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JoePa and Wrestling

a_mshaffer

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Dec 8, 2014
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Curious what JoePa's relationship with the wrestling team was back in the day. He had some very good football players that were state champs. Was there a Franklin type of relationship? Being a PSU fan I should know but I don't. Also hoping this q would spur on some memories of those greats (in the event they did wrestle some)...
 
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I know he generally distanced himself from attending other sporting events, not because he didn’t enjoy them, but because too much attention was focused in him and he didn’t want to detract from the athletes. I believe he attended a basketball game once at Rec when I was a student in the early 80’s. He got up to go to the men’s room and got a standing ovation. I believe that might have been one of the last he attended.

And I will never distance myself from JoePa! He was a great man. I went to PSU with his son Dave. We did not see him much (for clarity purposes, he means JoePa, not Dave, lol), but did see Sue fairly often along with the youngest son. My last spring he did come to our study hall room on 3rd floor Beaver Hall and gave a short motivational speech, then stayed for at least on hour until he met, signed and took pictures with anyone that wanted one. It was supposed to only be guys from our floor, but of course word got out and the place was mobbed.
 
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I know he generally distanced himself from attending other sporting events, not because he didn’t enjoy them, but because too much attention was focused in him and he didn’t want to detract from the athletes. I believe he attended a basketball game once at Rec when I was a student in the early 80’s. He got up to go to the men’s room and got a standing ovation. I believe that might have been one of the last he attended.

And I will never distance myself from JoPa! He was a great man. I went to PSU with his son Dave. We did not see him much, but did see Sue fairly often along with the youngest son. My last spring he did come to our study hall room on 3rd floor Beaver Hall and gave a short motivatinal speech, then stayed for at least on hour until he met, signed and took pictures with anyone that wanted one. It was supposed to only be guys from our floor, but of course word got out and the place was mobbed.
I lived with Dave Paterno at my fraternity (TEP), and one time saved Sue from falling down the fraternity steps with a basket of laundry. Moms being mom!
 
I know he generally distanced himself from attending other sporting events, not because he didn’t enjoy them, but because too much attention was focused in him and he didn’t want to detract from the athletes. I believe he attended a basketball game once at Rec when I was a student in the early 80’s. He got up to go to the men’s room and got a standing ovation. I believe that might have been one of the last he attended.

And I will never distance myself from JoPa! He was a great man. I went to PSU with his son Dave. We did not see him much, but did see Sue fairly often along with the youngest son. My last spring he did come to our study hall room on 3rd floor Beaver Hall and gave a short motivatinal speech, then stayed for at least on hour until he met, signed and took pictures with anyone that wanted one. It was supposed to only be guys from our floor, but of course word got out and the place was mobbed.
Cool. Did any of the Suhey's think about wrestling as well? Benson, Sefter's...
 
I know he generally distanced himself from attending other sporting events, not because he didn’t enjoy them, but because too much attention was focused in him and he didn’t want to detract from the athletes. I believe he attended a basketball game once at Rec when I was a student in the early 80’s. He got up to go to the men’s room and got a standing ovation. I believe that might have been one of the last he attended.

I certainly agree with your first sentence and feel like I've read JVP saying as much somewhere before but can't place it. That said, I know he was at a home NIT game against Sienna in 99(I think it was 99). Either his presence was announced or the crowd just saw him and started chanting JVP, or both. He pointed at the court, motioned for everyone to get up and then started fist pumping and clapping. I remember I kept watching after this and he was really into the game and very animated. I've only ever seen him more animated when giving a ref, a player or coach an earful.

Never saw him at any PSU wrestling matches I attended in high school or in college but I could be misremembering because everyone knows we didn't have wrestling at PSU or in the state until 2010.
 
I believe he attended a basketball game once at Rec when I was a student in the early 80’s. He got up to go to the men’s room and got a standing ovation. I believe that might have been one of the last he attended.

When I was an undergrad in the early 90s, I would see him from time to time at basketball games. Typically on the south side, near the track.
 
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I had the privilege of holding the door at rec for coach Paterno so he could go watch wrestling as he proclaimed “let’s go watch some wrestling !!!”
 
