A little tidbit of information that might be interesting to someone. As the 1957 football season ended, I decided to go out for the wrestling team as a “walk-on.” I tried out for the 177-lb. class, and after Christmas vacation I came back at 177 lbs. and won the starting position. As practice began, Coach Speidel came up to me and said, “You are starting as heavyweight because the real heavyweight did not show up and apparently quit the team.” Maybe it was because of the opposition in the first three matches. First match, Norman of Illinois, returning national heavyweight champion. Second match, Stremic of Navy, returning runner-up at 191 in the NCAA and runner-up at heavyweight in the EIWA [and EIWA runner-up again at heavyweight a few weeks later]. Third match, Dunlop of Cornell, returning 3rd-place winner in the EIWA at 191 [and EIWA champion a few weeks later]. I did win a couple of crucial matches and survived that year. The Navy and Pitt matches, when I got standing ovations, were the highlights of my career of PSU.
