of the country resent hearing that “Iowa wrestling fans are the best in America”. Well – we only say it because it’s true. Last night was a prime example. It wasn’t just the size of the crowd – it was the respectful and welcoming applause for the Russian team, it was the ovation for Mike Zadick when he was introduced and the roar when Doug Schwab won his match.

Kudos go out to everyone involved in the evening, starting with the Cornell staff. Athletic director, John Cochrane, and wrestling coach, Mike Duroe, worked diligently to make the night a success. The only potential hiccup on the evening was when the sound system failed for the playing of the Russian national anthem. Assistant AD, Dick Simmons, who seems to be Cornell’s go-to problem solver, fixed it and the rest of the event went off without a hitch.

Tom Lepic and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club also deserve recognition. In case after case we’ve seen how hard it can be to raise money to support wrestling. Tom and the club recruited sponsors for the $2,000 prizes that were awarded to the winners of each match.

We also need to thank USA Wrestling for their support and encouragement.

I’ve already mentioned Scott Casber, but I can’t emphasize enough the role he played in making the event enjoyable.

When it was all over I walked to my car with only one question – “If these folks can create an event like this, why aren’t the Olympic Trials in eastern Iowa?”

(to be continued)

Gable, Irving and Baldwin say, "California Needs Wrestling".

A Press release from the National Wrestling Coaches Association

“SANTA MONICA (Oct. 30, 2009) – Author John Irving and actor Billy Baldwin will join Olympic wrestling legend Dan Gable at a luncheon on Monday, Nov. 2, in support of the California Needs Wrestling initiative.

The three will speak to the need for supporters of the sport to mount an effort to sustain college wrestling programs in California, where the state budget crisis has left many collegiate programs in dire need of funding.

Irving, a University of Pittsburgh wrestler, and Baldwin, a Binghamton University Wrestler, who was instrumental in bringing wrestling back at Binghamton University after the sport was dropped, will speak to the role of the sport in helping to shape their lives.

Irving, whose novels include The World According to Garp and Cider House Rules, was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992. He is currently touring to promote his new book, Last Night in Twisted River.

Baldwin joined the crusade to restore wrestling at his alma mater after the university announced it was dropping the sport in 2003. With the help of Friends of Binghamton Wrestling and New York’s then-Gov. George Pataki, the program was restored the following year. Last March, Baldwin was on hand to applaud Binghamton’s first Division I All-American, Josh Patterson.

Gable has devoted his life to the sport as an athlete, coach and advocate. A 1972 Olympic freestyle wrestling champion, he went on to coach the University of Iowa to an unprecedented 15 NCAA team championships and is now Iowa’s assistant athletic director.

“Wrestling in California needs our help,” said Gable. “There are approximately 27,000 high school wrestlers in the state of California and only eight four-year college wrestling programs to support the exploding interest at the high school level. These programs are fighting to survive as California has already lost 85 college programs.”

The luncheon is being held to:

· Provide head college wrestling coaches in California with an opportunity to cultivate some of their most important alumni/donors and or key decision-making university administrators. This is particularly important in light of the current state budget crisis in the state of California.

· Help college administrators recognize the educational value of wrestling through the testimonials of highly successful wrestling aficionados.

· Promote the “NWCA All Star Classic, Presented by the Wrestling Alumni of the College of William and Mary,” scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton. The event is a fundraiser for the Cal State Fullerton wrestling program.

The wrestling alumni from William and Mary have established the non-profit Society for the Preservation of Traditional Sport (SPOTS). Its mission is to help save wrestling and other traditional Olympic sport programs before such programs are cut.”

Also – from an article by Alden Mudge on BookPage.com about John Irving’s new book Last Night in Twisted River:

“John Irving did not actually attend his induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma, some 15 years ago. But now he wishes he had. ‘I regret it.’… ‘There have always been these two parts of my life and they don’t overlap very easily. My wrestling friends are not very easily mixed with my writing friends. But it’s an honor that meant a great deal to me because the sport was such a huge part of my life,’ says Irving, who competed in wrestling in high school and college.”

Best wishes for a highly successful luncheon.

The fifth season

US News and World Report recently named Cedar Rapids one of the ten best places to grow up in America. The article cites our low crime rate, good schools and affordable housing as primary factors.

I’d like to add one – wrestling. Cedar Rapids high schools are probably best known in the wresting community for producing 3X NCAA Division I champion and Olympic silver medallist, Barry Davis; 3X NCAA Division I champion Jim Zalesky; 2X NCAA Division I champion and Hodge Trophy winner, Mark Ironside and 3X NCAA Division II champion Gary Bentrim.

However, the sport has long been a part of the community fabric. Every day I encounter people with wrestling in their backgrounds – from my favorite bartender to the plant manager at the company where I buy most of my printing. If I need new heels on my shoes, I allow an hour to drop them off and an hour to pick them up because I know that Rich Foens, the owner of Smitty’s Shoe Repair, is going to come out from behind the counter and want to talk wrestling.

Several people were kind enough to share their reflections about growing up with wrestling in Cedar Rapids.

