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History THE WONDER YEARS Old Timers: (courtesy of Bill Savage) http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/sav/74.html (A WEEKLY ARTICLE OF MEMORIES OF WRESTLERS, MATCHES, COACHES, OFFICIALS OF YEARS GONE PAST WRITTEN BY DENNY D AND COACH SAVAGE) WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK DENNY D AND COACH SAVAGE FOR THEIR SHARING OF THEIR STORIES THAT MANY OF THE SC FANS WILL FIND NOT ONLY INSIGHTFUL BUT FUNNY AS WELL. I think it was 1981, I was coaching Manalapan H.S. and we were hosting Howell H.S. Howell had a new coach by the name of Doug Bower. Doug had inherited a program that had fallen on hard times. He was in the process of rebuilding the team and was in trying to convince the kids about how much sacrifice meant to the team. He was trying to convince his kids just how far a coach or a kid would go to "make weight". Well here is where it gets real crazy. At 108 I called for the Manalapan wrestler to get on the scale. My guy Mike Brown hopped onto the scale. You should have seen the HORROR on the faces of the Howell kids!! You see, Mike Brown was born without his right leg. I quickly saw Bower staring at his kids as if to say, "do you see how far someone would go to make weight?" The kids started looking at me(I'm sure Doug told them who put Mike up to making such a sacrifice) and were speechless. Mike went on to win the Districts and was voted MOW. I think about that day often. It was funny at the time but I'm not sure if Bower's kids ever got to know the true story. Denny D It was Nov-Dec 1981...before that my Mike Brown Story...going into my Frosh (1977) year I went to my 1 and only out of season tournament at Matawan(my "rough" dad took me)...I weighed in, they took my card and they were doing Madison system...as I was weighing in, a boy behind me, unlatches his leg and weighs in...his name is Mike Brown...10 minutes after I go back to the locker room and they have me paired up with him...as I'm changing, Mike sits down next to me and again unlatches his leg and is getting dressed...as a 13 yearold, spineless kid..I got up dressed and walked out...I went to my Pops and said lets go, I don't want to do this...I told him my predicament...little did I know my first Match of the day was to start..I was taught a lesson on Character, humilty, and respect (can't say I got all that at that moment) but hence with my fatherly persausion I had to go on that Mat and wrestle him..I have the pictures, I wouldn't even look towards him...anyway..I wrestled Mike that time and like the bastard I was I went right for his leg..I pinned him that day...the next time we were wrestling your Braves and you also had a Girl on your Frosh team..well I forgot about Mike or something and "we" forced our 4th 101 lber Frosh guy to wrestle the girl... the three of us werre relieved but I forgot about Mike and I got Mike again, Because "i already" wrestled the kid with 1 leg...I cursed God that day...this time I beat Mike by Points...fast forward to Senior year and Mike wrestled Mike King in the Finals of the Holmdel Xmas Tournament...it was a back and forth match and King won by a point...we took second to your Braves and it was a manalapan Holmdel Final...I can tell you to this day...more than any of mine or my brothers matches (5 of us through HS ) my Pops talks of Mike Brown and the fact I got on the Mat with him and what it must of took for Mike to g et on the Mat..the courage both of us faced is something my Pops holds dear...as I went through life I would sometimes reference Mike's situation and if he could not only face his situation with courage and perserverence but also succeed..I could face what I was facing...as a coach..my Mike Brown Story was used as I didn't want to hear how tough the going was in the room...anyway..its weird how things connect...small world, my children friends Uncle is...MIKE BROWN. ...DSEANM Championship Controversy 20 years is ago.... It was 1986, CJ group 4 final, Manalapan at Hunterdon Central. Hunterdon Central had a real tough team that year and so did Manalapan. With two matches left, Manalapan was up 12. The last two weights got pinned and the match was tied 27-27. Now here is where the controversy came from. Back then Techs were counted as six points but this was the first or second season of the technical fall and the rule book