Editor’s Note: Former Olympian John Peterson wrote this column for the Aug. 12 issue of W.I.N. Magazine in place of his brother, Ben, in response to the article written for The Wrestling Mall by columnist Kyle Klingman comparing a dream dual between the 1972 U.S. men’s Olympic freestyle team and the 1992 U.S. Men’s Olympic freestyle team, which can be read by Clicking Here (link removed)
By John Peterson “Guest Columnist
Please send comments, questions or replies to: [email protected]
After reading Kyle Klingman’s article on the “dream” match between the 1972 and 1992 freestyle Olympic teams, I felt the strong urge to counter. After all, that is what wrestling teaches us. We do not just learn offense. We also learn defense.
Having had the privilege of being at both the 1972 and 1992 Olympics, I can speak with some authority on the subject. I realize it is always dangerous to go up against historians when tackling these kinds of tasks. Therefore, I approach this work with some fear, but not to the point of trembling!
Since I let my teammates down by losing a close one to Kevin Jackson (in Kyle’s Dream Dual), I feel the competitive juices begin to flow with the desire to defend my teammates and somehow help them in this imaginary epic struggle between outstanding warriors. I am sure that Coach Bill Farrell would have figured out a way. With Coach’s ability to instill confidence in his men and Wayne Wells as captain, surely the 1972 team would have prevailed, somehow!
105.5: Sergio Gonzalez vs. Tim Vanni (Klingman: 4-3, Vanni in OT)
The first match is an all-important one. It is safe to argue that a man who ties the returning world champion is worthy of a closer look. Sergio Gonzales also tied the West German in a match that was filled with hometown calls, as I recall. So, given that fact, it is safe to believe that Sergio could just have easily been on the victory stand if we had been in a different arena. Now, I realize that can be said about any match, but here we have a man who went undefeated in Olympic competition and has rarely received the credit he deserves. I give Sergio the victory in overtime, 4-3!
Team score: 3-1 in favor of ’72.
114.5: Jimmy Carr vs. Zeke Jones (Klingman: 17-1, Jones)
It is obvious to me that Mr. Klingman is too young to know just how good Jimmy Carr was as a 17-year-old kid. In 1973, Jimmy won the Junior World Championships in dominant fashion. Yes, I will concede the match. But by a score of 17-1? Give me a break! By 1992, FILA was well on its way to successfully destroying the incentive for wrestlers to be aggressive in scoring. Only a few years later, they had to pass the ridiculous rule that you must score three points to win a match. It’s highly doubtful Jones would have racked up 17 points on anyone, let alone the athletic Jimmy Carr.
Jimmy had an unbelievably explosive high crotch as well as a duck under that could make his opponents think they were on the Cape Canaveral launch pad before one could say “J Robinson.” I say the match would end more like 10-7 in favor of the more experienced Jones.
Read the full article at TheWrestlingMall.com
Wrestling Gear
