Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 - (Page 31)

100 years of Lehigh wrestLing Lehigh celebrates its 100th season of wrestling this winter. During the first 99 years, this storied program has seen countless pins and landmark wins. Thanks to Denny Diehl ’70, the communications director of the Lehigh Wrestling Club, here’s a timeline of some of Lehigh’s most memorable moments on the mat. First wrestling season (5 years after EIWA is founded) 1910 1912 First of 42 seasons for coach Billy Sheridan Dick Suppes (115 lbs.), Bull Watson (175) become the 1st LU EIWA champions 1913 1917 Taylor Gym opens for competition; hosts NCAAs in ’33, ’35, ’41 1. Weaver, Lehigh’s only Olympic gold medal winner, standing atop the medal stand in 1984. 3 2. The former Lehigh great meets then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. First EIWA team title for Lehigh 1927 1931 First NCAA champion— John Engel (118) Ben Bishop (155) is 1st of 3 NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Award winners 3. Weaver, sporting his Lehigh singlet. 4. Wrestling against Japan’s Takashi Irie in the 105.5-pound finals at the 1984 Olympics. 1934 He has overcome disappointment and political roadblocks. So, he wouldn’t be able to say a few words about how honored he was to join the Hall of Fame? So be it. When could he get back into the room? When could he get back to the kids he taught? Lori Weaver wanted to be in Oklahoma City so her children (Bobby Jr., 24; Tiffany, 22; Jessica, 17) could be part of the wrestling life for a couple days, so they could see what drove their father. And, yes, what took him away from them at times. “He’ll be a wrestler until the day he passes,” Lori says. 1935 Longest team dual winning streak (24 meets, 1932-35) Sheridan creates the nation’s 1st clinic for coaches and wrestlers Bishop & Howell Scobey earn alternate berths on U.S. Olympic Team The proceedings went on without Bobby, who stayed in his Easton home, hoping doctors had finally figured out exactly what was sapping his strength the way no opponent or workout ever could. He dispatched Lehigh coach and longtime friend Greg Strobel to accept the recognition on his behalf. “I was honored,” Strobel says. “I also got a little emotional. I saw Bobby win the Olympic gold medal. It was a long time coming.” Meanwhile, Weaver continued trying new moves on his most virulent opponent: iron drips, blood transfusions, steroids, endoscopes. Compared to this, those old Soviet Bloc scraps of iron he had to wrestle back in the ’70s and ’80s were sunshine and lollipops. “I was starting to lose my fight,” Weaver says. But then came the ray of light, or at least an answer: celiac disease. It blocks the absorption of nutrients into the small intestines. The answer was a gluten-free diet. “If that’s all I have to do, I can handle that,” Weaver says. You bet he can. He has handled everything else during his 49 years, whether it was on the mat or off. He has subdued men and tragedy. 1936 1939 Highest-ever team finish at NCAAs (2nd place) Lehigh Wrestling featured in RKO film reel shown in 5,000 theaters 1940 1942 Grace Hall opens in Jan. ’42; hosts NCAAs in ’48 & ’51 Last of Sheridan’s league-record 13 EIWA team titles wrestling with tragedy He was the tagalong, the little brother dying to emulate the big kids. Kurt and Brad Weaver would head to wrestling practice, so Bobby went, too. He didn’t do particularly well, but that didn’t bother him. It was something that kept him close to his brothers. Bobby Weaver’s father died when he was 9, drawing him closer to Kurt and Brad. Two years later, that bond was severed, when Brad died in a car accident the summer before his senior year in high school. He had dreamed of wrestling at Lehigh. He had dreamed of being a champion. Now, those dreams became Bobby’s. And that meant 1948 1950 First-ever dual meet televised on network TV (WOR Ch. 9— Lehigh vs. NYAC) Olympian Gerry Leeman becomes handpicked successor to Sheridan 1953 1956 First 2-time NCAA champion (Ed Eichelberger, OW in ’55) Eichelberger, Lehigh wrestling featured in Life magazine LU team sets EIWA record of 6 titles in 9 weights 1962

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Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Cover Story: The Dalai Lama at Lehigh Heart of a Champion Around the World in 80 Years Fighting for Children wth Autism Keepers of the Flame From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008

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