July 31, 2024 • 35 mins
The tribute speeches and induction ceremony for 2024 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Outstanding American recipient Col. Steve Banach.
Tribute speakers: Mark Faller and Samuel Banach. Tribune emcee: Dave Martin. Induction ceremony emcee: Sandy Stevens.
Recorded June 2024.
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Tribute speakers: Mark Faller and Samuel Banach. Tribune emcee: Dave Martin. Induction ceremony emcee: Sandy Stevens.
Recorded June 2024.
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Apple Podcasts | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Android | RSS
Contribute
And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
From the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. This is Legends
is Legends. I'm Jason Bryant. Prepare for a journey through
wrestling's past, present, and future. As we'll hear are the
great stories of wrestling and success from the true legends.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Of the sport here on Hall of Fame Legends.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
So, without any more ado, let's go ahead and get started.
I might say that we hope everyone enjoyed the meal,
and now it's time for the program to begin. This
is another opportunity for us to learn more about this
special group of individuals who we are honoring this weekend.
We're going to hear from those who know them the best,
and that's their family and their friends. Each of the
(00:55):
speakers will be allowed to talk for five minutes. Unfortunately,
there will be no injury timeouts, and we don't have
any time for overtimes. The Outstanding American Award is described
as recognizing individuals who have used what they've learned in
wrestling to launch notable careers after concluding the wrestling career.
(01:18):
This year's Outstanding American is Steve Bannock. And now speaking
about Steve is Mark Fowler, his high school wrestling.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Coach thank you did. I had to be the luckiest
(01:47):
guy in the world. When my first day as a
high school wrestling coach, I walk into the wrestling room
and I meet freshman Steve Bannick. But the day necessrely
end that well. I had run the toughest practice I could,
and my first day lasted three and a half hours,
(02:08):
and at the end of the practice, young Steve walked
into my office and said, coach, not sure if I
liked the sport. And not only did I see the
whole franchise disappear, but I knew my mother that morning
had reminded me to look out for Anni Jazzimbowski's young grandson.
(02:31):
And if I came home and said Steve was no
longer a wrestler, I would no longer have a home.
Years later, I started to realize that Steve had no
problem with that first three and a half hour practice.
He was worrying about his more sensitive brother Lou coming
up the next year. Steve was always about thinking about
(02:56):
other people, in particular his two fellow adopted twin others.
Everything he did in his career that I was associated
was about helping his brothers be the best human being
as they could.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Be.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
He volunteered his position as a varsity wrestler his sophomore
year because Ed was going to be top seed in
the region. He gave up his state championship his senior
year because he was more worried about Ed's bout on
the matt next door to his and looked over when
(03:38):
he heard noise and gave up his own chance at
a state championship. He gave up his opportunity to be
an All American because he was worried about Ed and
Low transitioning at Iowa and decided to join them there
to help them out. That's Steve, but I think it's wrong.
(04:03):
I've started to realize it's wrong to call it a sacrifice.
Some might say he's just a good motivator, and certainly
he did motivate those little brothers to conquer Olympic goals,
and he motivated soldiers to become heroes in Afghanistan in Iraq.
(04:25):
But I prefer to think of it as something else.
Steve has this gift that when he believes in the
strength and goodness of others, somehow they start to believe
(04:45):
in their own strength and goodness. And by the enduring
faith in his presence in their belief, they mysteriously become
good and strong. I watched that happen as those two
little brothers became Olympic gold medalists. I watched it in
(05:06):
his teammates, who somehow he made into ferocious warriors. I'm
absolutely certain it was there, and those young soldiers who
became heroes in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I lived it
as a person who initially believed I was Steve's mentor
(05:27):
and then grew to learn that I was actually the
disciple Steve. I, Marge, your family, and everyone who has
had the honor of sharing that belief.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
That you have in us. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
We are better teachers, coaches, brothers, wives, sons, daughters, human
beings because of having known you. Welcome to this great honor.
