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.
A solid, but hardly sensational wrestling career at Cleveland State University—a 56-11-2 record, a school record 14 pins as a senior bulwark of the nations ninth-ranked team when he qualified for NCAA Division I Nationals but he won just one match before bowing out—gave virtually no hint that the Vikings were nurturing an Olympic silver medalist in their midst. However, turning to Greco-Roman style wrestling after his graduation in 1984, proved the catalyst to the 1996 Olympics Silver Medal at 286 pounds and a notable national acclaim which followed, abetted no doubt by his imposing physical appearance. The medal was no fluke. Rather it was the special highlight of a post-collegiate career which saw him become the only wrestler in U.S. history to win a combined four World and Olympic medals. Add to that seven U.S. national championships, an American record nine Pan-American titles, and four World Cup championships, and 13 Grand Prix and four Canada Cup championships. Also earning a spot on the 1992 Olympic Team and as an alternate to the 2000 team, he was the U.S. Olympic Committee Greco-Roman Athlete of the Year for 1996 and 1998 and fifth in the voting for the U.S. Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year in 1999. now the Director of National Facilitated Services at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, he makes his home in Avon Lake.
On a red letter day for amateur wrestling in the U.S in 1971, Chardon Hilltopper freshman Leroy Kemp decided he was not cut out to be a basketball player and grudgingly decided to give wrestling a try. But his interest grew after attending a wrestling camp where several U.S Olympians were training for the 1972 Summer Games. The result: in his last two seasons at Chardon, he went 55-0, won two Ohio Division II championships and a High School Junior Nationals title in 1974 and posted a rare American victory against a member of the Soviet Junior National Team when it stopped in Cleveland on a U.S tour At the University of Wisconsin he added three NCAA Division I 158-lb. titles and built a 143-6-1 record which included 87 consecutive wins and a 103 match unbeaten string. In his first international tournament in 1978, at 21 years and eight months he became the youngest American to win a gold medal at the World freestyle championships and eventually became the first American to win three World titles by adding golds in 1979 and 1982. He added Pan-American Games titles in 1979 and 1983 and seven national freestyle titles to become one of the most decorated matmen in U.S. history. Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990, he now lives in Forest Lake, MN.
Wrestling coach at Cleveland John Hay High School from 1934 to 1943 and at Cleveland West High School from 1944 to 1951, he produced eight state championship teams while compiling a record of 150 wins, 30 losses and one tie. He was the national high school representative to the National Collegiate Wrestling Rules Committee from 1943 to 1956 and was inducted into the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1971.
Active in AAU programs for over 50 years, he made his mark most strongly in the sport of boxing where as a trainer and coach he produced a long list of nationally prominent fighters. In 1974 he was inducted into the AAU Boxing Hall of Fame and was named the AAU’s “Man of the Year.” Served as secretary-treasurer of the Ohio Association of Boxing and Ohio Wrestling Commission and the National Wrestling Association.
Dominant U.S. heavyweight wrestler of the 1950s. Member of 1952, 1956 and 1960 U.S. Olympic Teams. Won National AAU free style championship eight consecutive years (1953-1960) and Greco-Roman title seven straight years before finishing second in 1960, ending string of 76 straight wins in national AAU competition. Pan-American Games gold medalist in 1955. Member of Helms Hall of Fame for Wrestling. Starred for Case Tech in wrestling, track and football, 1949-51, and is charter member of Case Western Reserve Athletic Hall of Fame.
Pan-American Games gold medalist in 1967. NCAA 191-pound champion in 1964 and runner-up at 177 pounds in 1963 at Ohio University where he won three Mid-American Conference championships compiled a career record of 76-3 and was named the University’s Athlete-of-the-Decade, 1960-70. Was Ohio high school champion at Parma High in 1954. As head wrestling coach at Ohio he guided team to seven consecutive conference championships.
Three-time National AAU champion (105.5 pounds), winning titles in 1973, ’74 and ’75 and being named to World Cup Team each of those years. Won silver medal representing United States in 1975 Pan-American Games. Ohio high school 103-pound champion in 1963 at Garfield Heights High and Mid-American Conference champion at 123 pounds in 1967 at Miami University of Ohio. Named captain and outstanding wrestler on both his high school and college teams.
Three-time Ohio school champion at Maple Heights High, 1967-68-69, going undefeated through high school career. Continued undefeated in Big Ten competition for four years at Michigan State University, first wrestler ever to accomplish this feat. NCAA 142-pound champion in 1972 and three-time collegiate All-American. Twice named to East-West Collegiate All-Star team, he was named the Outstanding Wrestler in the Big Ten in 1973 after winning his fourth consecutive conference title.
NCAA and Big Ten champion at Michigan State University, 1951. National AAU junior champion in 1948, national AAU runner-up in 1949 and 1950 and five-time Lake Erie AAU champion. Wrestling coach at Cleveland John Marshall High School 24 years, producing state championship team in 1961 and 13 individual state champions. Charter member of Ohio High School Wrestling Hall of Fame. Picked by amateur Wrestling News as Coach-of-the-Year, 1969.