Thursday morning, August 1, started like most of my days. I rose around 7 a.m. and proceeded to get things in order. Today was going to be a special day for me, as I was going to Chicago on the first leg of my journey to the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Newton, Iowa.

Gathering my thoughts together, I began to gear up for this special day. I wondered if Dick Hutton would be there ... I wondered if Mad Dog Vachon would be there … I wondered if Harley Race would be there. Questions sped through my mind at 100 miles per hour, and the rush that was starting was just that.

Of course, my main objective was to be there in attendance to support my friends Bob Geigel, Dick Beyer and Jim Raschke, whom would be honored at the fourth annual inductions. The greatest highlight of the trip was meeting Dan "The Beast" Severn, who received the Frank Gotch award. I had been a fan of his for a long time and enjoyed his performance in the Octagon as well as the squared circle.

Arriving in Peotone, Illinois, Paul Farber and I had lunch at an authentic German Bierstube. We were honored guests of Karl Ditschler, a marvelous host and owner of the famous Route 50 eatery. I highly recommend that, if you ever get into the Chicago area, you travel the short 20 or so miles south to Peotone and dine at the home of the Giant Schnitzel. It is an experience that will leave you with many fond memories of a great person named Karl and his wonderful place called Die Peotone Bierstube. VIELEN DANK UND AUF WIEDERSEHEN.

On Friday morning, we left Paul's home at 6 in the morning and started west towards Iowa. The sun had come up over our shoulders and began to beat on the roof of the car with heat in the 80's as we traveled. The miles seemed to click on by as I listened to stories about the old days of wrestling and the stars that Paul knew as a younger man.

Before we knew it, we were in Iowa and made the first big stop at the I-80 truck stop about 30 miles into Iowa. It is billed at the world's largest truck stop and rightfully so. We passed many motorcycles on the way westbound and wondered what event they were headed to, as there were more than usually seen on the interstate highways. I asked one group as we entered the building and they said they were headed to Sturgis, South Dakota for a huge annual rally. We exchanged a few hellos and good wishes for a safe trip to them and went on our way.

It was less than 150 miles that we had left to travel, and the miles started to slow down as I started to daydream about the past few years I had been to Newton. I thought of some of the friends that I had made that would no longer be there. The first that came to mind was Bobby Managoff, a former NWA Champ that I knew from the early 60's in Chicago. The next was my hero, Lou Thesz. His brilliant smile and strong handshake were his trademark to me.

The exit to Newton was there sooner than I expected. I decided to take the trip downtown to the book store and antique mall before going to the museum. I found at the book store a copy of an old Ma and Pa Kettle film that I did not have for my collection and ran across a few magazines that had stories about some of my favorite cowboy stars in them.

Entering the complex at the museum, I looked at some plates on the rear of cars parked near the door. They were from Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri and many from Iowa. Paul and I entered the door and who to meet us there first was Danny Hodge, former World Junior Heavyweight Champion. He greeted us with a very firm handshake and gave me a big hug for showing up healthy. Danny was one of many that sent letters of concern following my open-heart surgery just two months ago.

Dan's wife of 51 years also stepped forward and gave me a huge hug. I turned, and there stood Jason Sanderson, a recent inductee into the priesthood. He also gave me a huge hug and expressed how great I looked after going through what I had. Next through the door was my friend Fritz Von Goering, who had made the journey from California to be a part of this exciting weekend.

It seemed like every time I turned my head, someone else was coming forward to say hey to me. I was in hog heaven, so to speak, and one by one they made their way to me. Dick Hutton, Red Bastien, Mad Dog Vachon, Bob Geigel, Harley Race, Dick Beyer and his wife Wilma, Joyce Paustian, Tim Woods, Jim Raschke, Scott McLin, Scott Casber, Chuck Shockley, Jim Melby and many more. I certainly was in awe of all the attention and kept a non-stop smile on my face.

Following a short catnap, I drove with Paul Farber to the Newton Country Club, where the banquet would take place. What a splendiferous room they have for formal and casual dining. Following a short social hour, we began to dine, and table by table was led to the buffet. During the short walk to the food, we passed Scott McLin and Scott Casber who were live on the air with another wonderful radio program all about wrestling legends.

It just so happened that they were interviewing Mad Dog Vachon when Harley Race and I passed. Scott McLin paused to pay homage to the Eight-Time World Champ and caused a near riot between him and Mad Dog. Maurice Vachon was so infuriated with the attention taken from him that he reminded Scott that he had two cauliflower ears and asked him if he would like a cauliflower nose to go with his lousy face. I nearly jumped in to help the situation but figured that the Dog had already done enough damage to Scott.

After dinner, the inductions for the Banquet began. Edd Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip fame was introduced to the crowd as well as Billy Mills, the Hall of Fame and Olympic runner. Next, they honored past Hall of Fame Inductees in the audience including Verne Gagne, Tim Woods, Danny Hodge and Dick Hutton. Charlie Thesz accepted the award for Ray Steele for the family. The Ed Don George award was accepted by Verne Gagne, who gave quite a speech about a match he and Wilbur Snyder had in Buffalo, New York some years earlier.

Dan Severn, "The Beast," was next, and a BEAST he was not; you would have thought a college professor had stepped forward and taken over the podium. A very touching poem that Dan had written on a trip from Japan was told, and Dan got a beautiful round of applause from the sold out crowd. I for one was glad that I made the journey to see him and meet with his wife Terry.

Bob Geigel was next, and the nemesis that haunted my every move in the Midwest for nearly three years became very emotional. I saw a different side of Bob that had never been there before. His grace in speaking sometime would shudder, and his voice would crackle at times, but he stood there very proud and spoke about family and discipline and how hard work ethic was his start in life. He spoke of how his father taught him about life and also about his start in wrestling from the gridiron. He then thanked each and every one of us that had traveled long distances to be there for him. Tears of joy flowed like the grand Missouri River as Bob took his seat back at the end of the front table.

Dick Beyer came forth minus the traditional white mask that he has worn for the past number of years as The Destroyer. His voice was very strong as he spoke about the two Wilma's in his life and the wonderful family that he has. He spoke of his days in Syracuse and the football team that he played on. If it had not been for one of the heavyweights on the wrestling team getting sick, there would not have been a Destroyer or Dr. X. He talked about the youth of America and how he is involved in helping kids get started in the ranks, and he also spoke of his recent trip the week before of taking some of the kids to Japan to compete.

Jim Raschke, better known as Baron Von Raschke to the wrestling world, was the final person to speak and finished out the evening with the grace of a main eventer. His star shone very brightly but did not overilluminate the predecessors of this evening. Jim spoke of how he turned an education in teaching into the mat world's most hated competitor. He spoke of his love for his family and how they stood by him through all of the years he was involved in the business. Then he joked that he has been married happily for five years but then said that his others were as great.

Mike Chapman ended the evening by closing the event with a short moment of quiet for Lou Thesz. There was not a dry eye at our table, as Lou had been a very good friend to all of us.

At 9 a.m. the following morning, the official handing out of matching plaques took place beside the ring in the museum. The ring was surrounded by more then 100 fans and friends that had filled the room to capacity to witness the class of 2002 being inducted. Chills went up and down my spine, and I got a real rush as each man stepped forward to be honored for their achievements. After a short autograph session, it was off to the Newton Country Club for a round of golf.

Paul and I had roughly 350 miles to do back to Chicago. I had another 250 more to do to Toledo and bid everyone a farewell until next time.

Thank you, Newton, Iowa, for making this another great day in my life....