Hope we keep wrestling Cornell. Their coach, Rob Koll, was really cool during the coaching search. His father, Bill Koll, coached at Penn State from 1965 to 1979, and wrestled at Northern Iowa. I didn't know before that Bill Koll is why they took the body slam out of collegiate wrestling. :wideeyed:
Here is an article about them both, including more detail about Bill Koll:
InterMat - Powered By RevWrestling
Meet Bill Koll
Bill Koll was arguably THE superstar of college wrestling in the 1940s. A three-time NCAA champ for Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa), Koll never lost a match in college. In his entire college career, Bill was taken down only once -- during the 1946 NCAA finals by Oklahoma State's Edgar Welch.
Yet Bill Koll wasn't always the rough, tough, seemingly invincible mat star. As a high school sophomore in Fort Dodge, Iowa, he weighed only 78 pounds… and lost every one of his dual-meet matches. The following year, he experienced a tremendous growth spurt -- not only gaining almost 50 pounds, but also a ton of experience in the wrestling room and in actual matches -- and placed third at the state tournament at 125. By his senior year, Bill gained a bit more weight -- and even more strength and experience -- and won the Iowa high school state title at 135 pounds.
College, interrupted
In a profile for the 1981 book "From Gotch to Gable: A History of Wrestling in Iowa", Bill Koll told author Mike Chapman, "Frankly, I never seriously considered college until my senior year in high school… The only school that showed any interest in me was Iowa State Teachers College and (head coach) Dave McCuskey."
During the 1942-43 season, first-year student Bill Koll soaked up experience in the ISTC wrestling room and in open tournaments. (At the time, NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from competing in regular dual meets). But in February 1943, Bill was inducted into the Army, and "never saw a wrestling mat for 34 months," he's quoted as saying in "From Gotch to Gable". "As a combat engineer, I spent 24 months in Europe, where our unit of amphibious engineers landed at Omaha Beach at 6:15 a.m. on June 6."
Bill's son Rob picks up the story: "He was one of the first at the Normandy beach invasion on D-Day … He was among those who had to clear the beach of the dead and wounded before the generals arrived. He only started to talk about all this about the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion."
"I think from this experience, he was so able to focus on anything, and develop what he called a 'controlled anger' which he used on his opponents," says the younger Koll. "He taught me to focus that way with escaping from the down position. Emotional control -- quick, explosive, 'fight or flight.' A lot of that came from his Army training. It made him more brutal on the mat."
Return to wrestling
Bill Koll was discharged from the Army in December 1945, and within three days was back at ISTC. The 1945-46 season had limited dual-meet competition, but Bill qualified for the NCAAs, held that year at Gallagher Hall at Oklahoma State. "Not being in top shape, I did not have one of my top tournaments," the elder Koll is quoted as saying in "From Gotch to Gable". "I was taken down in the finals by an Oklahoma Aggie (Edgar Welch of Oklahoma State) for the only time anyone gained a takedown on me, and even though the match was not a difficult one to win, I certainly was not as precise as when I was in good shape." Koll beat Welch 7-2 to win the 145-pound title at the 1946 NCAAs, and the trophy for the most falls.
The following season, Bill Koll continued his winning streak, culminating in a 7-2 victory over Roger Snook of Cornell College of Iowa in the 1947 NCAA finals to win his second title at 145 -- one of three champs from ISTC -- and claim Outstanding Wrestler honors. Bill's senior year, the NCAAs were a qualifying event for the 1948 Olympics, using Olympic rules. Despite being new to this style of wrestling, Koll pinned his way through the tournament, winning the 147.5 lb title, and claiming his second straight Outstanding Wrestler award –- the first wrestler to win that honor more than once.
By winning the 1948 NCAA title, Bill Koll earned a place on the U.S. Olympic team -- and a trip to London, where he placed fifth in his weight class.
While at ISTC, Bill Koll was surrounded by greatness on the wrestling team. His roommate was Bob Siddens -- long-time wrestling official and legendary Waterloo West (Iowa) High School coach who guided many future NCAA champs, perhaps most notably Dan Gable. Among his ISTC teammates who also became NCAA champs: Cecil Mott, Gerald Leeman (who won the silver medal at the 1948 Olympics), Russell Bush, and Bill Nelson. "Dad thought his teammates could've stood up to any top modern program," according to Rob Koll.
Slam time
Bill Koll was known for his tough wrestling style. But he was revered -- and feared -- for his body-slamming technique that brought opponents crashing to the mat for the pin.
Bob Siddens described the situation in Mike Chapman's 2006 book "Legends of the Mat": "Slamming was allowed in (Bill Koll's) era … I remember clear as a bell this one time Bill slammed a foe to the mat so hard, the fellow was nearly unconscious. Bill shook him when he was on top, so it looked like the guy was trying to escape, and the referee called a pin…"
"They changed the slam rule after that," says Siddens.
"I would slam ‘em down if I could," Bill Koll was quoted in a 1985 Des Moines Register story, "The year I graduated, they took the slam out of wrestling … It was one of my favorite moves, a perfectly legal tactic. It wasn't something that was dubious. It was in our repertoire."
