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HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM There is a great deal of speculation as to why Blair's wrestling program has been so strong through the years. One certain contributing factor is that there have only been eight head coaches, all of whom were deeply committed to the program's success, during the eighty year legacy that is Blair Wrestling. This section is broken down into three main eras (you can also read about Jeff Buxton's countless contributions) according to the coach who most defined each one. The three coaches are: Bob Dalling, Tom Hutchinson and Bob Latessa. In the beginning... "The first wrestling team was formed in 1919 without a coach and had only one informally arranged meet with South Orange High School. Blair's Headmaster, John Sharpe, was displeased when he learned that the boys were dieting and repairing to the boiler room to make lower weights, so he appointed a teacher-supervisor. Wrestling became an official sport in 1924 when Arthur M. Saylor came as coach" (Hamlin, p.291). Saylor coached the team until he left Blair in 1930.
Bob Dalling: The Father of Blair Wrestling Robert Dalling, the captain of the 1929 Blair team, matriculated at Lehigh University the following year, but agreed to return to Blair two or three days a week to coach at his alma mater. While still in college, Dalling won two Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships and also managed, with the help of his brother Paul, to keep the Blair program running strongly. Unbeknownst to him, these inauspicious beginnings as a wrestling coach essentially marked the genesis of what would later become one of the most innovative and successful prep wrestling programs in the United States. After graduating with a degree in business, Dalling held down a full-time job as an auditor for the state of New Jersey but continued to be an integral part of the Blair wrestling program. From 1934 to 1942 Dalling's professional obligations with the state prevented him from being able to coach. During this interim there were other coaches who contributed a great deal to the program. The first was Coach John K. Beidler who wrestled with Coach Dalling at Blair in 1929 and then for him as the senior captain of Dalling's first team in 1930. After graduating from college, Coach Beidler returned to Blair to take over the program for two years in 1934 and 1935. Then, in 1936, Coach Chester "Chet" Wagner, a graduate of Dickinson College, came to Blair as a French teacher, tennis coach and wrestling coach. A former Wagner wrestler said of him when he first came to Blair that, "Coach Wagner didn't know much about wrestling, but he was one swell guy." Indeed, it was this endearing aspect of his persona that allowed Coach Wagner to build an impeccable rapport with the athletes and gain their respect as an unpretentious and successful leader. Wagner coached John "Benny" Fodera, the first-ever Blair National Prep champion, as well as eight other National champions. Coach Wagner developed an immense appreciation for the sport and quickly became quite knowledgeable. In 1942, Wagner left Blair to serve in the armed forces. In the interim, Coach Dalling was again able to return to Blair to coach until 1947 when Wagner resumed his coaching position for two additional seasons through 1948. In 1949, Wagner accepted a position at Lawrenceville and continued to coach wrestling for about fifteen more years while Dalling took over the reins here at Blair, this time for more than two decades until he retired. Toward the end of Dalling's coaching career, Coaches Jon Frere and Peter Amerman were instrumental in running daily practices and administrative aspects of the team while Dalling continued to teach technique and motivate individual athletes. Frere was Blair's athletic director, the head football coach and a Spanish teacher while Amerman served as Blair's Chaplain. Peter Amerman is currently Blair's Dean of Faculty.
Robert Dalling nurtured, built and led the Blair wrestling program for 32 years over a 42 year period that spanned the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. Calvin Coolidge was the President of the United States when Dalling began coaching, and Richard Nixon was the President when he retired. In that period, Blair wrestling endured triumphant times such as in 1933 when the team had a 23 match win streak and was regarded as the best team in the state, and lean times such as in 1967 and 1968 when there were no placewinners at the National Preps and the team's victories were few and far between. However, all four decades of Bob Dalling's coaching career were successful in that he touched the lives of thousands of young people in a positive and endearing way. Dalling's coaching style combined an unwavering devotion to both his athletes and the sport of wrestling with a fantastic sense of humor. He also ran the team in a strict and disciplined manner, yielding generations of fine gentlemen to attest to his methods. In all, Dalling coached eight National Prep Champions and 28 National Prep placewinners including the first of Blair's future NCAA Division 1 champions, Mike Lieberman, during his final years at the helm. Today, the Bob Dalling Trophy is awarded each year to the wrestler at the National Prep Tournament who has the most falls in the least aggregate time. Coach
Tom Hutchinson Hutchinson - The Development of the College Team
and a New Level of Competitiveness
In 1972, Dalling turned over the reins to another Lehigh graduate and two-time EIWA champion, Tom Hutchinson. Hutchinson is credited with emphasizing the postgraduate program which consequently spawned a new level and era of success in Blair wrestling. Hutchinson was "recruited" to Blair by a sophomore from Allentown, Pennsylvania named Mark Lieberman (brother of Mike Lieberman). Although it seems unusual for a wrestler to recruit a coach, Lieberman had high aspirations and the foresight to realize that Hutchinson could play an integral role in helping him achieve his goals. Once Hutchinson got to Blair, he immediately recognized the potential of the postgraduate program that was already in place. Gradually, he convinced local college coaches to wrestle their junior varsity line-ups against the Blair postgraduates as a preliminary bout to varsity dual meets. This format not only benefited the Blair postgraduates by providing them with valuable experience, but it also afforded college coaches the opportunity to showcase their programs to up-and-coming talent. Hutchinson was soon able to schedule a full season of collegiate duals and tournaments for the postgraduate squad which then became known as the "college team." The scheduling of a full season of collegiate competition is still an integral part of the college team's success today. Hutchinson's inaugural team went undefeated and captured the New Jersey Prep Championship. His teams went on to capture the next 9 consecutive State Prep titles as well as Blair's first National Prep Championship in 1974. The following year, the rules were changed at the National Prep Tournament to disallow points from postgraduate wrestlers to count toward the team score. It should be noted that this rule change precluded Blair from winning several subsequent team titles at the National Prep Tourney. An example was in 1975 when Blair crowned three champions and only finished ninth in the team score. In 1982, the Billy Sheridan Trophy was established to be awarded to the postgraduate team with the highest point total if its point total exceeded that of all undergraduate teams as well. During Hutchinson's first years as coach, Peter Amerman continued to work closely with the Blair wrestling program. Amerman served as Hutchinson's assistant coach but also took over the reins as head coach for one year while Hutchinson completed his master's degree. The two coaches established a close bond as Hutchinson was Amerman's assistant on the soccer fields each fall. Hutchinson was also a catalyst in the New Jersey Wrestling Federation, serving as its director for several years. His involvement not only benefited Blair wrestlers who were provided with opportunities to wrestle not only on a national level in events such as the Junior Nationals and the equivalent of today's Espoir Nationals, but also in the entire state of New Jersey as well. Hutchinson also ran several wrestling camps at Blair and brought the best clinicians from around the country to Blair during the summers. In 1981 and '82, Hutchinson-led teams captured the first two National Prep Championships of the current streak of 17. In 1981, Hutchinson was named Coach of the Year by Wrestling USA and the United States Wrestling Federation. During his tenure at Blair, Hutchinson coached 18 National Prep champions, six future NCAA Division 1 All-Americans, one future Olympic champion, and three future NCAA Division 1 National Champions including the assertive sophomore who brought him to Blair several years prior, two-time NCAA champion Mark Lieberman. In 1983, Hutchinson returned to Lehigh to become the assistant coach under coaching legend Thad Turner. Blair's newly-renovated weight room is named in honor of Coach Hutchinson. Coach Bob Latessa Latessa Continues To Turn Out Champions A math teacher and assistant Blair wrestling coach since 1979, Bob Latessa became Hutchinson's successor as head coach in 1983. Latessa, a National Prep champion for Thayer in 1974 and a three-sport letterman at Wesleyan University, maintained and increased the momentum of the program's success over the next eight years, each of which yielded a National Prep Championship.
Latessa, like Hutchinson, continued to run summer camps and bring in star clinicians. He also volunteered a great deal of time to the New Jersey Wrestling Federation serving as secretary and later as Espoir director. Again, this additional involvement provided Blair wrestlers with the opportunities to wrestle in the spring and summer and thereby gain valuable experience on the mat. Latessa coached 31 individual National Prep champions and seven future collegiate All-Americans including two-time NCAA champion Pat Santoro. While at Blair, Latessa became a student of the sport, establishing himself as an excellent technician and strategist. Although he continued to emphasize the college team, Latessa began to focus more attention on the program as a whole, laying the foundation for the current, broad-reaching approach of the program today. Latessa, much like his predecessors, was held in the highest esteem by his students, wrestlers, and colleagues. In 1991, he moved on to take the assistant coaching job at Lehigh University. In 1993, Latessa was named Lehigh's interim head coach whereupon he led the Engineers to their best dual meet record in a decade including a dual meet victory over archrival Penn State. In that same year, Lehigh won the EIWA championships and Latessa was named EIWA Coach of the year. He is currently a math teacher and head wrestling coach at Lakota High School in Ohio. His assistant coach, Jim Lehman, is one of his former Blair wrestlers and a National Prep champion. |
