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Best Wrestler (ever) from each D1 Wrestling Program in PA

Since you guys have mentioned it, I looked back and found the conversation I had with Wade’s old teammate (1976 AA Chuck Coryea). He replied to a comment I had made regarding picks for an all time PA lineup, specifically my choice to include Wade:

“I wholeheartedly agree with the Wade Schalles selection and agree that others may question his entry on that list. We were teammates at Clarion and I was his assistant at Clemson so I got know him quite well as a wrestler and person. And yes, he could pin anyone at anytime (in his last two years, he pinned the 150, 158, 177 champs as well as most of the runner-ups at 158 & 67). I have lots of stories about him but that is off point of this thread. I am amused when people consider Bo Nickal as inventive. He was/is great but he is just a larger version of Wade but with less tools in his arsenal (I bet I get a lot of dissenting opinions on that ;-) ).


…here is a my recount of both the pin on the X and the kick in the face - I was there for both. Both are rather long so I will break them up in two posts...

Wade was the first to get 100 pins in college. For his 100th, we were wrestling Lock Haven at home (at Clarion) and his opponent was Alan Fricke (I think), a pretty tough guy but not anywhere close to Wade's level. There was a lot of pre-press about the event so the gym was packed, well over 3000 (but we always got that back then).

Some of his frat bothers convinced him to pin the guy on a small X on the mat which was to be in front of the stands where his frat sat. So before the match our student athletic trainer (Mark Demyanovich) taped a couple of athletic tape strips in the X about two feet inside the circle, small but enough to see if you knew it was there. Keep in mind that neither Bob Bubb nor assistant coach Greg Johnson (a 3 time ncaa champ) knew this was happening and quite possibly the only ones that were kept in the dark. And to stop a rumor I heard over the years - this was not a fund raiser for a charity; it was simply frat boys gone rogue.

When the match started, Wade gets a TD and starts dragging Fricke toward the X (really!). As he inched there, the crowd gets crazy. And each time Fricke manages to get away, there is a collective groan. Each time he got a tight cradle on him and starts to drag the body, Bubb is going nuts..."Why don't you just pin him?...". An aside, after the 1st period, Alan asked Wade, "Am I your 100th?" - we all thought that funny. Also, this is when the coaches learned what is happening - Johnson asks and learns the truth from our teammate, Bill 'Elbows' Simpson (another ncaa champ) and then tells Bubb. Coach is furious and turns beet red but knows there isn't much he could do. So finally, Wade gets the pin on the X in the 2nd and the place goes wild.

Post script: They announce the milestone and Wade takes cheers with Coach Bubb shaking his hand and grimacing, non too happy. The school photographer gets that shot and ironically, the bell of the white tuba (we always had a pep band then) frames Wade's head like a halo. The school paper used that shot with the caption "St. Wade" - something we continued to tease him (but he loved it) all year.

That is the real deal the best I can remember.”
 
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And here’s the kick to the face story:

“Wade and I, as well as others from Clarion, had wrestled for the Erie YMCA (Tom Canavan) a number of times. We would catch rides with Tom or meet his entourage at the various tourneys and wear the Erie Y uniforms but we always pay our own entry. So for a few years, we had a local Clarion business man that created our own summer team (predecessors to today's more organized/sponsored clubs) and he provided transportation, travel expenses and entry fees (not so coincidentally, Wade and I had summer jobs in his factory). We had a lot of talent with many Clarion and Lehigh guys (e.g. Lieberman bros).

