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| MY WRESTLING -When it began | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| When I was a very young child I was always fascinated with our black & white television shows, and particularly the pro wrestling shows that were broadcasted from the Tulsa's channels. I idolized one pro wrestler named "Irish" Mike Clancy. He was the good guy in all the matches that he was in. I had never met him or ever had seen him in person until my junior year in high school when my best friend Larry Farquhar brought me to his pizza place in Tulsa. That day was very special to me, because I met a man that was very gentle and kind, and it was hard for me to believe that, this man, that I was meeting for the first time, was so rough in the ring and a nice guy too. |
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| "Irish" Mike Clancy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| As I watched him on TV, I grew to admire his attitude and desire to win. That very year, some wrestlers on the Will Rogers team asked me to try out and be the heavyweight sparring partner for John Ward (who became the city and state champion, and later was an All-American athlete in both football and wrestling at Oklahoma State University, and was drafted first pick tackle for the Minnesota Vikings). John was a big and strong athlete, and I learned a whole lot that year as every day went by, I learned quickly to defend myself in this sport that I grew to love. Coach Morey "The Old Fox" Villareal had wonderful skills in teaching young men great wresting techniques. I later in my senior year became city champion in Tulsa, and took 3rd in the state as heavyweight. My college coach Michael McCarty refined me even more and helped guide me to become an All Conference 190 lb Champion in the MIAA Conference. One week later I dropped to the 177 lb weight class, and wrestled in the NCAA College Championship in Ashland, Ohio. I lost to the top seed in the 1st round by two points, and was eliminated from further action. In June, I attended the Olympic Trials at Stillwater, Oklahoma and won my 1st match, however lost the next. Little did I know, that was the last time I would ever wrestle again. I remained friends to Mike Clancy and his family, and lost contact with them through the years. He was an inspiration and a father-like figure to me, and I will never forget him. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Note: John Ward had two other places on the web that you can see more of him ... click the links below : | ||||||||||||||||||||
| http://user.cybrzn.com/~gary/vikeupdate..htm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (Look toward the bottom 1st player selected in 1970) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/rosters.nsf/Annual/1970-min | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (1970 roster of the vikings) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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