"Banach is in trouble!"

Russ Hodges’ home run call is one of the most famous in all of American sports history – so famous that the home run is often called the “shot heard ‘round the world”.

In 1981, in a dual wrestling meet, Iowa Public Television’s Doug Brown made a call that might be called the “pin heard ‘round Iowa” - “Osenbaugh has Banach in trouble! Banach is in trouble”. Up to that point Iowa State was winning the dual, but a pin by Iowa heavyweight, Lou Banach, would snatch the victory for the number-one-ranked Hawkeyes. For two periods Banach, outweighed by 40 – 50 pounds, dominated the match. At the start of the third period he was up 10 - 0 and had almost four minutes of riding time – most of which was earned by trying arm bars and cradles to get Cyclone heavyweight, Dave Osenbaugh, on his back. Then – suddenly – Osenbaugh turned Banach and held on for the pin. The ensuing celebration was one of the greats in Cyclone history.

Iowa Public Television broadcast it’s first college wrestling meet in the early ‘70s. According to IPTV’s College Wrestling series producer, Pat Rowen, “The first that I have heard about was at Tech High School in Des Moines where IPTV started as a single station. The mats were laid down in the auditorium, cameras were wheeled in from the studio, and two college wrestling teams came in to wrestle a live meet. One of the teams was from Drake University.”

You regular readers know that my love for wrestling began when I went to Ames to see Dan Gable wrestle. I then watched his exploits in the 1972 Olympics on ABC. Even though I loved what I saw, because I never wrestled more than intramurals, I didn’t understand the nuances of what I was watching.

In 1976, after the broadcast of three or four college wrestling meets, IPTV began its’
College Wrestling series with an Iowa/Iowa State dual meet that was distributed nationally by PBS. The series has been running ever since. I learned about wrestling watching these telecasts and listening to Doug Brown.




Doug Brown (far right in photo) was the stereotypical “Renaissance Man”. Starting in the late ‘60s Doug hosted programs like The Music Shop and The Book Club on WOI radio in Ames. Before the launching of the College Wrestling series he had worked as a producer of cultural and remote broadcasts for IPTV. According to Rowen, “He also had a broad interest and knowledge of wrestling”, so when the announcing position became available Doug was interested.

The work of Doug and broadcast partner (former University of Northern Iowa coach) Chuck Patten fueled my passion for the sport to the point where I finally had to attend a meet at the Iowa Fieldhouse. I will be eternally grateful.

It has long been my contention that I am not the only person whose love for college wrestling has been enhanced by IPTV.

Tim Johnson replaced Patten as Brown’s partner until Doug’s retirement. Since then Johnson has worked with Dan Gable and Jim Gibbons on IPTV broadcasts. Just last week the National Wrestling Media Association selected Tim as their Broadcaster of the Year.

(Sadly, Doug Brown passed away from Parkinson’s disease on August 14, 2002.)


Depending upon the teams and the broadcast times 15,000 – 40,000 households will watch a College Wrestling broadcast. Naturally, the largest audiences are for the Iowa/Iowa State meet. For the past few years IPTV has been running a supplementary fund appeal during the Hawkeye/Cyclone broadcast that raises an average of $15,000 to $20,000. However, a season of six wrestling programs costs $112,000.

They need your help.

Almost 60% of public television funding comes from private donations – from you and me. Iowa Public Television has decided that College Wrestling is an important programming element for its’ constituency. As Pat Rowen says, “Generally as part of IPTV’s service to their audience we have done sports, cultural events and public affairs programming that the commercial groups were overlooking or not able to cover. College Wrestling fits well into that category.”

Have you enjoyed College Wrestling broadcasts? Do you want them to continue? Then get out your checkbook or credit card right now and SUPPORT Iowa Public Television. Don’t put it off. Once you click out of this blog you’ll forget all about it.

You can donate at their website

http://www.iptv.org/wrestling/support.cfm

or send a check to

Iowa Public Television Foundation
6535 Corporate Dr
Johnston, IA 50131

If you’re reading this in Florida or New Jersey or California – why should you care? Because this is good for wrestling. If you have a role model to point to, perhaps your state’s public television network will find wrestling as important as ours does.

Author’s note: In addition to helping with the information contained in this blog, IPTV College Wrestling producer, Pat Rowen, provided video of the Banach/Osenbaugh match. Unfortunately, my technical ineptitude prevents me from including it.

First annual View from Section GG Awards

First annual View from Section GG college wrestling awards

The college wrestling season is over and much has happened. All of the traditional awards have been handed out except the Hodge Trophy (Tervel Dlagnev?). This week I begin what I hope will become a tradition (if anyone keeps reading that long).