Tom Canavan was a bit upset because this was the first real organized competition he got in western PA and the big summer gig was always the Erie Open, Tom's baby. This was a big/tense showdown and his biggest guns were all the Carr brothers - Fletcher, Joe and Jimmy at that time; Nate was still very young. The match in question was Joe Carr vs Wade. One of the hecklers was an older Carr brother (Ed?) that wasn't wrestling. He was right on the edge of the mat. The referee was Ray Hartlee. He kept taunting Wade and mocking the team name, "Mean Machine" (the business guy had a thing for the original Longest Yard movie). I am not sure what was the last thing the elder Carr said but Wade had enough, he took a few steps and kicked him right in the face. Of course a fight resulted and people had to pull them apart. Years later, Ray Hartlee told me he had no idea how to handle this since DQ'ing Wade would have escalated things and he had heard what that guy finally said - he felt Canavan should have controlled the crowd (e.g. his Carr friends) better. But in the 70's and summer tournaments, politics ruled the day. Regardless, the match went on and Wade won (as did the Mean Machine!).”
 
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And one last one about Wade being a prankster:

“Halloween Eve night in 1973 as I was walking back to my dorm, Wade and Craig Turnbull drive by and stop to give me a ride. But we take a detour to Coach Bubb's house (around 9:00 at night). I stand watch while Craig and Wade pull out the battery from Bubb's jeep and hide it under his deck. Then the put in a pumpkin (they did attach the cables to the step!). On campus the next day, the story spread fast of how Bubb is on a mission to discipline the culprits. We three are very nervous. Practice starts that night and coach starts with a story about respect and how it is important. So to prove it, he has Craig and Wade step out for a "Special" practice to be the only people to practice that night. He had Don Rohn (ncaa champ @134) and Greg Johnson (assistant but was 3 time champ @118) rotate on Craig all night. For Wade, it was Bill Simpson (ncaa champ @167 and me). Somehow, Bubb never figured out I was there. Our instructions were to go all out for the minute we were out there and take no prisoners. On my first time out, Wade locked in tight and warned me to fake it or he would out me. So while poor Craig was getting killed, Wade had one tough minute and one breather (but faking it is as tiring as the real thing). Craig never said a thing during practice but he did make a point to let me know how upset he as after practice. Sadly, the only thing we missed is seeing coach's face when he tried to star his jeep that morning.”
 
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Delcolion915 said:
He also told people HOW to pin other wrestlers...regular season match at rec hall he showed Jerry White a move in the tunnel and White went our and used that exact move to pin a kid.
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Jerry White's future son in law was my physical therapist (, north of Pittsburgh). Great kid, good therapist, knew wrestling. We talked PSU wrestling the whole time, every session.

First time in my life I didn't mind getting hurt and needing PT.
 
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BigFella235 said:
And one last one about Wade being a prankster:

“Halloween Eve night in 1973 as I was walking back to my dorm, Wade and Craig Turnbull drive by and stop to give me a ride. But we take a detour to Coach Bubb's house (around 9:00 at night). I stand watch while Craig and Wade pull out the battery from Bubb's jeep and hide it under his deck. Then the put in a pumpkin (they did attach the cables to the step!). On campus the next day, the story spread fast of how Bubb is on a mission to discipline the culprits. We three are very nervous. Practice starts that night and coach starts with a story about respect and how it is important. So to prove it, he has Craig and Wade step out for a "Special" practice to be the only people to practice that night. He had Don Rohn (ncaa champ @134) and Greg Johnson (assistant but was 3 time champ @118) rotate on Craig all night. For Wade, it was Bill Simpson (ncaa champ @167 and me). Somehow, Bubb never figured out I was there. Our instructions were to go all out for the minute we were out there and take no prisoners. On my first time out, Wade locked in tight and warned me to fake it or he would out me. So while poor Craig was getting killed, Wade had one tough minute and one breather (but faking it is as tiring as the real thing). Craig never said a thing during practice but he did make a point to let me know how upset he as after practice. Sadly, the only thing we missed is seeing coach's face when he tried to star his jeep that morning.”
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I heard a story, that I believe was about Wade, where his team mates at Clarion got tired of some of his antics. They took him to a cabin and tied him up and left him there for several hours. Did you or anyone else hear that story?
 