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Steve Sefter wrestled and played football in the early 80’s. Joe supported all sports at PSU.....he supported everything. He was AD for a short time.......Someone mentioned the attention he brought when he showed up and that experiment did not last long.

Franklin sounds just like joe in most conversations. He talks about PSU football being great in the context of PSU being great at so many things.

It’s what we do........ ( thanks Bo )
 
I know he met Bubba Jenkins during his recruitment ... recall a story about him asking Sunderland if “this kid was any good” and breaking down in a wrestling stance. One of them feigned a double leg.

Considering that guys like Mike Reid were wrestlers when not playing football, I am sure JoePa was a supporter.

Post earlier was correct regarding other sports. He would rarely attend unless in a private box or other sheltered area because he was a big time distraction.
 
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Yes, he was AD for a while, but I believe he was not thrilled with having that title.
 
...as I have stated before, Joe was very supportive of wrestling and all sports ... several football players participated in other sports while on the football team . ... to name a few - Reid, Suhey, Sefter, Getty and Joyner wrestled... Hoffman, Garrity and Arnelle played basketball... the Bahr brothers played soccer...and other players participated in track and baseball...
... Joe drove wrestlers to away matches when he was an assistant coach and later married the younger sister of one of our wrestlers...
...and to say that wrestling didn't appear at Penn State until 2010 is simply a snide remark by someone who knows not and knows not he knows not ...while trying to be funny...
...but thas jes my opinion...
 
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WTF are you talking about?

Any time Joe Paterno comes up, this knucklehead is in that category that Joe lived a deceptive life, and that he was a big fraud. That's fine for the Buzz Bissinger's, Gregg Doyal's, and Dan Bernstein's of the world. That is a group with which I certainly would not want to be aligned. But, LP is in that group. Typically, they can be broken down as agenda-driven, unintelligent, and lacking of any critical thinking skills.
 
...as I have stated before, Joe was very supportive of wrestling and all sports ... several football players participated in other sports while on the football team . ... to name a few - Reid, Suhey, Sefter, Getty and Joyner wrestled... Hoffman, Garrity and Arnelle played basketball... the Bahr brothers played soccer...and other players anticipated in track and baseball...
... Joe drove wrestlers to away matches when he was an assistant coach and later married the younger sister of one of our wrestlers...
...and to say that wrestling didn't appear at Penn State until 2010 is simply a snide remark by someone who knows not and knows not he knows not ...while trying to be funny...
...but thas jes my opinion...

I believe the snide remark was a shot at the people on other message boards who make that claim about us. It was scoffing at the idea that we've only had wrestling since 2010. It made me laugh, but I realize other opinions may vary.
 
I know he met Bubba Jenkins during his recruitment ... recall a story about him asking Sunderland if “this kid was any good” and breaking down in a wrestling stance. One of them feigned a double leg.
Close ...

Bubba met Joe on his official. Right after they shook hands, Joe tackled him, looked up at Troy and.said "I thought you said he was good."

A few years later, at the Blue White NLC pregame breakfast in the BJC, Bubba demanded a rematch. (This was when Joe was injured and could barely walk, really looked bad.) Joe responded "Give me a day to get ready." Brought the house down.
 
Cool. Did any of the Suhey's think about wrestling as well? Benson, Sefter's...
Larry Suhey wrestled, Paul and Matt played football. Paul is the ortho partner with Martin. The Sefter in with them is John who was NCAA heavyweight runner-up wrestling for Princeton.
 
...as I have stated before, Joe was very supportive of wrestling and all sports ... several football players participated in other sports while on the football team . ... to name a few - Reid, Suhey, Sefter, Getty and Joyner wrestled... Hoffman, Garrity and Arnelle played basketball... the Bahr brothers played soccer...and other players anticipated in track and baseball...
... Joe drove wrestlers to away matches when he was an assistant coach and later married the younger sister of one of our wrestlers...
...and to say that wrestling didn't appear at Penn State until 2010 is simply a snide remark by someone who knows not and knows not he knows not ...while trying to be funny...
...but thas jes my opinion...

Was hoping you would weigh in on this one...

Can you elaborate on that driving the wrestling bus to away matches....any stories there you can share please?
 
Was hoping you would weigh in on this one...