was not updated. The criterion was most pins. HC had two pins, Manalapan had two tech falls. Russ Reigal was adamant that since the rule book said most pins and did not mention tech falls and that they won. This argument went on for a few hours and we left Flemington without a winner declared. It was not until the next day that we were notified that we won on the criteria of most near falls points. Needless to say there are a thousand different tiebreakers now and that would not happen now but I think that match is what made the state get rid of the superior decision and make a tech worth 5. Joe DiMario "Hey, who has an empty soda can?" I watch the mats getting set up and then broken down, today, after
a meet and I really have to laugh. Ask any of the OLD-TIMERS out there
about all the years of having a board or a soda can to "save" the tape
for future use. We always saved the tape to use again and again. Who Oh well, just another fond memory for the Wonder Years. dennyd Early 80's: When the Coaches were the only Law in town.... Let me
preface this story by adding this was a time when getting a "belt
strapping" or "the back of the hand" by parents who let coaches
coach,
teachers teach and supported both all why they did the parenting.... many will think a a hundred years ago, not so ....note the date... Before lawyers got involved, coaches had ways of teaching kids how to be men, not wussies, and not care if some of the tactics were a little "overboard". Well when I started coaching at Brick Memorial in 1983 the Stangs were (a new program) and a little "soft". Tony C. was the best technician I had ever met but he was a little "soft" on the training regiment of the kids. Injury time and water-breaks were a common occurrence. I decided that this was going to come to an end quickly. One of the first home matches my first year at Memorial was the
Aberdeen Proving Grounds. At bout 140 , maybe it was 141 in those days,
one of the boys was "injured", or known as time for the water-break.
Uncle Denny ran right out there with the water bottle. Our wrestler saw My medical kit consisted of one nose plug and a roll of tape(to cover a gaping wound). That was it. Today you have first aid squads out there if a kid has a boo boo. There are certainly injuries that need a trainer and a first aid squad but most of the boo boos and water or oxygen breaks are part of the sport so you just have to suck it up and live with it. I hope there is a statute of imitations for some of the crazy stuff we used to do. Denny D The passing of former Wall H. S. Athletic Director Bill Grahill by Denny D. Mr. Grahill was quite a character! Let me tell you how we met. Back in 1973 I was coaching at Freehold High School. We were a decent team but Wall was a much, much, much better team. They had Farmer, Humeniuk, Hoyt, Vitale, Panasuk, Bower, well- you get the picture. We were certainly going to get our asses kicked but Mr. Grahill made sure that we "kept our cool". When we got to Wall that night, the ever so gracious Mr. Grahill showed us some real home-style hospitality by putting us into the girls' lockerroom. We had no problem with that. I did have a problem that the windows were wide open and the temperature was about 30 degrees. I asked Mr. Grahill if he could please close the windows and he said, "What's the problem SHORTY". Well Bill was old enough to be my father so I said, "There is no problem, sir". Well as I figured it would be, Wall shut us out, BUT, I must say, the ever so gracious Mr. Grahill offered me a piece of "Championship Cake" that they had waiting for their C-Division cliching victory to be had by one and all!! Even me! I got to know Bill Grahill very well over the years and one thing I can state for sure, the man bled that Wall Knights Red, always put Wall up front and ran the most organized AD office I have ever seen. The facilities at Wall were impeccable and I'm sure that most of you out there that knew Bill would agree, he was one hell of a man. When the tough ..WERE TOUGH! One last story before we wrap this up for the season. Back in the early days, 1964, no one that we knew of had a "wrestling mat". On match day we would take the mats that were hanging on the walls of the3 gym(they were soft throw mats that had grommets on the bottom) and lace them together with long pieces of twine. Once they were secured, we would cover the mish-mosh