By KYLE RINGO
Funny how a simple misunderstanding between people, one twist of fate, can eventually affect so many.
Incoming University of Colorado interim President Hank Brown was center stage in one of the all-time recruiting misconceptions nearly a half century ago.
Brown was born in Denver in 1940 and later moved to northern California where he attended high school and became a star wrestler.
He lost only the state title match during his junior season and won the California state championship at 191 pounds as a senior in 1957. He was well on his way to following in his father’s footsteps. Harry Brown finished second in the nation in his senior year of college wrestling at Iowa State in the late 1930s.
“I was convinced that was what was in store for me, but it turned out that’s not what God had in mind, “Hank Brown said earlier this week from his Denver office, where he is preparing to take over as CU’s 21st president on Aug. 1.
Brown also played high school football as an undersized offensive tackle. Former Colorado football coach Dal Ward offered him a scholarship after learning about Brown’s ties to the state and his achievements in high school sports, particularly wrestling. Ward had no idea Brown had won the 191-pound state title wrestling at 170 pounds.
The legendary coach was surprised by Brown’s size, or lack thereof, when the lanky freshman reported for duty that fall. Brown practiced with the team for the whole season and watched his teammates go 6-3-1 and finish third in the Big Seven Conference.
Brown’s name does not appear in the Colorado football record books because he was a part of the program in an age when freshmen were not allowed to compete for the varsity.
“I started off at third string and quickly moved to fourth string, “Brown said. “At the end of the year, Dal Ward had the good sense to take my scholarship away.”
If Ward had known Brown’s true size ahead of time, Brown might not have returned to Colorado. He might have ended up in politics, but he probably wouldn’t have been elected to five consecutive terms in the U.S. House representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
He might never have become a U.S. senator and probably wouldn’t have earned the respect over time that led to the Board of Regents asking him to rescue CU from nearly 18 months of disasters.
“It’s a great feeling, “Brown said of returning to his alma mater in such a prestigious position.
Brown’s college athletics career didn’t end when Dal Ward cut him.
Fortunately, one of the assistant football coaches also served as the school’s wrestling coach. Brown convinced coach Ray Jenkins to give him an opportunity on the wrestling team and a partial scholarship so he could remain at the school.
Brown soon found wrestling in Colorado and the Midwest to be significantly more difficult than what he had grown accustomed to in California.
He met Frank Rosenmayer soon after making the transition from the gridiron to the mat. Rosenmayer was a standout wrestler at CU and earned a gold medal at the Pan-Am games in the late 1950s. He was also Brown’s main competition on the team, in a manner of speaking.
“When I first came to CU I had won all my matches my senior year of high school and lost once my junior year, “Brown said. “I had a pretty inflated opinion of my ability.
“He literally tied me in knots.”
Brown wrestled three seasons in Boulder but failed to letter as a senior. He never won a match, but was only used in three meets over his sophomore and junior years. He said he devoted about three hours a day to wrestling and was humbled by the lack of success.
Brown said he feels a bond with today’s student-athletes, whom he estimates devote about five hours a day to their sports. He said his time all those years ago helped mold his character and work ethic and became a big factor in the person he became later in life.
“It taught me sportsmanship and to never quit, “he said. “That’s a pretty good lesson in life.”
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