After more than fifty years observing the Penn State wrestling scene many fond memories come to mind. Those that I wish to share with you here have nothing to do with things that occurred on the mat, but nevertheless they are cherished by me.
In the early days our traveling party consisted of 10 wrestlers; Coach Koll, a middle-aged curmudgeon; Assistant Coach Lorenzo, a bushy-haired bright-eyed kid, and trainer Ed Sulkowski, also a curmudgeon, and a gofer (me). The party usually traveled to away meets in three cars, and the curmudgeons always had the unique ability to sniff out (literally) an excellent place to eat along the way, be it in a large city or in a small town. Well now the young bushy-haired assistant coach, having just graduated college, still considered a 10-inch pizza and a couple of burgers washed down with a quart of Diet Pepsi to be an epicurean delight. He eventually learned differently. The menus he was exposed to were many and varied. For example, it was Italian at Maryland, Polish at Pitt, seafood at Mass., and Chinese anywhere in-between. When coach retired, his former young assistant coach became the new head coach. At the time it was also rumored that The Zagat Guide was after him to become a contributor.
Since Coach Koll had a history undergraduate degree and a D.Ed., many away trips often included some type of learning experience. To mention a few—Harper’s Ferry, Gettysburg, Antietam, The Springfield Arsenal, and John Paul Jones’ Tomb, along with many museums were visited. At each one coach would impart some of his knowledge and love of American History to his young charges. He was a superb teacher both on and off the mat.