Bill Maroney describes himself as being very small when he started school at Wilson High in 1957.

“Coach Bo Cameron saw me in the hallway and talked me into coming out because he needed a 95lb wrestler. He said I could get a varsity letter and that was all it took to get me to try it. I actually loved it.”

When Wilson and Roosevelt High Schools were combined to form Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cameron became the head wrestling coach and lead the J-Hawks to a state championship in 1962.

As for Bill Maroney, “I fell in love with the sport, it was the highlight of my high school experience. It also helped me in my career (by teaching me) dedication and perseverance. I joined the Marine Corps after high school and stayed in 27 years, going from Private to Major. I have always felt that wrestling helped me throughout my career.”

He continues to love the sport and has been a University of Iowa wrestling season ticket holder for 30 years. He has attended the NCAA Championships for many years – missing only while serving in Vietnam.

Another Bill – Bill Lahman – is widely known as one of America’s most passionate college wrestling fans. Bill was first exposed to wrestling in 1957 as a 4th-grader at Cleveland School. “Bill Quinby was the PE teacher (and) in his first years as a teacher. Bill was very active in setting up all of the sports for us to try; football, basketball, wrestling, baseball and track. He set up a few weeks of practices and then had a tournament at the end for us all to have several matches.”

Bill played football and wrestled at Jefferson and was a member of a state runner-up wrestling team in 1965 (and also a starting tackle on perhaps the most famous football team in Iowa high school history – the 1965 state champions). Bill remembers what it was like wrestling for Jefferson in the mid-60s, “We enjoyed a full gym of around 2,200 for nearly every home meet…”



Bill Lahman (CR Jefferson) defeats (CR Washington) 5-0. The official is long-time Iowa City High coach Clyde Bean.

Bill went on to wrestle for the University of North Dakota and finished fourth in the North Central Conference in 1968.

Bill also shared this interesting photo of two future Division I head coaches just prior to their 1966 high school state championship match.



Sandy Stevens has been frequently quoted as saying that she fell in love with wrestling because, “I fell in love with a wrestler”. Sandy and her husband, Bob (Bear) both attended McKinley Junior High and Washington High School before going to the University of Northern Iowa, where Bear wrestled for Bill Koll.

Sandy taught at Waterloo East High School for two years while Bear began work on his Masters and then both returned to Cedar Rapids to teach at “Wash”. In 1967 Sandy became one of the first (if not the first) women to be certified as a wrestling official. When Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School opened, Bear became their first head wrestling coach. The story is now almost legendary – the night before his very first meet, Bear realized that he had not arranged for an announcer and pressed Sandy into service. Thus began a career that has made Sandy’s one of the most recognizable voices in the sport.

Sandy remembers those early days at Kennedy, “…being involved in the start of a school and a wrestling team was exciting, a privilege and a joy. The fact that Bear and I could SHARE the experience made it even better. But it was also at times frustrating. Many kids wanted to stay at their former schools, especially athletes, so early on, we struggled to find enough bodies to put in singlets and then to win. I remember that one time our smallest wrestler literally weighed in with his winter coat and boots on! But you couldn't ask for more loyalty, dedication, work, and heart than those young men had! And their parents were amazing.”

Robert C. (Bear) Stevens went on to a distinguished career as an educator, ultimately as Superintendent of the Glenbard Township (IL) Schools for many years. Sadly, Bear passed away in 2001. I know one of his wrestlers pretty well and the impact Bear had on those young men is tremendous.

Gregg Dinderman was a self-described, “very poor wrestler”, but there’s no denying his love for the sport. Gregg made this observation, “I do like the notion that wrestlers in CR come from all neighborhoods, all backgrounds and all ethnicities, but still share this strange little sport in common.”

Gregg currently lives in Cambridge, MA and is the illustration director for Sky and Telescope Magazine.

Barry Davis started wrestling in the 4th grade at the YMCA. “I was lucky to always have great coaches, starting at the Y”. He wanted to be an Olympic champion from very early in his career and credits his father with his work ethic. “My dad worked two jobs to put food on the table. I saw the hard work he did and I put that same effort into my wrestling.”

Coach Davis also believes that the Cedar Rapids work ethic is why the community loves wrestling. “They appreciate hard work. They know that things aren’t always easy and that some times you just have to grind things out. And they take pride in what they do and in representing themselves and their community… like Quaker Oats – they take pride in making great products that are sold all over the world.”

Coach Davis wrestled at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School with another Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Jim Zalesky, and remembers the beginnings of the Prairie/Jefferson rivalry, “People came (to the meets) from all over the city – not just from Prairie or Jefferson - to see great wrestling”.

Barry Davis won 3 Iowa high school state championships, 3 NCAA Division I championships, an Olympic silver medal and two silver medals at the World Championships and is currently the head wrestling coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Mark Ironside started wrestling because his older brother Matt would come home from Wilson Middle School wrestling practice and try his moves out on Mark. “At the time I was a 5th grader at Van Buren Elementary. Once he started showing me a couple things I entered a kids tournament at Linn Mar High school where I got beat pretty bad every match but one. Then a few weeks later I went to a tournament at Kennedy High school called the Daybreak Optimist. There were only 4 people in my bracket, but I won the tournament. From there on I was hooked.”