Did anyone mention bumgardner didn't he wrestle for edinboro or just coached there? My memory sucks
 
mcpat said:
Funny. I was looking at that the other day. I started at high school… then county… then district… and then I gave up. Easton was another tough one.
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Greatest wrestler to come out of Easton, I feel was Jordan Oliver. Should of been 3 time National Champ.
Greatest High School Wrestler from Easton , I would go with Jack Cuvo. PIAA changed the rules on tech falls because of his skill set on his feet. He would Tech guys in one period.
 
mcpat said:
It’s a close call and that’s why it’s fun to put it out there on a discussion board. As someone else pointed out, for this exercise I put a lot of weight into their post collegiate freestyle careers and it’s hard to argue over an Olympic and World Gold Medalist, no matter how much I like the spladle. Same reason I went with Slay instead of Valenti for UPENN.

But I love the discussion.

It would be fun to do the same for each high school District in PA. I spent about an hour on that recently, but there’s just not enough out there for someone like me that knows District 3 well, and can read up on Districts 1 and 7, but not so much on the others.
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District 3, 4, 6 and 11 very well represented here.

The 10 guys gif and run a lot....

It would be a f** discussion/debate.
 
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Callthestall said:
Greatest wrestler to come out of Easton, I feel was Jordan Oliver. Should of been 3 time National Champ.
Greatest High School Wrestler from Easton , I would go with Jack Cuvo. PIAA changed the rules on tech falls because of his skill set on his feet. He would Tech guys in one period.
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What about Bobby Weaver? Olympic gold medalist, World Silver Medalist and missed out in a possible second Olympic medal when the U.S. boycotted in 1980.

He was an alternate for the 1976 Olympics while still in high school. Only took 3rd at NCAAs cause he was too small, even for 118. But they wrestled 48 kilos back then internationally.
 
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Greatest High School Wrestler from Easton , I would go with Bobby Weaver. (I never saw Cuvo wrestle in HS).

I dare say faster than RBY, and could do pretty much whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Had he not been so small his collegiate and free careers would have been up there with the best. Even so he did get an Olympic gold
 
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nikko57 said:
Don't forget schalles wasn't allowed to wrestle NCAA his senior year which most likely would have been his third d1 title.
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Schalles wrestled his senior year, but wasn't allowed to compete in Nationals. The NCAA in their normal "what is best for the student athlete" mentality came up with the "he is allowed to wrestle the season, but not the post-season" solution to the massive problem Wade caused by enrolling (but not attending) for summer classes at East Stroudsburg before enrolling full-time at Clarion
 
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nitlion6 said:
Schalles wrestled his senior year, but wasn't allowed to compete in Nationals. The NCAA in their normal "what is best for the student athlete" mentality came up with the "he is allowed to wrestle the season, but not the post-season" solution to the massive problem Wade caused by enrolling (but not attending) for summer classes at East Stroudsburg before enrolling full-time at Clarion
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Thanks for clearing it up for me I know their was something with enrollment of another school prior to enrollment at Clarion but couldn't remember which school.
 
mcpat said:
What about Bobby Weaver? Olympic gold medalist, World Silver Medalist and missed out in a possible second Olympic medal when the U.S. boycotted in 1980.

He was an alternate for the 1976 Olympics while still in high school. Only took 3rd at NCAAs cause he was too small, even for 118. But they wrestled 48 kilos back then internationally.
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Weaver certainly is qualified to be considered
mcpat said:
What about Bobby Weaver? Olympic gold medalist, World Silver Medalist and missed out in a possible second Olympic medal when the U.S. boycotted in 1980.

He was an alternate for the 1976 Olympics while still in high school. Only took 3rd at NCAAs cause he was too small, even for 118. But they wrestled 48 kilos back then internationally.
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Weaver certainly can be considered as the best high school wrestler from Easton but his weight was an issue when he went to college even after a year at Blair trying to bulk up. 48 kilos is the equivalent of 105.5. In high school, Weaver was by far better mat and big move guy compared to Cuvo. Cuvo became better mat wrestler when he went to college. His nemesis Rick Bonomo would suck down 15 pounds in 2 days to make 118. By today guidelines he wouldn't be allowed to cut weight like that.
Weaver did win Olympic Gold in 1984 but don't forget Russia and Cuba did not participate. If I recall a Russian beat Bobby numerous times in freestyle.
I thought Oliver was the best all around wrestler to come out of Easton. He had another District 11 kid to showcase his talent against and that was Kindig from Blue Mountain. Cuvo was the most dominant, but was never put in a position to showcase his overall talent, and some people questioned if he would be able to transition to college.
Weaver just wasn't big enough to be NC in college.
 