The, “Well, I guess he really is that good”, award

After almost three years of anticipation and message board hype we all learned that Brent Metcalf is a special athlete. His NCAA finals performance was dominating and he was named this year’s tournament Outstanding Wrestler. If you still think he is over rated you must really hate the Hawkeyes.

Doug Brown Renaissance Man of the Year

Named for the late, great IPTV College Wrestling announcer, this award goes to Bill Roths of New Hampton, IA. I have watched Bill officiate dozens of wrestling matches over the years. However, this is the first year I ever heard him sing. Bill sang the National Anthem at one session each for the NCAA Division II and Division III championships – and did so quite stirringly.

Randy Lewis “Warrior Trophy”

Olympic gold medallist, Randy Lewis, wrestled the NCAA tournament his senior year essentially with one arm and finished 6th. His elbow had been dislocated just a few weeks earlier in a match with Iowa State. Minnesota’s Roger Kish battled injury all year and had to injury default from the Big Ten tournament. Much like Lewis, he wrestled with little more than one arm in the NCAAs. Sadly, he didn’t make it to the medal stand, but he fought hard and scored points for his team

Best time at a party

The UW La Crosse fans were by far the most boisterous at the Division III championships this year. I encountered several of them at the team hotel after finals and those folks know how to have fun.

The Ed Gallagher Pioneer Citation

Oklahoma State’s Ed Gallagher practically invented college wrestling. Our first innovation award goes to the National Collegiate Wrestling Association for holding their initial women’s championship tournament.

Best effort in the service of wrestling

Since I have started writing this blog I have “met” many people who work tirelessly for the advancement of the sport – some are well known – some are relatively obscure. I considered many nominees for this award and decided on Lee Roy Smith and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum for recognizing the contributions to collegiate wrestling made by African American athletes and coaches. Their effort spawned positive press coverage and spread awareness. I was personally thrilled to see Simon Roberts, the first African-American NCAA wrestling champion, interviewed by ESPN during the Division I finals broadcast.
Best performance at a college wrestling press conference

Pick any Tom Brands effort this year.

The swimming upstream award

For bucking the trend we give our hearty support to Grand View College and California State Baptist University for adding men’s wrestling teams and to Jamestown College for adding a women’s program. May we have many candidates for this award in 2009.

WARNING: if you are a “Hawk hater” you may want to stop here.

Best team entrance music



Best post-meet music

Cedar Rapids - 2008 wrestling mecca

Cedar Rapids, IA – The City of Five Seasons

Summer
Autumn
Winter
Spring
Wrestling*

That’s right – the fifth season in Cedar Rapids this year is the wrestling season. The US Cellular Center will be home to the 2008 NCAA Division III wrestling championships on March 7 & 8 and will then also be the site of the Division II tournament the following week (March 14 & 15).

The average sports trivia buff might be able to tell you that former NFL MVP, Kurt Warner, and 2007 Masters champion, Zach Johnson, both attended Cedar Rapids Regis High School. It takes a wrestling fan to tell you that these great champions wrestled at Cedar Rapids high schools

Gary Bentrim

3X NCAA College Division (now Division II) national champion at UNI

Barry Davis

3X NCAA Division I national champion
4X All-American
Olympic silver medalist
Distinguished Member of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Head wrestling coach, University of Wisconsin

Jim Zalesky

3X NCAA Division I national champion
4X All-American
Coached the University of Iowa Hawkeyes to 3 NCAA team titles (1998 – 2000)
Distinguished Member of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Head wrestling coach, Oregon State University

Mark Ironside

2X NCAA Division I national champion
4X All-American
1998 Dan Hodge Trophy (wrestling’s Heisman) winner

Personally, I love Division III athletes. With no athletic scholarships, they compete simply for the love of their sport. Watching Simpson College wrestler Nick Ackerman’s performance in Waterloo in 2001 is one of my favorite wrestling memories.

Last year’s Division III championships saw the phenomenal career of Augsburg’s Marcus LeVesseur culminate with his 4th NCAA title and a career record of 155-0. What great wrestling stories will unfold this year in Cedar Rapids?

Won’t you join us for the action? Would you like to attend the Division III championships free? The View from Section GG presents the, “What I love most about college wrestling” essay contest. Tell me in 750 words or less what it is about this sport that makes you a fan. We’ll name 1 Grand Prize winner and 10 First Prize winners.