Can you elaborate on that driving the wrestling bus to away matches....any stories there you can share please?
I do not believe they took buses. Joe would drive a car load of wrestlers.
 
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I do not believe they took buses. Joe would drive a car load of wrestlers.

Androcles can tell us, but I got the picture from one of these stories of his that the 'bus' was like a conversion van, with the tall ceilings.
 
Androcles can tell us, but I got the picture from one of these stories of his that the 'bus' was like a conversion van, with the tall ceilings.

And the heat cranked up so they could lose weight and Joe wanting to roll the window down and they won't let him. That's one I remember from androcles. He can probably add a lot more detail.
 
... on away trips we recruited coaches or students to drive the team - in their own vehicles... 4 wrestlers to each car...
... one driver was always Hud Samson - our heavyweight wrestler - who's Dad owned a large Buick dealership in Pittsburgh, because he got a new car every year!...
... Joe drove a few years because he was "out of season" and liked the additional money - about $15 plus meal money and gas expense, probably $40-50 total for a 2-day trip...
...our entire entourage was only about 16 people - Coach Charlie Speidel, Alumni Director Ridge Riley, team physician Dr. Jack Light, 8 wrestlers, the Head Manager, an asst. manager and an asst. coach ...plus 2-3 extra drivers ...
 
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.
... one driver was always Hud Samson - our heavyweight wrestler - who's Dad owned a large Buick dealership in Pittsburgh, because he got a new car every year!...
... Joe drove a few years because he was "out of season" and liked the additional money - about $15 plus meal money and gas expense, probably $40-50 total for a 2-day trip...

So you're saying that Speidel, not Cael started the slush fund?
 
...regarding slush funds...
...back in the 50's there were no full ride scholarships...
...financial aid from the school was almost non-existent ...
... probably the biggest contributor to financial assistance came from the fraternity system... Coach Speidel would visit fraternities and ask if they could "sponsor" a wrestler - which meant up to free room and board for a year... since tuition was only $120 per semester it made a 4 year education within the reach of almost anyone... I lived in a fraternity for $30/mo and worked in the women's dining room on campus for my meals...
 
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Any time Joe Paterno comes up, this knucklehead is in that category that Joe lived a deceptive life, and that he was a big fraud. That's fine for the Buzz Bissinger's, Gregg Doyal's, and Dan Bernstein's of the world. That is a group with which I certainly would not want to be aligned. But, LP is in that group. Typically, they can be broken down as agenda-driven, unintelligent, and lacking of any critical thinking skills.

Lemonhead is an attention seeker on this board. in real life, no one cares about him.
 
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I know he generally distanced himself from attending other sporting events, not because he didn’t enjoy them, but because too much attention was focused in him and he didn’t want to detract from the athletes. I believe he attended a basketball game once at Rec when I was a student in the early 80’s. He got up to go to the men’s room and got a standing ovation. I believe that might have been one of the last he attended.

And I will never distance myself from JoePa! He was a great man. I went to PSU with his son Dave. We did not see him much (for clarity purposes, he means JoePa, not Dave, lol), but did see Sue fairly often along with the youngest son. My last spring he did come to our study hall room on 3rd floor Beaver Hall and gave a short motivational speech, then stayed for at least on hour until he met, signed and took pictures with anyone that wanted one. It was supposed to only be guys from our floor, but of course word got out and the place was mobbed.

Beaver Hall alum, 6th floor. Remember the study room well. I enjoyed living in Beaver Hall. We had a great intramural football league team and great parties with a band member living on our floor and using parties for practice sessions, great way to bring in the ladies. Fun times.

As to the original subject, Joe's participation was in a different era and his reduced exposure did have to do with not wanting to draw attention away from the sporting event he attended as the years went by and his legend grew. I remember him attending the NIT games with the bus caravan. I believe CJF likes Cael a lot, they operate with a similar mentality coaching their teams. CJF was interviewed at the NIT game, taking away from the on-court play but it was a great opportunity to gain more TV exposure and recruit & PSU exposure. He is quite gifted in that arena, smart man using each opportunity to allow recruits to observe his prowess. That is the difference between CJF and Cael, personality wise, Cael is camera shy generally trying to put his athletes into the spotlight where CJF will do both. Nothing wrong with either, just different personalities and use of media.
 