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Schalles actually did wrestle NCAAs his FR year; was seeded 7th at 158, but lost to top-seed Bruce Trammel, who then lost in semis; since Trammel didnt make it to finals, Schalles was did not compete in consis.

Schalles problem was Stan Dziedzic who was two yrs older, so their careers only overlapped for two yrs.
I think Dziedzic was 4-0 vs him, or 4-0-1, altho I have never seen any actual match results.
His first two yrs, Schalles had to move around Dziedzic in post-season, changing weights that would probably not be allowed now.

None of that diminishes the wonder of Wade Schalles, one of the greatest and most enjoyable wrestlers ever.
The original Noodle Arms.
 
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Callthestall said:
Weaver certainly is qualified to be considered
Weaver certainly can be considered as the best high school wrestler from Easton but his weight was an issue when he went to college even after a year at Blair trying to bulk up. 48 kilos is the equivalent of 105.5. In high school, Weaver was by far better mat and big move guy compared to Cuvo. Cuvo became better mat wrestler when he went to college. His nemesis Rick Bonomo would suck down 15 pounds in 2 days to make 118. By today guidelines he wouldn't be allowed to cut weight like that.
Weaver did win Olympic Gold in 1984 but don't forget Russia and Cuba did not participate. If I recall a Russian beat Bobby numerous times in freestyle.
I thought Oliver was the best all around wrestler to come out of Easton. He had another District 11 kid to showcase his talent against and that was Kindig from Blue Mountain. Cuvo was the most dominant, but was never put in a position to showcase his overall talent, and some people questioned if he would be able to transition to college.
Weaver just wasn't big enough to be NC in college.
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Jordan Oliver was a bad call away from being a 3 time NCAA champion.
 
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RandyL said:
Schalles actually did wrestle NCAAs his FR year; was seeded 7th at 158, but lost to top-seed Bruce Trammel, who then lost in semis; since Trammel didnt make it to finals, Schalles was did not compete in consis.

Schalles problem was Stan Dziedzic who was two yrs older, so their careers only overlapped for two yrs.
I think Dziedzic was 4-0 vs him, or 4-0-1, altho I have never seen any actual match results.
His first two yrs, Schalles had to move around Dziedzic in post-season, changing weights that would probably not be allowed now.

None of that diminishes the wonder of Wade Schalles, one of the greatest and most enjoyable wrestlers ever.
The original Noodle Arms.
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Correct about the freshman year at nationals. I was going by what I had been told. Did some research and found you were correct.
 
Gray Simons was also a 4x NAIA champion and 4x OW. He was the first collegiate four time champion. He was eligible in the NAIA as a freshman because the enrollment was under 850.

3x NCAA champion, 2x OW
2x Olympian.
In one of his Olympics, he went 2-0-2. Didn't lose a match, but with the old black mark system back then, he was eliminated from medal contention despite taking no L's. His other Olympic run, he lost to two medalists to put him out.
Gray wrestled up at 123 for duals (115 wasn't a dual weight in that era) and big tournaments at 115.

It was such bad form to exclude him from the NCAA's 75th anniversary team. Flo excluded him from their Top 100 as well. He's overlooked to a fault. He's one of the sport's FIRST greats and needs to be remembered as such. He's one of the top five greatest lightweights PERIOD.
 
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JasonBryant said:
Gray Simons was also a 4x NAIA champion and 4x OW. He was the first collegiate four time champion. He was eligible in the NAIA as a freshman because the enrollment was under 850.

3x NCAA champion, 2x OW
2x Olympian.
In one of his Olympics, he went 2-0-2. Didn't lose a match, but with the old black mark system back then, he was eliminated from medal contention despite taking no L's. His other Olympic run, he lost to two medalists to put him out.
Gray wrestled up at 123 for duals (115 wasn't a dual weight in that era) and big tournaments at 115.

It was such bad form to exclude him from the NCAA's 75th anniversary team. Flo excluded him from their Top 100 as well. He's overlooked to a fault. He's one of the sport's FIRST greats and needs to be remembered as such. He's one of the top five greatest lightweights PERIOD.
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Why do you think he gets discounted?
 
dunkej01 said:
Why do you think he gets discounted?
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Part of it is because he isn't from a massive fanbase. There wasn't a large fan uprising to flood the ballots with the online vote back in 2004 when they announced the 75th anniversary team. The Iowa ties were notable.
He's also a couple of generations ahead of guys like Schalles, who had a cult-like followings in his hey day and after his collegiate and Olympic career ended, his coaching career didn't get as much fanfare.
I think it just snowballs along. When people do research, they usually look at what's already published, then if they don't see names from the 50's and 60's, they must assume they did something that wasn't that notable for the previous people and that just gets recycled.
I'm definitely biased here, since Gray taught me so much about wrestling during my time in college. He's a quiet, unassuming guy who even to this day doesn't talk about his accolades unless he's asked. Lock Haven was a heavyweight in college wrestling once upon a time, but he's almost 83, so most of those who remember watching him wrestle are long in the tooth aren't that vocal on the interwebs.
Mike Chapman loved Dan Hodge, so when he created WIN Magazine, he created an award that essentially re-ignited the lore of Hodge, as did the Roller events that brought him to generations of wrestlers.
If you look at the 75th anniversary team, very few of the old timers are on there. The era was different, but Gray was just before the "Gable Era" about a decade later. Gray was on the NCAA Guide two years in a row. He lost one official match - and he lost that match as a freshman to the returning NCAA champion up from his regular weight class.
I've been trying to beat the Simons drum with these lists for years. I was really, really miffed when Flo left him off. He's a Top 10 guy. Him not being Top 100 is LAUGHABLE. And usually don't spend that much time complaining about lists.
He belongs on any "all time" NCAA list well ahead of any two-timer - Angle, Schalles and yes, even John W. Internationally, Angle and John have the medals. Collegiately, Schalles DNP'ed as a freshman. Smith lost to a guy named Dan Foldesy from Cleveland State as a freshman, neither placed. Eras being what they are, Gray wrestled two national tournaments three of his four years and was a six-time OW. I think the NCAA didn't plug him more since four of his titles are with the other organization, the NAIA, despite Lock Haven long being an NCAA member as well.

I interviewed Gray about a month ago for the podcast series Etched In Stone. I hope that series will bring his greatness back to the minds of our current wrestling generation. He deserves to be talked about just as much.
 