with a huge piece of vinyl. The vinyl stunk and the gaps(under the tarp) were so wide that you could literally break an ankle if you stepped in one. It was like you were wrestling on the moon. I can remember wrestling at Middletown HS(coached by the ledgendary Dick Kleva) and stepping onto a real mat. Holy $hit!! Where are the craters?? How come this mat doesn't smell like a paint factory? For anyone out there(DeMarco, Savage, Nemetz, Schissler, Reider, Tiedemann, Schmeidl, Fontanez and Jack Van Etten) etc. who remember those days, MAN, have we come a long way or what?? The old dogs of this sport always had to do a "little extra". Ain't like turning a key to let the baskets down for hoops. When the basketball game is over, you go home. When the wrestling match is over, you have to breakdown the mats and put them away. Ahhhh, the glory of this sport!!! This is an article that appeared in the Asbury Park Press in 1981. They used to have a section called "Another View" that invited fans to contribute. I wrote this after the State Finals(they were held so late because the NCAA's were held at Princeton that year). I saw Mr. and Mrs. Skove at the Regions and we acknowledged their attendance. They are truly the number one family in Jersey Shore wrestling. "SKOVES DESERVE MORE CREDIT THAN SOME FANS GIVE THEM" It was with utter dismay that I observed reactions to the defeat of JudeSkove of Long Branch in the NJSIAA wrestling finals(March 21) at Princeton. Many of the "supporters" of wrestling cheered wildly, not for the winner, Rob Kuzy of Holy Cross, but rather for Jude's loss. It broke my heart to watch some people cheer with an undertone of vengeance. Many of these people apparently have joined the "Let's Beat the Skoves Club. I can understand how we have a tendency to root for the underdog and how David versus Goliath is always a one-sided popularity contest. But why do the people who know the least about the Skove personality have the loudest judgement? I really feel it is out-and-out jealousy. The family has produced some of the finest wrestlers in the Shore. Jude's brother Luke is a three-time State Champion. The family has produced one outstanding athlete after another for Long Branch High School and along the way has built a reputation for sportsmanship that any father could be proud. Comments like "What do you expect, they have a mat in their basement!" Or, "Their father films every match!" Or, "All they do is wrestle!" are not uncommon from the unknowing fans. Well, I personally feel that if the Skove family wants to "pay the price" to do well, it is their own business and not anyone else's to judge. Obviously, not many other families are so involved, but that does not have any bearing what the Skove family should or not should do. Have you ever spoken to a member of the family? Do you know what "a Skove" is? I have found Mr. and Mrs. Skove to be loving parents who want the best for their kids. Their boys are super gentlemen-- win or lose. Jude got up at the end of his match hurt, disappointed, and a loser. And, although it was killing him inside, he shook hands with his opponent and his opponent's coach. He could have won the match if he was awarded back points that were later erased but he gave no excuses. He had a severely strained neck he suffered in the semi-finals, but he gave no excuses. He didn't throw his head gear(like some losers did) or refuse to shake hands(like some losers did). Did you ever ask one of the boys a question? They not only answer it, but they will go into as much detail as you'd like. Did your son lose to a Skove? The family would be more than happy to show you the video tape and explain what was done to beat you. Cocky? No way! They are "purists". You get as prepared as you can and so will I and may the better man win. What's wrong with that attitude? There is nothing wrong with "being all you can be". In closing, I can only offer those who are offended by the success of the Skove family that I hope that when the day comes that you are doing something that you really " love to do" and someone puts you down for being fanatical, that you do not react toward your critics. Negative comments mean nothing when you you believe in what you are doing. I feel qualified to speak about this wonderful family because my wrestlers have been competing against them for nine years. My kids have won some and lost many