Mark, a two-time Iowa high school state champion at Jefferson, a two-time NCAA champion and 1998 winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, has some concerns about the future of wrestling in Cedar Rapids.

“I think the wrestling culture in CR used to be a lot tougher than it is now. This used to be a pretty tough blue collar factory city, but now, along with most of society, things have changed. I don’t believe that the kids are raised the same these days with all the technology that they have vs. what their parents had. Hence, the kids today do not need to work for what they get as much and parents are fine with the kids spending hours in front of the TV playing games or on hand held games instead of having them get outside and exercise. That is not a knock on CR as it is the general society as a whole. I think that CR is a fantastic town with lots of pride. Along with the “potential” to produce some fantastic scholastic programs and businesses throughout.”

Mark is currently owner and president of Ironside Apparel and Promotions Inc. and has a website devoted to Hawkeye wrestling apparel. He remains active in wrestling as an announcer for University of Iowa wrestling meets on KXIC-AM radio and a wrestling commentator on our local ESPN radio affiliate, 1600. Mark also puts on his own wrestling summer camp at Jefferson High School and helps coach a freestyle club at Coe College.

One might say that, as a junior at Coe College, Clayton Rush is finishing his “growing up” in Cedar Rapids. I asked Clayton for his observations about the “wrestling culture” in Cedar Rapids.

“I feel like the community here is more responsive to wrestling than it is in Aledo (Clayton’s home town). There are summer clubs that are held here at Coe. In Aledo, there is hardly any summer wrestling that goes on, maybe a few kids. Here in Cedar Rapids there are enough kids that want to do summer wrestling to make a club. That also goes to show the support of their parents and the rest of the community. Not only do they support it, but they encourage it as well.”

I recently watched a video segment of Dan Gable finishing up a clinic. In his closing talk he said, “America needs wrestling. America needs tough (people).” Well – Cedar Rapids needs wrestling. Cedar Rapids needs tough people. We’re still battling to recover from the flood of 2008 – one of the five most financially damaging natural disasters in American history. We are still hundreds of millions of dollars short of what’s needed for a full recovery.

Barry Davis feels that the things that wrestling teaches are helping Cedar Rapids fight back, “It’s an individual sport, but you can’t do it on your own. You need someone to drill with. You need coaches. You can see that with the flood, the teamwork, the pride in the community…”

Yes, Cedar Rapids is a great place to grow up – both of my daughters did and now my grandkids are. It can be an ever better place to raise kids once we finally put the flood behind us. You can help. The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation has a number of flood relief funds and offers portals to other organizations serving flood victims. Click over there right now and make a donation.

And what about wrestling? Well, the NCAA Division III Championships will once again be held here at the US Cellular Center. Set aside the first weekend in March, 2010 to come to our great city and watch some outstanding wrestling.

10 things to do in the next 81 days.

College football season in Iowa begins this week. That can only mean one thing – college wrestling practice will soon begin. Over the past month or so wrestling super-fan, Bill Lahman, has been periodically counting down the days until the season begins. For many, it will start 81 days from now with the Iowa Duals on November 20th.

Some folks are getting pretty restless for a taste of wrestling. Here are ten things you can do in the next 81 days to get ready for the college wrestling season.

1. Clean your wrestling memorabilia. No one likes a dusty Dan Gable autograph.

2. Read a wrestling book or two. I personally recommend A Season on the Mat, Four Days to Glory, Cowboy Up and anything by Mike Chapman, but especially Wrestling Tough.

3. Order season tickets. I ordered mine last week. Buying season tickets is one way every fan can help college wrestling – regardless of school.

4. Watch old match video. You can find lots of wrestling on youtube, flowrestling, The Wrestling Talk and Iowa Public Television.

This isn’t a college match but it certainly is one of my favorites. It features 2 of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport – John Smith and Sergei Beloglazov.



5. Rearrange the wrestling tee shirts in your closet.

6. Subscribe to one of the wrestling magazines. WIN, Amateur Wrestling News and Wrestling USA will add a depth to your appreciation that you can’t always get online.

7. Rent and watch Vision Quest.

8. Visit a wrestling museum. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater and the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo are probably the most prominent, but there are others.

9. Follow the US teams at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark September 21 – 27. Current team members Dustin Schlatter, Jake Varner and Tatiana Padilla will all resume college competition after their respective world championship events

10. Make a list of the 10 “greatest, most, worst… and post it on your favorite internet wrestling forum.


Just for fun, here’s one.

The 10 greatest wrestlers to come from Waterloo (IA) West High School

1. Dan Gable
2. Lowell Lange
3. Dale Anderson
4. Mike VanArsdale
5. Dick Hauser
6. John Bowlsby
7. Tom Huff
8. Akeem Carter
9. Doug Moses
10. Leo Thomsen