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JasonBryant said:
Part of it is because he isn't from a massive fanbase. There wasn't a large fan uprising to flood the ballots with the online vote back in 2004 when they announced the 75th anniversary team. The Iowa ties were notable.
He's also a couple of generations ahead of guys like Schalles, who had a cult-like followings in his hey day and after his collegiate and Olympic career ended, his coaching career didn't get as much fanfare.
I think it just snowballs along. When people do research, they usually look at what's already published, then if they don't see names from the 50's and 60's, they must assume they did something that wasn't that notable for the previous people and that just gets recycled.
I'm definitely biased here, since Gray taught me so much about wrestling during my time in college. He's a quiet, unassuming guy who even to this day doesn't talk about his accolades unless he's asked. Lock Haven was a heavyweight in college wrestling once upon a time, but he's almost 83, so most of those who remember watching him wrestle are long in the tooth aren't that vocal on the interwebs.
Mike Chapman loved Dan Hodge, so when he created WIN Magazine, he created an award that essentially re-ignited the lore of Hodge, as did the Roller events that brought him to generations of wrestlers.
If you look at the 75th anniversary team, very few of the old timers are on there. The era was different, but Gray was just before the "Gable Era" about a decade later. Gray was on the NCAA Guide two years in a row. He lost one official match - and he lost that match as a freshman to the returning NCAA champion up from his regular weight class.
I've been trying to beat the Simons drum with these lists for years. I was really, really miffed when Flo left him off. He's a Top 10 guy. Him not being Top 100 is LAUGHABLE. And usually don't spend that much time complaining about lists.
He belongs on any "all time" NCAA list well ahead of any two-timer - Angle, Schalles and yes, even John W. Internationally, Angle and John have the medals. Collegiately, Schalles DNP'ed as a freshman. Smith lost to a guy named Dan Foldesy from Cleveland State as a freshman, neither placed. Eras being what they are, Gray wrestled two national tournaments three of his four years and was a six-time OW. I think the NCAA didn't plug him more since four of his titles are with the other organization, the NAIA, despite Lock Haven long being an NCAA member as well.

I interviewed Gray about a month ago for the podcast series Etched In Stone. I hope that series will bring his greatness back to the minds of our current wrestling generation. He deserves to be talked about just as much.
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Keep preaching Jason. Keep preaching! A friend of mine who wrestled at LHU from 69-72 can talk Gray Simons for hours on end.
 
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I guess I was wrong. I might not like that a few duals followed by conference and ncaa tournaments is being billed a season, but it is what it is. 33-0 across three years… that was one season just 5 years ago.
 
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JasonBryant said:
Part of it is because he isn't from a massive fanbase. There wasn't a large fan uprising to flood the ballots with the online vote back in 2004 when they announced the 75th anniversary team. The Iowa ties were notable.
He's also a couple of generations ahead of guys like Schalles, who had a cult-like followings in his hey day and after his collegiate and Olympic career ended, his coaching career didn't get as much fanfare.
I think it just snowballs along. When people do research, they usually look at what's already published, then if they don't see names from the 50's and 60's, they must assume they did something that wasn't that notable for the previous people and that just gets recycled.
I'm definitely biased here, since Gray taught me so much about wrestling during my time in college. He's a quiet, unassuming guy who even to this day doesn't talk about his accolades unless he's asked. Lock Haven was a heavyweight in college wrestling once upon a time, but he's almost 83, so most of those who remember watching him wrestle are long in the tooth aren't that vocal on the interwebs.
Mike Chapman loved Dan Hodge, so when he created WIN Magazine, he created an award that essentially re-ignited the lore of Hodge, as did the Roller events that brought him to generations of wrestlers.
If you look at the 75th anniversary team, very few of the old timers are on there. The era was different, but Gray was just before the "Gable Era" about a decade later. Gray was on the NCAA Guide two years in a row. He lost one official match - and he lost that match as a freshman to the returning NCAA champion up from his regular weight class.
I've been trying to beat the Simons drum with these lists for years. I was really, really miffed when Flo left him off. He's a Top 10 guy. Him not being Top 100 is LAUGHABLE. And usually don't spend that much time complaining about lists.
He belongs on any "all time" NCAA list well ahead of any two-timer - Angle, Schalles and yes, even John W. Internationally, Angle and John have the medals. Collegiately, Schalles DNP'ed as a freshman. Smith lost to a guy named Dan Foldesy from Cleveland State as a freshman, neither placed. Eras being what they are, Gray wrestled two national tournaments three of his four years and was a six-time OW. I think the NCAA didn't plug him more since four of his titles are with the other organization, the NAIA, despite Lock Haven long being an NCAA member as well.

I interviewed Gray about a month ago for the podcast series Etched In Stone. I hope that series will bring his greatness back to the minds of our current wrestling generation. He deserves to be talked about just as much.
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Jason, A++ for your detailed reply to dunke. I am one of the "long in the tooth" guys who saw many of Simons' matches, including his only loss. I am not a list guy, but Simons surely must be in the conversation when discussing wrestling's all time greats.