Speaker 6 (06:04):
With the love we all have for you.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Thank you, Thank.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
You very much. Mark kind words we will now hear
from Steve's son, Samuel Bannock.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
Good morning.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
As you have already heard, my name is Sam Bannock,
and I am Steve Bannock's son. That I have the
unique and exciting opportunity to provide some additional background on
my dad that maybe not everyone knows. So very honored
to be here and get the to have the opportunity
to speak to you today. It's a little ironic that
(06:57):
I'm speaking about my dad's induction to the National Wrestling
Hall of Fame, and having never seen him wrestle before,
I can't really provide too much context there. What I
can talk about is some of his athletic feats that
I have seen. The one that comes to mind is
when I was younger, about four or five years old,
(07:17):
we lived in Richmond Hill, Georgia, and I ran out
of our office one day screaming that I had accidentally
killed my sister. In reality, what had happened was my
sister and I played a really fun game where we
twirled each other as fast as we could on the
office chair, and I told my sister so hard she
flew off the chair and hit her nose on the
side of the desk and there was blood, and I
(07:38):
was so terrified that I actually had killed her. I
ran out and I saw my dad leap over a
couch in about two steps and then bolt to that room.
That was one of the few times that I've seen
him move that quickly, and he's definitely not moving that
quickly today after multiple parachute jumps and feats within the army.
That being said, I consistently saw the attributes and characteristics
(08:03):
of a world class wrestler in man and my father
steve from the determination to work ethic to leadership.
Speaker 6 (08:12):
I saw it every.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
Day in the way that my dad led our family
and he led his soldiers. My first memories of my
dad were actually very inlaiden with the military. As you
may have guessed, it would usually be my dad coming
home from a long day of work and his military
fatigues that were extra starched, and that's an important point.
They were always extra starched, and it led to a
(08:34):
very distinct smell of those fatigues. But he would run
home and try to get dinner before all the kids
had eaten, and even if there was a little bit
of dinner left, we would always sit up on his
lap and start eating his food. So, Dad, thank you
for your sacrifice at home. I know you became pretty
accustomed to PB ANDJ dinners, which aren't too bad themselves.
(08:56):
But aside from the sacrifices at home, he had so
many more in the military. After nine to eleven, my
dad deployed to Afghanistan, and subsequently Iraq in the coming years. Dad,
I know you had to leave your family, your friends,
and your kids, and thank you for your sacrifices for their.
Speaker 6 (09:18):
Over the next several years.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
After being deployed, missing birthdays, missing Thanksgivings, and missing multiple
Christmases in a row, I can't imagine the feelings that
you experienced as a father and a husband now being
away from my family for that long, being in hostile territories,
(09:40):
being shot at. Thank you for your service, Dad. I
go to Texas and I get sad after a couple
of days, So thank you.
Speaker 6 (09:54):
All.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
This being said as a kid and a younger kid
in these times, I have to say thank you to
my mom for holding down the fort. After a few
missed Christmases for my dad, the present situation got pretty good.
We also got a dog during that time, so it
wasn't all bad for the kids at home, I guess,
(10:15):
so Dad, thank you for the hazard pay and Mom,
thanks for the legos. It really helped keep things moving
along in all serious or seriousness though, I've always known
my dad to be a leader. He's led and his family,
and he's led at work, and he's led with his
friends and in wrestling for my graduation. After college, I
(10:35):
moved down to Houston, Texas, and I didn't know anybody.
And if you know anything about Houston, it's a big city.
It's a lot of people, and there are the world's
worst drivers. At the end of our move day, my
dad and I moved into a third or three story
out or three story outdoor apartment complex.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
We were exhausted.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
It was about one hundred and twenty degrees with humidity,
and my life at that time girlfriend had just started
long distance dating, and I was pretty distraught. I was
pretty tired. I was pretty freaked out about the whole transition.
What was amazing was my dad coming over to me,
seeing me in that state, and he sat alongside me,
(11:17):
and he came alongside me in a way that I
hope I can do for my son someday.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
He approached it like a military operation.
Speaker 5 (11:26):
He sat me down and we planned out the military
operation that we needed to go find the familiar points
of interest.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
And I'll try to wrap this up.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
I see the red up there, But we tried to
find the familiar points that we need to go explore.
And that's work, that's the gem, that's the grocery store,
and then we got some chow and things became a
little bit better after that, And I know I need
to wrap up, but lastly, I would just like to
say that this weekend would not be possible without our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and God to whom all
(11:57):
glory is given. My dad's life, life and achievements are
a reflection of God's goodness. We're so thankful for it.
His life has not always been easy. The start of
his life was not easy, but God was always with him,
and God has and always will be good through it all.
So thank you again for the opportunity to speak here. Dad,
(12:19):
Thank you for paying away for our family for generations
and rangers lead the way.
Speaker 7 (12:37):
Good evening, everyone, Welcome, Welcome to the twenty twenty four
Hall of Fame Induction of honorees. We're delighted to have
you here with us this weekend and this evening. I'm
happy now to bring to the podium the Chairman of
(12:59):
the Board of the Governors of the National Wrestling Hall
of Fame, Tom Slowey.
