Chicks Heart Fights

February ended quickly, so on leap day, here are a few last links and looks at some of the other people who have made an impact on wrestling.

RevWrestling wrote a well-researched history on some of the pioneers of wrestling. It’s really a great read.

Nebraska and Oklahoma State’s athletic department both wrote features on Black History Month. OSU’s focused on how many black athletes have been All-Americans for the Cowboys. It is impressive. However, a less impressive note is that while some of the best wrestlers in NCAA history have worn Cowboy orange, I have yet to see a black coach at OSU. Sure, maybe a few club coaches, but I have never seen a black man sitting next to John Smith while coaching. Why is that, Coach Smith?

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention one more fantastic black man who has made an impact on the sport of wrestling: Melvin Douglas. He won NCAAs twice for Oklahoma, and was an Olympian in 1996 and 2000. His longevity is something that is dying out in the sport. He was also one of the most well-liked wrestlers in the US. He was always great in interviews-honest and funny. I was at the Olympic trials in 2004 when he left his shoes on the mat, and the crowd gave him such an ovation that I had chills.

Carl Adams, Kerry McCoy and Reggie Wright. They represent the three black head coaches in NCAA D-1 wrestling. Three, and not one is a coach in the Big Ten or Big Twelve, the two most dominant wrestling conferences.

I truly believe that wrestling can be a sport for anybody. You don’t need to be the biggest, or the fastest, but you do need to work hard. You do need to cut weight, and be in fantastic physical condition, and be willing to spend hours practicing. But how can we market this sport as a sport for everybody when the coaches who are recruiting don’t represent this country?

I am not advocating giving chances to men who do not deserve it, nor do I advocate choosing a less qualified coach in order to fill quotas. The NFL model of requiring an applicant of color to get an interview has helped ensure that minority coaches are getting a chance, and that brought about last year’s Super Bowl with two black head coaches. Neither Tony Dungy nor Lovie Smith was given a job they didn’t deserve. So, to the many athletic directors who read this blog (giggle), I implore you, give some of these guys a chance: (more…)

When discussing the greatest American wrestler of all time, the discussion usually focuses on two people: Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson. Both men are definitely worthy of this distinction, but it’s rather questionable that Leroy P. Kemp is quite often left out of the conversation. Just some of his accomplishments:

- Three NCAA titles - the first black man to do so

- Three World Championships - including one when he was just 21

- Seven national freestyle titles

- A collegiate record of  143-6-1, including an undefeated streak of 109 matches in a row.

Maybe he is left out of the discussion because he doesn’t have an Olympic medal. Kemp made the Olympic team ins 1980 and was considered a lock to win a medal, but didn’t compete due to the US Olympic boycott. All this from an athlete who didn’t start wrestling until his freshman year of high school.

According to a profile by the Wrestling Mall, Kemp definitely does not mind that people don’t bring up his name when discussing the greatest American wrestler:

“If people want to put me in the category of being one of the greatest in the history of the sport, I feel honored,” Kemp said recently while taking a break from his full-time job as owner of a Forest Lake, Minn., Ford dealership. “I think all competitive athletes would feel great about being compared with the greatest in the history of the sport.”

And for the record - Gable did wrestle Kemp. Kemp won 7-6.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUmzzgZH3zU&rel=1]

In preparing to write about Black History Month, I asked two of my favorite black wrestlers, Mo Lawal and Jamill Kelly, which black wrestlers they looked up to. Without hesitation, they both answered: Chris Campbell, Kenny Monday and Kevin Jackson. These three men won Olympic medals for the US in 1992, and in doing that, made a mark on young black wrestlers. Read more about these men, and how they affect today’s generation of wrestling, after the jump. (more…)

Throughout the month of February, Chicks Heart Fights will take a look at some African-Americans who have made an impact on the sports of wrestling and mixed martial arts. To kick off the series, I’m starting with the coach that fascinated me from the moment I started watching college wrestling. While coaching, he had an unmatched intensity, but then off the mat, he is a true teddy bear - one of the nicest men in the sport. Of course, that paradox was not the only thing that puzzled me - I was dying to know what was in that fanny pack!

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