I went to Bellefonte High School and Sam Markle, my brother-in-law, had wrestled for Bellefonte and Penn State. So my dream and my family’s hope (my parents loved Charlie Speidel) was to wrestle for Penn State in front of a packed house, with the lights turned down except for a spot light on the big PSU white mat. I don’t ever remember wrestling at Penn State when Rec Hall was not filled. Penn State wrestling fans are special and loyal, and I appreciated their support and encouragement.
When I was in high school I used to go to wrestling camps with Coach Speidel and Joe Humphreys. The camps were $10 a day, including lunch! Also at a wrestling camp in Bellefonte, Dave Adams talked me into putting my legs through the rings that were hanging from the gym ceiling. He then tied my shoes laces together and left me there!!!
The match I remember most was wrestling Dick Slutsky (Syracuse) in Rec Hall, I was ahead, 4-0. We were on our feet in the last period with about 30 seconds to go, and Charlie Speidel yelled “Pin him!” We were in an over-and-under tie-up, and I pushed on him hoping he would push back, but he lateral-dropped me to my back. I bridged through, got an escape, and won the match 5-4. Good thing I was loose! The next year Slutsky was a runner-up in the NCAA tournament, and, yeah, I was trying to pin him???
I thought that Johnston Oberly was the toughest wrestler on our team. He used to really get physically beat up although he won most of his matches. Wrestling for Penn State was a privilege I will never forget. It is even more meaningful since many of the high-school wrestlers that I have coached in State College have gone on to wrestle for Penn State, I am very proud of their accomplishments. I would name them, but I am concerned I would forget someone!