Speaker 8 (13:10):
Good evening, actually great evening on behalf of the Nashal
Wrestling Hall of Fame. Welcome to the forty seventh Honors
Induction Ceremony. This evening's turnout is certainly a testimony through
the exceptional individuals we honors this evening, but also to
the fantastic and loyal support of our wrestling community. So
(13:32):
thank you for being here. The National Wrestling Hall of
Fame is grateful you're with us to celebrate the class
of twenty twenty four inductees.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
This is a very special.
Speaker 8 (13:44):
Time as we recognize and enshrine our sports very best
and honor their extraordinary achievements. The class of twenty twenty
four inductees are an inspiration to us all. Their life
pass and accomplishments offer positive guidance and examples to us all,
and especially to our country's youth and future leaders. The
(14:06):
National Wrestling Hall of Famer is privileged to host and
celebrate Honors weekend with them. As we all know, wrestling
teaches invaluable lessons. It also instills positive traits that serve
us well over a lifetime. Determination, commitment, perseverance, persistence, and resilience,
(14:28):
to name just a few. And so as we move
forward in life, we are well prepared to manage the
challenges and opportunities that we will encounter with purpose and
excellence and as leaders as an example for.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
Others to follow.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
On.
Speaker 8 (14:48):
Behalf of the Sponsors Volunteers, National Wrestling Hall of Fame Staff,
Board of Governors, Governors Associates. Thank you for sharing this
evening with us as we proudly celebrate the class of
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (15:05):
For our next honoree. We got to go to the
Award for Outstanding American Our Honoree Steve Bannock.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Bowing Up Batic brothers. Very dramatic story.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
House burned down when they were two years old.
Speaker 9 (15:35):
Fourteen children in the family all got separated at alone,
adopted by the Julies, grew.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Up, took wrestling with the k National Champions, not only
become with the Jimdies.
Speaker 6 (15:47):
Steve was the leader and we followed my dad's.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
A motto that he said for a long time.
Speaker 10 (15:54):
Minutes do the next right things, and he kind of
lived that out for us too in his example to
us as well.
Speaker 11 (16:00):
I think of Steve Bannock, I think of a leader,
I think of a commander, and I think as someone
who was always going.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
To do the right thing when no one's looking.
Speaker 9 (16:08):
I went the math class and my math feature was
a guy by the name of Mark Fowler.
Speaker 12 (16:16):
Mark Fowler, when he came as the head wrestling coach
at Port Jervis, did a really good job of finding
all the people and putting together a group of individuals
to help us. And if we had needs, I mean
doing junior Nationals three years in a row, we couldn't
afford that. But he developed a group of people that
(16:38):
went out and did fundraising for the junior national tournaments.
Speaker 13 (16:41):
So and he's at fifty five, Steve, he's at sixty seven,
Louis at seventy seven. All three going defeated. What you
can't imagine that year. We had a good team all round,
but we wrestled four or five in the top teams
in the country. And what you can't imagine we would
be going. Even with a team, when those three guys
stepped on the mat, it was brutality time. They The enthusiasm,
(17:08):
the joy of wrestling for those three guys when they
wrestled together like was log arrhythmic compared to anything else.
So they would cheer, they would get each other fired up,
and they go out and they just brutalized whoever wrestled.
So we might be down by fifteen points, pin pin pin,
and then we're pretty good heavyway, so we'd finish every
match with you know, at least eighteen or twenty points.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
I mean, it was.
Speaker 13 (17:33):
It was phenomenal, just the energy of those three wrestling together.
But of course Stevie was was the leader, you know.
Speaker 9 (17:41):
You know, the Iowa experience taught me how to be
the man that was born to be. It was in
many ways, it was a furnace of affliction.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
It was not until Steve came to Iowa.
Speaker 14 (17:58):
From Clemson that stabilization really came into the Bannings. I
mean they were already pretty good, I mean as the
wrestlers and people, so somebody had already been doing.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
A good job. But when Steve came, it's.
Speaker 14 (18:14):
The big brother syndrome where he's looking out after them.
Speaker 6 (18:19):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
It was almost like home moved into here.
Speaker 14 (18:22):
And you can see that they got better, they got
more dedicated, They just were more focused, and Steve.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Banning did that. I never saw a Banning take a
backwards step.
