Carroll, Al
The passion for wrestling that burned in his small frame as he collected victories in each of his last 30 dual meets for Cleveland’s John Marshall High never ebbed. It became instead the torch which guided the rest of his life and played a substantial role in the development of Ohio High School wrestling as one of the nation’s premier programs. He was one of a trio of men who took leading roles in co-founding the Ohio State Wrestling Tournament which debuted in 1938 and for which he served as the official scorer for 60 years. He subsequently would become a co-founder of the Brecksville Holiday Wrestling Tournament which began in 1961 and is credited with setting the standard for holiday tournaments across the nation. Three years out of high school in 1936 he was officiating high school matches, later adding college matches as well, winning general acclaim as one of the state’s best officials long before closing out that phase of his career in 1994. Throughout it all—for 50 years beginning in 1946-47—he would serve as Secretary of the Greater Cleveland Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association, a beacon of consistency through a myriad of changes in the organization. Inducted into the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1972, he was named Ohio’s Man of the Year by Wrestling USA Magazine in 1993. He died at the age 85 in January, 1999.