If memory serves, Simons was also a multiple time PA State Teachers College champion. His matches with Billy Hughes of Bloomsburg were always hard fought and highly entertaining.
 
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I'll have to go back and check the year, but it was either in 60 or 64 where Dick Wilson of Toledo had won the national AAU title and Gray had gotten hurt and couldn't compete. They went to the Olympic camp with Wilson sitting atop of the ladder. In those days, you had to beat the guy ahead of you, then beat the guy ahead of you and so on to make the team. Gray was fourth in the pecking order due to not competing. He beat the two guys in front of me and when it came time to wrestle Wilson, Wilson opted to go Greco and Gray got the spot - Gray had beaten him a number of times.

I'll get those details in the show when I complete it. He's a fascinating guy who never had the resources he should have to be a real dominant coach, though. He could have broken through big time at Tennessee, but they dropped the program.
 
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mcpat said:
I guess I was wrong. I might not like that a few duals followed by conference and ncaa tournaments is being billed a season, but it is what it is. 33-0 across three years… that was one season just 5 years ago.
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True, but a lot of those matches were wrestled in tournaments like the Nittany Lion Open, where the competition before reaching the semis was not that tough. IMHO Cael has found the right formula for peaking in the post season.
 
It's interesting that Gray Simons has kinda slipped off into obscurity. When I was wrestling - 60's - Elliot Gray Simons was THE MAN. No one questioned that he was the greatest wrestler. He was legend.
After he graduated from Lock Haven, I guess he was drafted in the Army (not sure). But I met him at West Point after the Lehigh-Army meet where he was serving as an assistant coach. I talked a little wrestling with him and he was gracious and patient with a Jr Hi hero worshipper.
To place things in perspective, in my lifetime there have been three or four wrestling 'gods'. Gable and Cael, obviously. But starting off, the two gods were Gray Simons and Yojiro Uetake. No one else was in the conversation, where I came from.
 
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oldcougar65 said:
It's interesting that Gray Simons has kinda slipped off into obscurity. When I was wrestling - 60's - Elliot Gray Simons was THE MAN. No one questioned that he was the greatest wrestler. He was legend.
After he graduated from Lock Haven, I guess he was drafted in the Army (not sure). But I met him at West Point after the Lehigh-Army meet where he was serving as an assistant coach. I talked a little wrestling with him and he was gracious and patient with a Jr Hi hero worshipper.
To place things in perspective, in my lifetime there have been three or four wrestling 'gods'. Gable and Cael, obviously. But starting off, the two gods were Gray Simons and Yojiro Uetake. No one else was in the conversation, where I came from.
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What about Doug Blubaugh? I don't know how it came about, but he visited with my team and what I remember most was that his glasses were as thick as the bottom of a coke bottle.

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/8668
 
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JasonBryant said:
I'll have to go back and check the year, but it was either in 60 or 64 where Dick Wilson of Toledo had won the national AAU title and Gray had gotten hurt and couldn't compete. They went to the Olympic camp with Wilson sitting atop of the ladder. In those days, you had to beat the guy ahead of you, then beat the guy ahead of you and so on to make the team. Gray was fourth in the pecking order due to not competing. He beat the two guys in front of me and when it came time to wrestle Wilson, Wilson opted to go Greco and Gray got the spot - Gray had beaten him a number of times.

I'll get those details in the show when I complete it. He's a fascinating guy who never had the resources he should have to be a real dominant coach, though. He could have broken through big time at Tennessee, but they dropped the program.
Click to expand...
My buddy from Lock Haven has always told me the reason Gray left the LHU coaching position was Wonderous Wade was going to enroll at LHU, but they would not academically accept Wade and that caused Gray to conclude the school was taking themselves a little too seriously.
I know Bill Koll was pissed because the PSU admissions people would not give Schalles an academic pass.
 
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