"Wing locks, double-bar arms, the body slam … those are some of the things we used that are illegal now. They were kind of painful, and helped make a person submit quicker." . . .
Here is an article about them both, including more detail about Bill Koll:
InterMat - Powered By RevWrestling
Meet Bill Koll
Bill Koll was arguably THE superstar of college wrestling in the 1940s. A three-time NCAA champ for Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa), Koll never lost a match in college. In his entire college career, Bill was taken down only once -- during the 1946 NCAA finals by Oklahoma State's Edgar Welch.
Yet Bill Koll wasn't always the rough, tough, seemingly invincible mat star. As a high school sophomore in Fort Dodge, Iowa, he weighed only 78 pounds… and lost every one of his dual-meet matches. The following year, he experienced a tremendous growth spurt -- not only gaining almost 50 pounds, but also a ton of experience in the wrestling room and in actual matches -- and placed third at the state tournament at 125. By his senior year, Bill gained a bit more weight -- and even more strength and experience -- and won the Iowa high school state title at 135 pounds.
College, interrupted
In a profile for the 1981 book "From Gotch to Gable: A History of Wrestling in Iowa", Bill Koll told author Mike Chapman, "Frankly, I never seriously considered college until my senior year in high school… The only school that showed any interest in me was Iowa State Teachers College and (head coach) Dave McCuskey."
During the 1942-43 season, first-year student Bill Koll soaked up experience in the ISTC wrestling room and in open tournaments. (At the time, NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from competing in regular dual meets). But in February 1943, Bill was inducted into the Army, and "never saw a wrestling mat for 34 months," he's quoted as saying in "From Gotch to Gable". "As a combat engineer, I spent 24 months in Europe, where our unit of amphibious engineers landed at Omaha Beach at 6:15 a.m. on June 6."
Bill's son Rob picks up the story: "He was one of the first at the Normandy beach invasion on D-Day … He was among those who had to clear the beach of the dead and wounded before the generals arrived. He only started to talk about all this about the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion."
"I think from this experience, he was so able to focus on anything, and develop what he called a 'controlled anger' which he used on his opponents," says the younger Koll. "He taught me to focus that way with escaping from the down position. Emotional control -- quick, explosive, 'fight or flight.' A lot of that came from his Army training. It made him more brutal on the mat."
Return to wrestling
Bill Koll was discharged from the Army in December 1945, and within three days was back at ISTC. The 1945-46 season had limited dual-meet competition, but Bill qualified for the NCAAs, held that year at Gallagher Hall at Oklahoma State. "Not being in top shape, I did not have one of my top tournaments," the elder Koll is quoted as saying in "From Gotch to Gable". "I was taken down in the finals by an Oklahoma Aggie (Edgar Welch of Oklahoma State) for the only time anyone gained a takedown on me, and even though the match was not a difficult one to win, I certainly was not as precise as when I was in good shape." Koll beat Welch 7-2 to win the 145-pound title at the 1946 NCAAs, and the trophy for the most falls.
The following season, Bill Koll continued his winning streak, culminating in a 7-2 victory over Roger Snook of Cornell College of Iowa in the 1947 NCAA finals to win his second title at 145 -- one of three champs from ISTC -- and claim Outstanding Wrestler honors. Bill's senior year, the NCAAs were a qualifying event for the 1948 Olympics, using Olympic rules. Despite being new to this style of wrestling, Koll pinned his way through the tournament, winning the 147.5 lb title, and claiming his second straight Outstanding Wrestler award –- the first wrestler to win that honor more than once.
By winning the 1948 NCAA title, Bill Koll earned a place on the U.S. Olympic team -- and a trip to London, where he placed fifth in his weight class.
While at ISTC, Bill Koll was surrounded by greatness on the wrestling team. His roommate was Bob Siddens -- long-time wrestling official and legendary Waterloo West (Iowa) High School coach who guided many future NCAA champs, perhaps most notably Dan Gable. Among his ISTC teammates who also became NCAA champs: Cecil Mott, Gerald Leeman (who won the silver medal at the 1948 Olympics), Russell Bush, and Bill Nelson. "Dad thought his teammates could've stood up to any top modern program," according to Rob Koll.
Slam time
Bill Koll was known for his tough wrestling style. But he was revered -- and feared -- for his body-slamming technique that brought opponents crashing to the mat for the pin.
Bob Siddens described the situation in Mike Chapman's 2006 book "Legends of the Mat": "Slamming was allowed in (Bill Koll's) era … I remember clear as a bell this one time Bill slammed a foe to the mat so hard, the fellow was nearly unconscious. Bill shook him when he was on top, so it looked like the guy was trying to escape, and the referee called a pin…"
"They changed the slam rule after that," says Siddens.
"I would slam ‘em down if I could," Bill Koll was quoted in a 1985 Des Moines Register story, "The year I graduated, they took the slam out of wrestling … It was one of my favorite moves, a perfectly legal tactic. It wasn't something that was dubious. It was in our repertoire."
"Wing locks, double-bar arms, the body slam … those are some of the things we used that are illegal now. They were kind of painful, and helped make a person submit quicker." . . .
