I’m going to send you what I have now. It has been really hard to decide what stories to use as there are so many. I think this is really great that you’re doing this. As I started to think about the great memories I have of Penn State wrestling, I realized even more how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to meet, coach, and make friends with so many fantastic people. So, well, here they are.
“Fat Toad.”
My brother Bernie, who was known to put on a few pounds over the summer, was walking across campus one summer day. Since he was on the end of campus not near Rec Hall and Coach KolI’s office, he was surprised to see Coach Koll on that part of campus, and he was excited when coach went out of his way to approach Bernie for what he thought would be a cheerful greeting. Instead, Coach Koll looked at Bernie and exclaimed “Bernie, you look like a fat toad,” and then walked away without saying another word.
“Michigan Trip”
The trips we took to away competition will always be among some of our greatest memories. One of the most memorable experiences I had as a Penn State wrestler occurred during a road trip to Michigan during the 1974-75 season. At that time we drove cars to most matches. Coach Koll had half the team in one car, and assistant coach Andy Matter had the other half in his car. I was in Andy’s car along with Wayne Packer, Denny Sciabica, and a few others. We drove through one of the worst snowstorms on the way to East Lansing before we had to stop on I-80 because the road ahead was closed. There was a foot of snow at that time, and it was snowing hard. Our car was low on gas, and we were pretty sure we would be spending the night in the car on I-80, so we had to conserve fuel and therefore couldn’t turn the car on for heat. We needed enough gas to get to a station when the road opened, hopefully in the morning.
To stay warm we put on layers of workout clothes and warm-ups under our coats. To keep our feet warm we put them under each other’s coats. We were worried about the other car (Coach KolI’s) and thought that they were stranded somewhere else along the road. Of course, there were no cell phones so we had no contact. Since we had worked out before we left State College, we were all close to weight, hungry and thirsty with nothing to eat all day. The National Guard came by in snowmobiles with coffee, and we were excited when we heard the snowmobiles outside the car. When they came to our car and asked how many we wanted, Andy turned them down, saying we didn’t drink coffee. Of course at that point we would have consumed anything. The usually likable Andy was not very popular in our car at that time.
The next morning they opened the road, and we made the drive to Michigan State. We felt fortunate to be there and thought we would weigh in and get ready to compete, but we thought we would probably have to forfeit since half the team was not there and still stranded. We were surprised to learn that the rest of the team in Coach Koll’s car had already been there and weighed in. They had spent the night in the lobby of a Ramada.
Although we lost badly in the dual, it was a bonding experience for the team and one we would never forget. I believe it made us a better team at the end of the year.
“Coach Oishi and Judo”
Coach Oishi had just finished teaching a judo class in the wrestling room. He was sitting against the wall still wearing his judo Gi (the jacket worn in judo, pronounced “ghee”). Coach Oishi, head coach Rich Lorenzo, and long-time PSU friend, fan, and supporter Bill Tucker were all sitting together in the back of the room. To give you some background info, I often would joke with Oishi, saying that judo was not very tough and that a wrestler could take a judo player any day. So on this day I continued to joke with Coach Oishi about the lack of toughness in judo as I had in the past. He looked at me and said, “Fritzy, put on Gi”. I put on the Gi, and, since Coach Oishi was already sitting on the mat, I grabbed his leg and drove into him. I felt that I was in a position of advantage since I had his leg and he was still in a sitting position. Then, to make it even more difficult for Coach Oishi (at least I thought so) I pulled his judo sleeve over his hand so that he only had one hand free. He reached around with his free hand and grabbed the collar of my Gi.
The next thing I knew I was waking up from what I thought was a long sleep. I awoke to find Coach Oishi over me, bringing me back while Coach Lorenzo and Bill Tucker laughed. Coach Oishi later explained to me that he saw me pass out when I pulled the sleeve of his Gi over his hand. Then as he reached around for the collar of my Gi with his free hand, I turned towards him, which cut off my circulation in my carotid artery. He watched my hands that were holding his sleeve become more relaxed as I passed out. I had a new respect for judo after that.
“Midlands Trip”
I can’t stop laughing when I think of the van ride to Chicago for the Midlands tournament. Eric Brugel, John Mannotti, and Carl DeStefanis were among the group that during the long trip came up with a game ( actually a tournament) from a toy they had gotten at a Burger King stop. They drew up brackets and actually seeded the competitors.. You definitely had to be there to appreciate the comments made. I’m not sure about the kind of memories this story has for those wrestlers involved, but I’m willing to bet they have used the experience to get through some tough situations.
“Wisconsin Frost.”
We wrestled Wisconsin in Madison and had a terrible match. Most of the team was sluggish, and Wisconsin dominated. We had an early morning flight out so we woke the wrestlers up a little after 4:00 a.m., and they were running by 5:00 a.m. in 5-degree weather. I can still see the frost on the faces of Chris Bevilacqua and Eric Brugel.