more. But a more competitive, hard-working group of gentlemen would be hard to find. Good luck Art, Mary Ellen, and the "Droves ofSkoves". Denny D'Andrea-Manalapan High School A side light- On March 15, 1986, Jude Skove became the first NCAA Divsion I Champion from the Jersey Shore while wrestling for Ohio State. Luke was a 3 time D I All-American. I guess class and determination pays off. Coincidentally, that same day, Bob Martin became the first New Jersey State Champion from Brick Memorial. Denny, I couldn't think of a cute title for this one so we'll go with.... "Holy Crap":) I believe it was 1975 and my Freehold Boro squad had a match at Keyport High School. In those days, usually the basketball team would play an opponent on Tuesday and the next night the wrestling team would face the same school. Well here is where it all starts. The Boro basketball team was very good, as was Keyport. They had a very close game that the Boro wound up winning by a few points. At the end of the game there was a near riot. I was at the game and started wondering, what about tomorrow night when we have to come back here? Well tomorrow night came and, you guessed it, there were many more "fans" than I thought would be there. We wind up winning the match at heavyweight and the "fans" were not real happy. The A.D.(Tuffy Baker) gets us on our bus and has us escorted out of town. The problem was that we had to go a ways to get to Route 79 to get home. We were on Lloyd Road and suddenly a car coming toward us threw a full quart bottle of Budweiser right through the windshield of the bus. The driver, myself and a few of the kids got sprayed with the glass. The driver(who was about 80 years old) started to shake so badly that I thought he was going to die on the spot. Here is where I had to make a decision that could have gotten me fired. We were in an area where there were no stores. Do I leave the bus and try to get help? I was the only coach on the bus. The driver was shot. He couldn't move. Well I went to Plan B. I changed seats with the driver. I drove the bus back to the Boro(broken windshield and all). When we got home, I told the driver to file the report and not to mention the "guest chauffer" who transported us home. Can you imagine if anyone did that today? This site is called the "Wonder Years" and I did a lot of things that I often "Wonder" about. Learning how to win sometimes requires a little losing...denny d Most of the fans in the Shore area have associated me with I was appointed the Head Coach of wrestling at Freehold Boro High School in Well here is where it really gets bad. We were the host school. I had to make sure that the mats were ready(I got very,VERY, little help from the people that were "collecting the One side note, that night my car got stolen(actually my assistant
State sites :The Best and Worst of it Everyone remembers the Atlantic City Convention Center as the worst site in their minds that states were held at. But the old-timers remember some of the other problems we had at the other places. Bill Savage Rutgers College Ave Gym- That's right the states were held there in the early 1960's. It seated 2,300 naked midgets. The first states I saw was in 1964, we made the trip down from Bergenfield in an old Chevy Station wagon;10 wrestlers splitting the gas and tolls. It was $1 to get in and the program was 50 cents. We got there early and went upstairs in order to avoid sitting behind a steel pillar (sound familiar) which would block your view. Between rounds we hid upstairs until Mr.Williams chased us out. That way you got in the front of the people coming back in(no ticket lines back then). We rushed back upstairs to get good seats, just before the finals which was held on a round mat (it was cut in the shape of a circle) Mr.Williams got on the mike and said that young wrestlers (no parents) could come out and sit matside. We were stuck upstairs but the next year we got down close and got a front row seat by the mat. Got to see my friends, Bob Hurley, Bob Whittaker and Dave Pruzansky win titles that day in 1965. Asbury Park Convention Hall The states moved there in 1966 and the hall held 30 people less than the Rutgers. The best seats were on the stage or on the floor,we took the stage. Shortly after my teammate Ed Kochakji pulled a major upset over Joe Lemmo, the girls sitting near us started to scream. A rat had