Dan Gable International Wrestling Museum

Thursday morning at roughly 6 a.m., I left my home and proceeded north to Lansing, Michigan to get Bob Roop for our trip to Waterloo, Iowa. At 8 a.m., we left Bob's home and headed west on I-96.

When Bob wedged his way into the passenger seat, I told him that the seat let back to make a little more room. He pulled the lever, and it tilted the back a little deeper, and he was comfortable like that. His knees were touching the dash, and he was scrunched in pretty good. He rode like that for nearly 10 hours.

Arriving at the Ramada Inn downtown, we checked in and proceeded to unpack. I went to put the car into the garage across the street and decided to go over a few blocks and visit the Dan Gable Museum. I noticed a few cars in the lot and went in to check things out. The first person I ran into was former World's Junior Heavyweight Champ, Danny Hodge. He was chatting with Mike Chapman and Lewis Curry from Baltimore.

After taking a short look around the museum, I returned to the hotel to get Bob Roop and return to the museum. We had been invited by Mike Chapman to join an elite group of folks that either were alumni or current inductees of the museum. Four carloads of people traveled to the nearby Italian eatery.

As we took our seats, I looked over at a huge athlete by the name of Carlton Haselrig. I was told a little about this icon before we left the museum. He was a six-time NCAA wrestling champion and then drafted into the pro ranks of the NFL and now is in training for his first MMA match this fall.

We were also joined by Mike and Ruth Mooneyham from South Carolina. Mike is a very accomplished columnist for the Post and Courier news group. We also were graced by Mike and Bev Chapman and Charlie Thesz, widow of Lou Thesz, for whom the museum's professional wing is named. There were about 30 in our group, and most had titles attached to their names.

Following a huge dining of pizza and standard foods, we chatted for nearly two hours. I looked at my watch, and it was 11 p.m. Eastern time. I had been up for nearly 18 hours then.

Returning to the hotel, we were greeted by Ted Gordienko, a Functionary Ambassador for the Outlaw Gallery, a prize winning art gallery. Ted, by the way, is a brother of the late George Gordienko. An Olympian, a professional wrestler and a very accomplished artist. A number of his paintings were donated to the CAC to benefit the Benevolent fund that helps those that need it.

We shared a few drinks at the hotel lounge and finally called it an evening at 1 a.m. Eastern. I had been up 20 hours and was very tired when I hit the pillows in my suite.

To be continued ...

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers