I met Carl Faith when I was in the sixth grade, Ms. Reilly's class. Carl was one of the wrestling coaches at East Brunswick High School. He came to Churchill Jr. High School towards the end of 1966 to put on a wrestling demonstration. I was there mostly because I was very tall and thin and thought wrestling could bulk me up. My dad said, "if I stood sideways he could spit through me." I thought wrestling could help me build muscles...and it did. East Brunswick was known for having a strong wrestling program. Some of the wrestlers Carl Faith brought with him were ledgends to me; Eddy Edwards, Lenny Cassidy, Carl Brown, Howie Titlebaum, Eddy Glassheim, Bobby Boig, Richie Flanagan to name a few. I grew up just a block from the high school and attended many wrestling matches before I was in High School. I had watched these guys wrestle for years.
Carl Faith is one of the most interesting and intense people I've ever known. He has a masters degree in History and German and he could speak, Russian, German, Latin, and Japanese. He was a world class weight lifter, a true leader and had a great sense of humor. He was the trainer for the football team and always kept beer in the refrigerator in the trainers room in a carton of "buttermilk". I guess he figured no one in their right mind would drink it...I suppose you could make a case that Danny Fyfe just might of had an "altered state of mind". From that day on during football practice Danny and I made excuses (cleat came off, etc.) to visit the "training room" for a taste!
In 1966 Carl Faith spoke these words, "if you do the things I ask you to do you will become a State Champ Wrestler," I lived, ate and breathed Carl Faith. I joined his weight training program and took his advise and went to Lehigh's Wrestling Camp that summer. I wasn't alone in this endeavor. My best friend, Gary Watson, had the same ambition and was going to camp as well. It was always easier to do something new with your best friend. It just somehow gave you more confidence, something we both could use considering the competition. Fellow graplers from East Brunswick were Kevin Dorian, Jim Chisholm, Glenn Pinfield, Keith Gucwa and Gary Gorham. The program was sponsored by Lehigh's wrestling coach Ted Lehman. Strongman "Mike Caruso" actually ran the clinic. I think this dude ate nails for breakfast. We were all impressed! Although my highlight was meeting a guest grapler named Dan Gable possibly the best wrestler ever from Iowa State. Dan Gable was the epitome of what hard work and dedication can produce. He is to wrestling what Michael Jordan is to basketball! He not only won the Olympics in 1972 but dominated the sport. If you were looking for a role model look no further...Dan Gable was mine.
The camp started on Sunday afternoon and ended the following Saturday. We were all housed at Dravo Dorms. Gary and I shared a room, Keith and Glenn share the room next to ours and Jim Chisholm was across the hall. Dorian and Gary Gorham were in a different wing B5. We were on C4. Sunday afternoon there was a welcoming meeting at Taylor Gym (now called the Athletic Center) where they explained the daily schedule (breakfast 6-7 at the UC Center, calisthenics from 7-9 starting with stretching and ending in climbing the ropes without the use of your feet, wrestling instruction from 9-noon with maybe one break and after lunch the afternoon was wrestling other campers in or around your weight class). Dinner was a little formal at Lehigh. You had to wear a jacket. You could have on cut off pants, sandals, and a t=shirt but you had to have a jacket on. This made for some interesting outfits to be sure!! We had to be back in the dorms by 10 PM and the wings all had adult proctors (hall monitors, RA's, parole officers, whatever you wanted to call them).
After the initiation meeting we all headed back to the dorms to Kevin and Gary's room to discuss how we were going to have some fun here. Kevin lit up a cigarette and Gary Gorham tossed the pack out the window onto the severely steep slate roof. Gary didn't see the point of going to wrestling camp if you were going to smoke. Kevin insisted Gary go out on the roof and retrieve his smokes but Gary took off running (for those that don't know the sizes here Kevin and Gary were Mutt and Jeff). We are on the fifth floor in a dorm that looks like a ancient stone castle and Kevin went out the window onto this black slate roof that was at least a 45 degree angle after his Marlboros. We tried to stop him but if you know Kevin, there is no stopping him. We all knew at that moment that Dorian was insane!
Of course by Monday we had completely scoped out Bethlehem and all the local spots. Kevin said in got into a topless bar on Wednesday and that we should all go tonight. We didn't believe him but we are 15 or 16 year old guys and the thought of seeing topless women was just overpowering. So we all walk down the hill to town following Kevin's every move. We arrive at a bar called "Smugglers" and Kevin gives the guy at the door some cash and we were all in! The drinking age was 21 and they served Kevin. Not the rest of us just Kevin, but he did share. We all thought we had died and gone to heaven watching women taking off their clothes...it was awesome. Remember it's 1966. Strippers didn't have G-strings more like bikinis but they did take their tops off. The time absolutely flew by watching one half naked woman after another. I looked at my watch and it was a quarter to ten. We had to get back to the dorms or we'd be thrown out. As hard as it was to leave and trust me it was HARD we all left except Kevin. He said he'd sneak back into the dorms. We tried to reason with him but he was too high on alcohol and racks. We left him and returned to the dorms. To this day I have never seen smiles on any ones face like the smiles we had that night and we had Kevin to thank for it. Speaking of Kevin about 2AM he returned to the dorms to find the doors locked. Just like an ol' movie he threw stones at our window on the fourth floor trying to wake us to help him. Gary and I got up and tried to go downstairs to help him but the proctor was sitting in a chair by the door. We went back to our room and told Kevin he was fucked. He slept on the stone entrance way that night but said the next morning "it was worth it." Talk about bonding we were tighter than thieves and Kevin was a an Icon.
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