Grand Prize package

2 free all session passes to the 2008 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships
3 night stay at the Cedar Rapids Marriott (March 6, 7 & 8)
2 tickets for a Friday or Saturday performance at Penguin’s Comedy Club
(Note – transportation not included)

Ten First Prizes

1 year paid subscription to W.I.N. Magazine

The rules are pretty simple:

750 words or less
You must be at least 18 years old to enter.
No employees of the Cedar Rapids Marriott, Penguin’s Comedy Club, W.I.N. Magazine or Direct Marketing Solutions may enter.
Entries open immediately. The final deadline for entries is midnight CST, February 15th. Winners will be notified by February 25th.
If the Grand Prize winner is unable to attend, time permitting, we will award the prize package to the top entry among First Prize winners.

You may send your entry by email to jim@dmsolutions4u.com with the subject line, “wrestling contest”. You may also send me a myspace message. We hope to have a website up in a few days that will allow you another entry option.

Have fun with the contest. I hope to see you in Cedar Rapids in March.

* The Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce would probably like me to tell you that the real “Fifth Season” is, “the time to enjoy the other four”.

I hear voices.

Sports fans know voices – Harry Carey, Jack Buck, Al Michaels, John Madden (or is it Frank Caliendo?) – we can immediately recognize those voices. For fans of amateur wrestling it’s not quite the same. You know the voices, but you may not know the names – Ed Winger, Doug Brown, Ed Aliverti … and Sandy Stevens.

You may not know Sandy’s name and you may not know what she looks like, but if you’re a wrestling fan – you know her voice. I’ll let Sandy’s National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography tell the story.

http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/awards/?oom&year=1998


One characteristic of her work is her neutrality. Regardless of who’s on the mat or the school they’re from – she gives each competitor his/her due.

Sandy is involved in wrestling in other ways – you can find her articles on intermat and in the pages of W.I.N. Magazine. She is also a proud alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa and wants you all to know about the second annual Pledges for Pins campaign to support Panther wrestling.

“November 1, 2007


Dear Friends of Panther Wrestling,

Fall means the UNI wrestling season is underway, but it also means its “fall-athon” time: time for our second “Pledges for Pins” drive. But first let’s look at what is being accomplished with pledges for last year’s team total of 48 pins that brought in nearly $25,000.
· A complete makeover of both sides of the West gym’s north hallway, including action shots of all UNI national champions. (View the plans at www.thesignpeople.net; click on “Artwork,” then enter “wrestling” as the “magic word.”)
· Coach Brad Penrith’s former office now serves as a wrestlers’ study and video room and contains a desk for assistant Tolly Thompson. The room’s new doors now open into the assistant coaches’ office.
· A former athletic trainer’s room is being updated for the first time in about 30 years to become Brad’s office.
· Exposed plumbing was covered in a tiny custodial office now used for wrestling supplies.
Why is a Pledges for Pins drive necessary? Panther wrestlers compete in the first-rate McLeod center but sorely lack updated facilities in the West gym, which remains their home. This site pales in comparison to that of nearly every other Division I university, a definite recruiting disadvantage for the Panthers.
In recent years, rising costs and lower state funds have combined to severely limit help from the university itself, so those of us as who care about returning the UNI program to its stature as one of the top in the nation are lending our support.
Any pledge amount, from $1 up, is welcome. Donors may specify a maximum number of pins for their contribution; for example, $20 for a maximum 50 pins ($1,000). Outright donations are also welcome, but PLEASE specify to the UNI Foundation that these are for the Pledges for Pins project. Contributors will be sent a statement at the end of the season, and all contributions are tax-deductible.
Pledges and donations should be sent, via the enclosed card, to Pledges for Pins, UNI Foundation Accounting, 1221 W. 23rd St, Cedar Falls, IA 50614 -0239.
Last year, Panther wrestlers built an elementary school playground, moved a hospital daycare center’s playground equipment, donated money for Christmas gifts for a classroom of low-income children (and sang them carols), read to children at area schools, and served as Safe Date escorts during Homecoming Week. And they did all this while posting the fifth-highest GPA in the nation, behind Duke, Stanford, Brown and Princeton! Now we can show them our spirit and concern.

Sincerely,

Sandy Stevens

P.S. All UNI meets will be carried on KWAY radio this season, and Coach Penrith will appear on 99.3 FM radio every Wednesday evening from 7 to 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome at Booster Club meetings held the first Wednesday of every month at Stratton’s, 405 Main, Cedar Falls.”

I’m in – are you? Since we’re not including the pledge card, send a note making your pledge and specifying that it is for Pledges for Pins.

