Mark Palmer, Staff Writer
[email protected]
Launched this past summer, Rev Rewind wrestling historical features will continue to appear from time-to-time during the wrestling season.
Every four years, the wrestling world turns its attention to the Olympics, as grapplers from across the planet battle for glory “¦ and precious medals.
Before ever stepping on the mat at the Olympics, wrestlers in the United States must first earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team. This long process culminates with the U.S. Olympic Trials usually held weeks before the Olympic Games.
Author Jamie Moffatt provides wrestling fans with a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at this process of building a U.S. Olympic wrestling team in his brand-new book, Wrestlers at the Trials, published by Exit Zero Publishing, Inc.
This 196-page book covers the U.S. Olympic Trials from 1960 through 1988 by sharing the stories of more than ninety U.S. wrestlers, coaches and officials who participated in these events.
Wrestling fans may recognize Jamie Moffatt as co-author (with Roger Olesen) of A Turning Point, the 2003 book about the 1953 NCAA wrestling championships held at Penn State “¦ or for his work as former board chairman of the College Sports Council, a non-profit advocacy group who opposes the enforcement of proportionality aspects of Title IX. He wrestled for The Hill School in Pennsylvania, where he was team captain his senior year, and competed at Cornell University his freshman year. After graduating from Cornell in 1965, Jamie had a successful business career, retiring a few yeas ago as a Management Consulting Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The long road to The Trials
What caused Jamie to write a book about the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials? “I got some nice feedback on my 1953 NCAA book. Frank Bettucci, who I had interviewed for that book (as the 147-pound NCAA champ from Cornell University), told me I should write the story of the 1960 Olympic Trials.”
“I gave it considerable thought “¦ There’s very minimal coverage of the Trials. No books, and not much media coverage, either. Yet there are interesting stories to share, stories that should be preserved for posterity’s sake.”
“I originally decided to expand the scope of the book beyond the 1960 Trials, all the way through 2004, “Jamie discloses. “I decided to start with 1960 because a number of the wrestlers from earlier Trials have already passed on.”
“In November 2005, I went to Colorado Springs to meet with the folks at USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee. I wasn’t seeking funding, but was looking for moral support, and access to their records “¦ I got all the encouragement I needed.”
“As I started the writing process, for each of the Trials, I looked at the ‘box scores’ — the results — and thought, ‘Who would be the people I should contact?’ USA Wrestling’s Gary Abbott was particularly helpful in making some suggestions for contacts.”
Knowing when to close the book
“Until this spring, I was on target to complete a book about the 1960-2004 Trials in time for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, “continues Jamie. As I was starting work on the chapters for the 1988 and 1992 Trials, many of the guys I was interviewing just weren’t as passionate as the wrestlers who were involved in earlier Trials, and weren’t as available. The older guys have fewer time restraints. Most of them are retired, and have raised their families.”
“I also realized that, to finish the book as originally intended, would have been a 60-80 hour-a-week task. I woke up one morning at 2 a.m. with the idea that I should conclude the book at the 1988 Trials.”
“I stopped writing in July, so that I could bring the book out at the beginning of the wrestling season.”
Making contact
When asked how he gathered information for Wrestlers at the Trials, Jamie Moffatt replies, “I did 95% of the interviews by phone.”
“The majority of my time spent was finding people. Jim Scherr (U.S. Olympic Committee chair and 1988 U.S. Olympic freestyle team member) was kind enough to share contact info on wrestlers who competed in the Olympics, though that information was not always kept up-to-date. Wayne Baughman (Olympic wrestler and coach) provided a lot of help.”
“I played investigator, using online tools to try to find people.”
“Once I made contact (with the wrestlers), I’d explain what I was doing, then say, ‘I’ll call you back in a week or two’ to give them a chance to clear the cobwebs and gather their thoughts, “says Jamie.
“When I conducted the interviews, I made sure to ask the wrestlers about how they got started in the sport. I thought that was important information to share with readers.”
“I did all the interviews chronologically, “Jamie explains. “I did all the interviews for the 1960 Trials, then wrote that chapter, then moved on to the 1964 Trials.”
“As I did the interviews on the phone, I’d take notes in my own form of notehand, then type up my notes immediately after, while it was all fresh in my mind.”
“For the most part, the guys I talked to were grateful to be asked, and willing to share their stories, with the idea of doing something for the sport.”
“One after another, as they told their stories, these guys were very gracious, to me, and, with regards to their fellow competitors, “Jamie continues. “Mutual respect is so much a part of this. You can’t achieve this level of excellence unless you pay the price. These guys know what the others have been through.”
Wrestling Gear