ran across the stage and into the house lights. Mr Williams came up onto the stage and we explained what happened. He told us we could still sit up there but keep our eyes open, WE DID! It was still a one day tournament but I can remember wrestlers winning the states and running into the freezing ocean afterwards. Thank God they built Jadwin Jadwin Gym-Princeton We had never seen anything like it a 6,000 seat domed arena. Remember taking the elevator down to the weigh-ins. Try getting all those wrestlers in one elevator. The hotels or lack of them was amazing, in 1970 there were Four-the Princetonian, Holiday Inn and that little roach motel on Route 1 north. People with the big bucks stayed at the Princeton Inn but I have a closet bigger than those rooms. Remember the coaches party at the firehouse or waiting in line for pancakes at the only place in town the next day? It got better with the new hotels being built on Route 1 but then the wrestling crowd and their parties weren?t really suited for those places. Remember the bag checks at the Wyndam, who was that coach that went swimming in the fish pond? Atlantic City Convention Hall not the new one the old one with the leaking roof. Remember the weigh in room, no showers, and the cold metal bleachers? How about the year the freak snowstorm closed the AC Expressway. There was about 2,000 people in the stands and they had to move everyone to one end because the roof was leaking on the mat. The New Boardwalk Hall and the Meadowlands have been state of the art sites but it?s been a long trip getting there. "Class Act"... as we gear up for the SCT here's a story on Coaches respecting each other off the mat knowing they are adversary's on the Mat...by Denny D Back in 1981,when I was at Manalapan, the SCT used to begin on a Monday. Well the Freehold Regionals District refused to let us practice on Sunday. To this day, the archaic FRHSD still refuses to allow their teams to practice or compete on Sundays. Ridiculous!! That being said, we had a dilemma because the boys were cutting weight and needed to practice. There were no clubs or even spas in those days. Well I called a coach and asked him if we could sneak in a practice at his school. We didn't want to practice with his team, just merely use his school. He most graciously allowed us to use his wrestling room while his boys practiced in the gym. This may not seem to be a big deal but you have to understand that we were rivals and could very well meet in the tournament. Well we had our practice and wound up beating them along the way. He never expressed any regret for allowing us to "make weight" at his expense. He was a true coach who respected every boys right to have an opportunity to participate on a fair level. I'm not so sure of how many coaches today would look out for what is best for the kids regardless of the situation. There seems to be a little more "cut-throat" going on today. I have had my share of winning over the years but I aways remember that gesture of sportsmanship. The coach was Chuck Rutan and his team was Long Branch. They had a great team led by 3 guys by the name of Skove. That was not only a Wonder Year, it was a Wonderful Year. Chuck was inducted into the Region VI Hall of Fame a few Years ago. The Skoves are all in there too. Just a memory that I thought might make things a little better in our sport. The "Growing Pains" of the Power Point system. Courtesy of Denny D First of all, wrestling Power Points were never based of "size of school" ala football. Far too many fans still do not understand that. You can find the "Wrestling Power Point System" on the NJSIAA.org web site. In the early days of the sectionals, I was the Region 6 Ranking Chairman. They only took 4 teams per section so if you weren't wrestling teams with high point ratings, you were only getting 25 points per win. That was not enough to get you in, especially in Group 4 South Jersey. In those days it didn't matter if you were undefeated, the top 4 ranking teams got the berth. That became a real problem when Highland Regional was undefeated(and was arguably the best team in the state) and they didn't get in. That, of course was changed and now all undefeated teams must be put in the bracket. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I received from coaches, parents, ADs and fans bitching at ME for their exclusion because of lack of points. It was, and still is, a numbers game. By revising how many points you can get for a "quality loss" it has encouraged teams to seek out the best competition. I can remember scheduling teams such as Pemberton and Hunterdon Central, when I was at Manalapan, and having people ask me if I was crazy. Even though it might have been crazy, it was a movement that led to the great duals you see today. John DeMarco had his great TRS Indians competing against Phillipsburg in the mid 70s when a Shore Conference team wouldn't ever venture out of the area. Can you imagine how many years we lost out on great dual meet match-ups? One of the great rivalries now is Jackson-Paulsboro. How about Kittatinney-South Plainfield? Absegami-P'Burg? Many people criticize the ranking system but the revisions that it has undergone over the years has brought us to a way to fairly determine the top 10 teams in the state. We used to sit in Bridgewater West High School on the last Sunday before the Districts and argue it out. It was really political and the meeting used to last for 10-12 hours. Phew!! There had to be a better way and I think we have found it. January 24, 2005. "The Story behind The Group Championships" Courtesy of Bill Savage Back in the day the New Jersey Wrestling powers all stayed in their basic locales. In 1977 a group of coaches in the Mercer County area wanted to propose to the NJSIAA that the District Championships (considered then a state title) be set up like all the other sports according to Groups. Their reasoning was the small schools were not given a fair chance to win a State Title. They presented this to The NJWCA at our final yearly meeting with a petition to the NJSIAA to put it on their agenda for that fall. After they left John Semar, the NJWCA President and Head Coach at Cherry Hill East, said we had to come up with a plan to perserve the system we had. We decided to use that summer to come up with a counter proposal to the state and to meet that September. At the time I was coaching at Paramus High School and was serving as the Vice-President of the NJWCA. I had my house in Manahawkin and my former teammate, Ed Kochajki was spending the summer down at the house. I was working at a possible team group championship by using a dual-meet format, late July came and we were looking at a week of bad weather so Ed left to surf Cape Hatteras. A week down the shore in the summer with rain and no cable TV and no other distractions and I had a basic plan set up. That August brought more ex-wrestlers down the shore and we spent days debating different concepts and I spent nights drawing up a final presentation. Late August I called John Semar up and explained it over the phone to him. He invited the Mercer County Coaches back to our September Meeting and they agreed to withdraw their proposal if we could sell ours to the NJSIAA Wrestling Committee. John set up a date with the NJSIAA for October and the canvassed the members of the Executive Committee to get their support. The night before the meeting , John told me he thought we had enough support to get it done. We went to Robbinsville and made the presentation but a freak thunderstorm hit that day and two of our yes votes got stuck and couldn?t make it. After the presentation and a discussion a vote was taken and it ended 4-4-1. Hank Schnef of Lenape abstained. He questioned the reasons the 4 had voted it down and then threw his support behind us to break the tie. To this day I remember what he said " I don?t know if it will work but I trust these two gentlemen?s knowledge of the sport" We said we would put it into effect in 1980 as a sectional championship and re-evaluate the results in 1984 to see if we wanted to move to a group championship. (Which was in the original proposal) After two years Coach Russ Reigel pressured the Executive Committee to go to the next level and the Groups were formed. The rest is history and this year the 25th anniversary of the State team Championships it will be coming back to it?s birthplace the Jersey Shore. Not the 10th Street Beach in Ship Bottom but the Rittacco Center in Toms River. Paulsboro will try to win it?s 25th straight Group One Championship in a tournament that their Athletic Director voted against in 1978. JANUARY 21, 2005 "HAVE MAT WILL TRAVEL" BY DENNY D. Back in the early days of the SCT, they had 4 separate brackets of teams. Each bracket had 8 teams. You had the "championship" bracket(top 8 teams) and then the Red Bracket(9-16) White Bracket(17-24) Blue Bracket(25-32). The highest seeded team would host. After the 1st round the highest surviving team would host the semis and finals of their perspective group. The only problem was that in those days many schools only had ONE mat. That meant that if they were going to have to host two duals at the same time(semi-finals) they needed to get another mat. That may seem easy today but 25-30 years ago, it was a real problem. One year(I believe it was 1979) Marlboro was the highest surviving team in the Red Division. Being that they only had 1 mat, I told Lou Fontanez that I would bring a mat with me(I was the Manalapan coach and we were in the bracket as well). I managed to convince the bus driver that I could fit the mat into the bus along with my team. We rolled the three sections tight and got them into the bus on top of the seats and then the wrestlers crawled under and between the mats for the ride over. It was a total pain in the ass but you did whatever it took. Today most teams have anywhere from 3-5 mats in their building. Oh, the "wonder years"!! I wondered many times just what the HECK I was doing. NEW JERSEY WRESTLING PIONEERS: COURTESY OF MIKE SCHIBANOFF FORMER WRESTLER (MID 1930'S) FREEHOLD HIGH SCHOOL. The earliest records of New Jersey Wrestling date the birth of wrestling at 1924 with non other than Blair Academy. Coach Bob Dowling, (a Lehigh Alumni) was Blair's first Coach. Bob along with the following Coaches were the Father's of NJ Wrestling. They represent all areas of the State and it is with great thanks we owe them for initiating this great sport in New Jeresy. Henry Boresch started his program at Newton in 1926. Was noted to have been always amatside gentleman who never have complained nor criticized an official. Don Ringler started the program at Union High School. Shorty Long(a Penn State alumni) started the program in 1931 at Asbury Park High School. Neil Clark started the Freehold High School program in 1931. Puggy Williams the Roselle High School Program in 1936. Frank Bennett in 1937 the Washington High School program and in the late 1930's Bob Fenstermacher Somerville HS and Joe Bataglia of Springfield Regional. Lastly a Coach Cambell of Teaneck also in the 30's. It was these gentlemen who got the sport of wrestling off the ground in New Jersey. My understanding in those early years is that they actually had a walkin state tournament where anyone could wrestle. There weren't many high schools with programs but they covered most area's of the state. There were no qualifications to be an official. If you were an exwrestler and knew a coach you were in. It wasn't until the 1950's when the NJ wrestling Officials Association was formed. COURTESY OF MIKE SCHIBANOFF FORMER WRESTLER (MID 1930'S) FREEHOLD HIGH SCHOOL. A ORIGINAL PIONEER OF THE SPORT OF WRESTLING IN NEW JERSEY. HAS HELD MANY POSITIONS, OFFICES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH THE SPORT AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT SINCE ITS BEGINNING, ORGANIZED THE NEW JERSEY WRESTLING OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION AS WE KNOW IT AND HAS REF THE STATE FINAL NUMEROUS TIMES...COUNT OUR BLESSINGS FOR GUYS LIKE MIKE WHO HAVE LED US TO WHERE WRESTLING IS AT NOW...HERE IS A LITTLE HISTORY FROM MIKE... ...BACK IN THE '30'S BEFORE THERE WAS ANY KIND OF SCORING SYSTEM YOU WON YOUR BOUT EITHER BY FALL OR WITH HAVING A MINUTE OR MORE TIME ADVANTAGE. SO THE COACHES WOULD TEACH TAKEDOWNS, OF COURSE, BUT THEY TAUGHT YOU THAT ONCE YOU TOOK YOUR MAN DOWN YOU DIDN'T TRY TO PIN HIM BUT RATHER YOU RODE HIM OR CONTROLLED HIM UNTIL YOU BUILT UP SOME TIME ADVANTAGE AND THEN YOU WOULD MAKE YOUR ATTEMPT TO TURN HIM OVER. tHE WRESTLERS WERE ALWAYS COACHED NOT TO TURN THEIR OPPONENTS FROM THEIR KNEES BUT YOU HAD TO BREAKM HIM DOWN, YOU HAD TO BREAK HIM DOWN FLAT ON THE MAT AND THEN TURN HIM....BY 1939 THE OFFENESE OPENED UP A BIT WHEN THEY WENT TO A SCORING SYSTEM...UP UNTIL 1973 CHANGE WAS ALWAYS DEBATED TO GET RID OF STALLING MOVES AND IT WAS IN 1973 THAT THE NATIONAL FEDERATION'S CHAIRMAN EXPRESSED URGENCY THAT THE SPORT WAS FAILING DUE TO STALLING AND CHANGES NEEDED IMMEDIATELY...IT WAS SOON AFTER RIDING TIME WAS BANNED AND PREVENTING STALLING BECAME A MAJOR GOAL OF ALL INVOLVED... |