Just because they love it

I love NCAA Division III athletes (my daughter was one). They are perhaps nearest to the idealized concept of “student athlete” of all those that participate in college athletics. Without benefit of athletic financial aid, they choose to compete primarily for one reason – love of their sport.

Saturday I attended the Coe College (IA) Turkey Open wrestling tournament. You can only watch internet wrestling videos so long before withdrawal sets in. You must see live wrestling.

A small-college wrestling tournament has a different feel than a larger event like the Kaufman-Brand Open (also held Saturday). First there is the intimacy. The gyms are small and even in the balcony you feel very close to the action. Then, of course, there is the heat and the perspiration.



Part of the crowd at the 2007 Coe College Turkey Open

The small arena and the intimate atmosphere have other benefits – one being that it is easier to meet friends and relatives of the athletes. I met members of a small entourage from Aledo, IL who had come to watch Coe’s freshman star, Clayton Rush (winner of the 125 pound championship). I was impressed by how quickly they had all become such avid Kohawk fans. Amid all of their cheering for all of the Coe wrestlers, there was no forgetting whom they really came to see.




Generally, Division III wrestlers lack the skills of their Division I counterparts. They also typically come out of high school lacking the championship resumes possessed by large school wrestlers. There are, of course, exceptions. There are well-known cases of highly sought-after athletes recruited by major wrestling programs who, after a year or two in the big school’s wrestling room opted to transfer to smaller schools. Undefeated (155-0), four-time DIII champion Marcus Levesseur from Augsburg College is the most famous of these. What they do not lack is the same competitiveness.

You’ll see a lot of action in Division III matches – and a lot of scoring. You seem to see a lot less of the “hanging at the edge”, tactical wrestling you’ll sometimes encounter on the “big stage”. That’s what I enjoyed the most about Saturday’s meet – all of that action.





One of my wife’s friends told us a story about her son-in-law, who was a Division III wrestling All-American. They were celebrating the fact that he had finally obtained AA status in his senior year. In the middle of the party someone noticed that he had tears in his eyes. When asked what was wrong he said, “It just hit me – I’ll never wrestle again.”

Season predictions

I’m going way out on a limb and make some predictions for the 2007-2008 wrestling season.

Jake Herbert will not win an NCAA championship in 2008. Nor will he win an Architectural Digest home decorating award.




2. Mike Allen will have bigger biceps than all of the other officials at the NCAA tournament – and many of the wrestlers.



3. The NCAA champion will be located within 125 miles of Interstate 35.

4. At some point during the year I will hear Sandy Stevens’ voice (so will you if you get out and attend some wrestling meets).



5. The following things will be posted on the internet at some time during the season.

a. “If Cael Sanderson had not competed in such weak weight classes he would not have gone undefeated”, (and then someone will inevitably point out that he lost to the late Iowa Hawkeye, Paul Jenn during his redshirt year).
b. “If Dan Gable were wrestling today – he couldn’t beat (insert the name of your favorite New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Ohio high school wrestler here).”

6. At some time during the season a bunch of Olympic Gold Medalists will get together and exchange pleasantries.



Hawkeye fan bonus

1. The price of ice cream cones at Carver Hawkeye Arena will go up – and just like with gas prices – we’ll pay the extra money – because they’re a necessity.

2. Fat, middle-aged men will believe that – although there is no visual evidence – 10 more steps have been added to the top of the stairs at CHA (especially if carrying a grand daughter)



3. At least once during every match, the fan who has sat 4 rows in front of me for almost 20 years will yell out, “ankle pick”. The only exception over that time was when Eric Juergens wrestled.



Finally – at least once before every meet the Iowa pep band will play Pinball Wizard and it will sound nothing like this.

Wrestling heroes

Tom Shanahan, a writer for the Voice of San Diego was once interviewing University of Minnesota wrestling coach J Robinson and asked him about his military service (Robinson served as an Army Ranger in Viet Nam). Shanahan said, “Army Ranger, that’s like a Navy SEAL, right?” Robinson glared at him and said, “Yeah, but tougher.”

We often speak of athletes as heroes because of their accomplishments in competition. I am as guilty of this as anyone. I frequently cite Dan Gable as one of my “heroes” (see my myspace profile). Next Sunday we honor America’s military veterans. Many wrestlers have been among them.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum has honored several veterans for their service to America. Representative Carl Albert, Senator John Chaffee, Michael Collins, Dr. Kenneth Faust, General Ronald Fogleman, Admiral James Holloway, General Charles Krulak, Major General Kenneth Leuer, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, General Norman Schwartzkopf and George Washington are among the Outstanding Americans enshrined in the Hall. All served in the armed forces – most of them in combat.

