Bedlam wrestling. Nothing in my history of participating or spectating in sports touches the passion or spirit that I experienced in Gallagher Hall during Bedlam wrestling. I was there in the upper sections to hear the crowd noise so loud that it was no longer noise but seeming air pressure in my ears and watch the old octagon windows at the top of the upper section and the banner that hung from the trusses visibly flutter with the noise.
I grew up in Stillwater in the modern heyday of O-State wrestling. Andy Hesser (wrestler from the 1930's) lived down the street and my dad worked with him. Jay Arneson (wrestled in the early70's) also lived down the street with his parents. I competed in athletics in Stillwater from the time I was an 8yr old 3rd grader until I was in high school. I wrestled with the YMCA team and in the city league, and practiced with the wrestling team in the football off season. My wrestling partner at the CE Donart HS morning practices was usually Tommy Chesbro's son. My Y team would have guest coaches from the O-State team - Yoshiro Fujita, Keller brothers, Geoff Baum, and others including Larry Wilkey, the Stillwater Middle School & High School wrestling coach. Occasionally, my Y team dualed a visiting team on the O-State mat in Gallagher Hall then we got to sit matside during the O-State matches. I got a good infusion of the spirit of Cowboy wrestling when I was young, and it lives on in me. Go Pokes, beat the hell outta the Sooners!
I grew up in Stillwater in the modern heyday of O-State wrestling. Andy Hesser (wrestler from the 1930's) lived down the street and my dad worked with him. Jay Arneson (wrestled in the early70's) also lived down the street with his parents. I competed in athletics in Stillwater from the time I was an 8yr old 3rd grader until I was in high school. I wrestled with the YMCA team and in the city league, and practiced with the wrestling team in the football off season. My wrestling partner at the CE Donart HS morning practices was usually Tommy Chesbro's son. My Y team would have guest coaches from the O-State team - Yoshiro Fujita, Keller brothers, Geoff Baum, and others including Larry Wilkey, the Stillwater Middle School & High School wrestling coach. Occasionally, my Y team dualed a visiting team on the O-State mat in Gallagher Hall then we got to sit matside during the O-State matches. I got a good infusion of the spirit of Cowboy wrestling when I was young, and it lives on in me. Go Pokes, beat the hell outta the Sooners!