Beaver Hall alum, 6th floor. Remember the study room well. I enjoyed living in Beaver Hall. We had a great intramural football league team and great parties with a band member living on our floor and using parties for practice sessions, great way to bring in the ladies. Fun times.

As to the original subject, Joe's participation was in a different era and his reduced exposure did have to do with not wanting to draw attention away from the sporting event he attended as the years went by and his legend grew. I remember him attending the NIT games with the bus caravan. I believe CJF likes Cael a lot, they operate with a similar mentality coaching their teams. CJF was interviewed at the NIT game, taking away from the on-court play but it was a great opportunity to gain more TV exposure and recruit & PSU exposure. He is quite gifted in that arena, smart man using each opportunity to allow recruits to observe his prowess. That is the difference between CJF and Cael, personality wise, Cael is camera shy generally trying to put his athletes into the spotlight where CJF will do both. Nothing wrong with either, just different personalities and use of media.
Different personalities sure, recruiting for the two sports is also different. Franklin and staff probably seriously recruit 50 to 75 kids each year. Cael and staff probably seriously recruit 6 to 8 kids most seasons. They both have causal contact with a lot more kids but they are viewed more as fallback recruits and walk-ons...Cael may not even take a fallback recruit, probably wait to address the problem the next year. Franklin occasionally needs the fallback recruit, football team needs depth to even have effective practices.
 
...as I have stated before, Joe was very supportive of wrestling and all sports ... several football players participated in other sports while on the football team . ... to name a few - Reid, Suhey, Sefter, Getty and Joyner wrestled... Hoffman, Garrity and Arnelle played basketball... the Bahr brothers played soccer...and other players participated in track and baseball...
... Joe drove wrestlers to away matches when he was an assistant coach and later married the younger sister of one of our wrestlers...
...and to say that wrestling didn't appear at Penn State until 2010 is simply a snide remark by someone who knows not and knows not he knows not ...while trying to be funny...
...but thas jes my opinion...
Rich Lorenzo was also a good wrestling coach.
 
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...Rich was the protege of Bill Koll, one of the toughest guys who ever wrestled...
...Bill was instrumental in convincing Rich to take over as HC when he retired...
... Rich insisted we wrestle the best teams possible - Iowa and Oklahoma State - in order to toughen up our kids for the NCAAs...and reduce the "awe" factor...
...Rich has become a trusted sounding board for the Sanderson regime, especially with regard to the Penn State wrestling faithful, which has resulted in a smooth transition for the new staff... a win-win situation for all!...
 
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...Rich was the protege of Bill Koll, one of the toughest guys who ever wrestled...
...Bill was instrumental in convincing Rich to take over as HC when he retired...
... Rich insisted we wrestle the best teams possible - Iowa and Oklahoma State - in order to toughen up our kids for the NCAAs...and reduce the "awe" factor...
...Rich has become a trusted sounding board for the Sanderson regime, especially with regard to the Penn State wrestling faithful, which has resulted in a smooth transition for the new staff... a win-win situation for all!...
I will make a deal with you.
Dinner, restaurant of your choice, is on me and you simply tell me Penn State wrestling stories.
 
...Rich was the protege of Bill Koll, one of the toughest guys who ever wrestled...
...Bill was instrumental in convincing Rich to take over as HC when he retired...
... Rich insisted we wrestle the best teams possible - Iowa and Oklahoma State - in order to toughen up our kids for the NCAAs...and reduce the "awe" factor...
...Rich has become a trusted sounding board for the Sanderson regime, especially with regard to the Penn State wrestling faithful, which has resulted in a smooth transition for the new staff... a win-win situation for all!...

Bill Koll was part of the D-Day Landings at Normandy.
 
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...in response to getting together to discuss the past (almost 7 decades) I am always up for a rehashing...
...I will be attending the banquet on Sunday with my wife, our daughter and 2 granddaughters ( they will be graduating from PSU in May)...
... I will be returning for that the weekend of May 5...
 
Can't do a May 5th, but none the less, I'll kick in for dessert.

I love this thread. I also will be attending Sunday for the icing on the cake of this season.

Thanks PSWC for hosting.
 
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