The Distinguished Members list of veterans is even longer:

Buddy Arndt Dick Hutton Alan Rice
Wayne Baughman Lloyd Keaser Port Robertson
Glen Brand Bill Koll J Robinson
Dick DiBatista Gary Kurdelmeier Gray Simons
George Dole Gerry Leeman Doc Speidel
Ross Flood Guy Lookabaugh Jack VanBebber
Sprig Gardner Joe McDaniel Richard Voliva
Greg Gibson Allie Morrison William Weick
Larry Hayes Harold Nichols among others.
Josiah Henson Grady Peninger



2007 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Inductee
Master Sgt Greg Gibson USMC (retired)

For more biographical information on the above be sure to visit www.wrestlinghalloffame.org.

They are not alone. Greg “Pappy” Boyington (aka Greg Hallenbeck) won a Pacific middleweight wrestling title for The University of Washington. After graduation, Boyington worked for Boeing before enlisting in the Marine Corps. At the outbreak of WWII he volunteered to go to China and fight with the legendary Flying Tigers. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Boyington returned to service as a Marine fighter pilot.

In 1943 he had a desk job in the South Pacific theater when the call went out to form a new fighter squadron. “Pappy” convinced his superiors that he was just the man to form and lead the squadron. Thus, the infamous “Black Sheep Squadron” (originally called “Boyington’s Bastards) was born. Boyington shot down 28 Japanese aircraft in his tours in China, Burma and the South Pacific – a WWII Marine Corps record. On the day of his 28th kill, Boyington was shot down and captured. He spent 20 months in a Japanese prison camp and was frequently tortured. Although officially listed as “missing in action” most of the nation believed him to be deceased. When his camp was liberated in August 1945 it was as if he had risen from the dead. For his actions Greg Boyington was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

One of his friends called Tommy Noonan, “…the best wrestler Hunter College ever had.” Marine Lance Corporal Thomas Noonan Jr. Graduated from Hunter in 1966 with a degree in physical education. In 1967 he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and was subsequently deployed to Viet Nam. L/Cpl Noonan was killed in action against the enemy on February 5th, 1969. For his valor in that action, L/Cpl Noonan was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation is below.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a fire team leader with Company G, in operations against the enemy in Quang Tri Province. Company G was directed to move from a position which they had been holding southeast of the Vandergrift Combat Base to an alternate location. As the marines commenced a slow and difficult descent down the side of the hill made extremely slippery by the heavy rains, the leading element came under a heavy fire from a North Vietnamese Army unit occupying well concealed positions in the rocky terrain. 4 men were wounded, and repeated attempts to recover them failed because of the intense hostile fire. L/Cpl. Noonan moved from his position of relative security and, maneuvering down the treacherous slope to a location near the injured men, took cover behind some rocks. Shouting words of encouragement to the wounded men to restore their confidence, he dashed across the hazardous terrain and commenced dragging the most seriously wounded man away from the fire-swept area. Although wounded and knocked to the ground by an enemy round, L/Cpl. Noonan recovered rapidly and resumed dragging the man toward the marginal security of a rock. He was, however, mortally wounded before he could reach his destination. His heroic actions inspired his fellow marines to such aggressiveness that they initiated a spirited assault which forced the enemy soldiers to withdraw. L/Cpl. Noonan's indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.


Lance Corporal Thomas Noonan Jr.

Marine PFC Christopher Adlesperger, Lance Corporal Erick Hodges and Lance Corporal Ryan Sunnerville were friends. All three had wrestled in high school and had formed a particularly close bond. L/Cpl Hodges was killed in an ambush in Fallujah. PFC Adlesperger, in an effort to recover Hodges’ body and protect wounded comrades (among them L/Cpl Sunnerville), engaged the enemy forces and single-handedly fought off a superior force. When the action was over, although wounded himself, PFC Adlesperger refused evacuation until Hodges’ body was recovered. For his gallantry, PFC Adlesperger was promoted to Lance Corporal and awarded the Navy Cross. He has also been nominated for the Congressional Medal Honor. Sadly, if it is awarded, it will be done so posthumously. Lance Corporal Adlespergaer was killed in action in Fallujah a few months later.
For a complete account of his actions go to
http://www.qando.net/Details.aspx?Entry=4749

For the next several months we will be discussing and honoring our favorite wrestlers and coaches. For the next week, let’s thank and honor those who have stood up for their beliefs by serving their country.
By the way, here’s Sgt Arthur Brown Jr. in Korea in 1951. Thanks Dad, I miss you.