A year of loss in wrestling
Over the past 10 months, this area has seen some of the biggest and most recognizable names in high school wrestling die.
Joe Solomon, Stan Mousetis, Gene Bowman, Frank Vulcano Sr., and, most recently, Terry Bennett have died since last August.
It’s enough to make you shake your head.
Since I dropped anchor at this newspaper 38 years ago, I had the opportunity to not only get to know, but also write about these gentleman.
And the one word I would use to describe each would be “tough.”
This was a group dedicated to wrestling, each highly competitive and successful, but also a part of a community within the sport. They showed respect for each other and their accomplishments because they walked along the same path.
Solomon died last August. He was a 1951 graduate of Canonsburg High School, where he was a PIAA champion, a one-time state runner-up and a three-time WPIAL champion. His talents were such that he received a wrestling scholarship to Pitt, where he was a two-time MVP and team captain as a senior.
While I never saw him wrestle, I had many people tell me he was one of, if not the most, physical wrestlers in the sport during his time. Those abilities made him an NCAA champion for Pitt in 1954 and a member of the 1956 United States Olympic Team.
Mousetis had a career any wrestler would envy. Not only was he was a PIAA and WPIAL champion in 1946, he had a college career at Franklin & Marshall that was just as impressive, losing only once.
His coaching career – including 24 years at Washington – produced four state champions for the Prexies. His 40-year coaching career spawned 304 victories. That type of success made him an icon in the wrestling community and, next to Dr. William A. Harris, the most important person in Wash High’s program.
In any given year, this group could be found at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, a season-ending exhibition that brought in some of the greatest wrestling talent in the sport. Bowman was the heartbeat for this tournament, serving as director for 18 years and overseeing its growth.
While his name is connected to the Classic, Bowman also was a successful wrestler, winning three WPIAL titles, finishing as a runner-up in the state in 1947, and serving as a coach and referee.
If you ever attended a Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament, then you have Vulcano to thank for its existence. He began the event at California University, where he coached for 17 years. It’s fitting that his son, Frank Vulcano Jr., has nurtured the event into one of the strongest high school tournaments in the nation.
Wrestling was only part of Bennett’s legacy. Dedicated to his community in McDonald, he coached wrestling, football and youth baseball. He served as mayor and chairman of the borough’s zoning hearing board, and was a member of numerous clubs.
These individuals, and many more who have gone before them, played a role in shaping lives and promoting the sport of wrestling.
For this, we should be thankful to them all.
Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com