Speaker 9 (18:34):
It was a process to get you to the point
where you couldn't be broken physically. And once you got
to that point, then Dan could teach you how to wrestle,
and that was something that I actually tried to do
as a platoon leader, infantry platoon leader, infature company commander,
battalion commander, brigade commander, to try to get people past
(18:56):
that physical hurdle that breaks you mentally. And that's what
and did you know fairly early on in the in
the preseason.
Speaker 13 (19:04):
For me, courage is the most essential part of me.
You know, you have to be able to risk things
when they're needed, to be able to go that next step.
And Steve had courage, and you know, I would put
that at the top. You know, stubbornness, passion, those are
all good, but when you come down to it, you've
(19:27):
got to go under fire. You better have that, and
they all did, but Stevie had it in spades, and
that's why I imagine he's the best leader that the
Army's ever had, at least contemporarily.
Speaker 9 (19:40):
War is fundamentally the ultimate failure of mankind. One enters
into war for the first time with no idea what
you're going to experience. It's horrific. My approach after experiencing
it was not to think about how many, you know,
(20:03):
people I was going to kill, but you know, how
could I accomplish the mission and save as many human
lives as possible?
Speaker 6 (20:10):
You know, I was.
Speaker 9 (20:14):
Called to serve in six different combat zones, twice in Iraq,
twice in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Haiti, and in four
of those operations were invasions. A combat parachute assault into
Afghanistan right after nine to eleven. It's a spearhead for UH,
(20:37):
you know, the global War on Terror. Demonstrate US resolved,
put boots on the ground.
Speaker 11 (20:44):
We took almost the whole battalion, almost all the range
of battalion into the Chagal Valley.
Speaker 9 (20:49):
We went in that valley, UH.
Speaker 11 (20:51):
To grab some bad guys, and we walked the two
days straight. We had donkeys, we had you know, mrs
and water and all kinds of stuff strapped to these donkeys.
And we're walking in between these you know, a thousand
year old canals carved in the side of the mountain
in Afghanistan.
Speaker 6 (21:07):
And it was incredible.
Speaker 11 (21:09):
And Steve was right there with us, leading the way,
walking with a big hundred pound rock on.
Speaker 9 (21:14):
Later in March of two thousand and three, had an
opportunity to lead a second ranger Battalion Combat parachute assault
on twenty eight March in al Ambar Province H one
Airfield and opened up battlespace out out in western Iraq.
Speaker 10 (21:32):
He has, like, you know, his wrestler kind of ranger side.
But then also we do call him a heavywear too, So.
Speaker 7 (21:41):
This is something we say to each other.
Speaker 10 (21:43):
I love you more today than yesterday, but not as
much as tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
And that's still the truth.
Speaker 6 (21:50):
That is the truth.
Speaker 13 (21:52):
Well, I'm sure there's not another.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Person in Montary cares more about.
Speaker 13 (21:55):
The people going to battle than he does. I mean,
just that's his.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
You know, he has this ability to you know, he
cares for him.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
It's amazing to know that others recognize what I see
in him, in the sacrifices.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
That he's made in his life.
Speaker 10 (22:11):
His capacity to love is something that I wish more
people knew about.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
I don't think.
Speaker 10 (22:16):
I may ever meet another person with such a high
capacity to love others. As a daughter, to watch other
people recognize the sacrifices and the hard work of your
parent is of blessing.
Speaker 7 (22:42):
And Now, friends, it is my honor to introduce not
only recipient Steve Mannick, but his brothers, distinguished members of
the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Lou Manick. They
are the first trio of brothers to be honored by
the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
M H, well, good evening, everyone.
Speaker 9 (23:30):
Just a quick shout out to the National Wrestling Hall
of Fame, Leroy in in In, the leadership team and
and all the support staff. Thank you for making this
experience such a wonderful time. And you know, it's just
uh just absolutely amazing, you know, suffice it to say, Uh,
(23:51):
you know, I'm incredibly grateful for being even being considered
for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, let alone and selected. Uh,
you know, to my fellow inductees, congratulations. I'm humbled to
be in your company and in your presence.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (24:10):
It's it's so great to see so many wonderful Americans, Uh,
you know come up and making remarks. Mister mister Kotch,
The you know remarks you made were incredibly moving and
inspirational to me. I'll never forget your comments there. But
(24:31):
I'm going to talk to you about what works you
heard a little bit on on the video. Uh, you
know ed Lou and I started out homeless when they
were three, and I was four. We we had no
economic standing that anybody would pay any attention to. But
(24:53):
that didn't stop our God and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ from doing an incredible will work with three
boys with a lot of energy, sometimes too much energy.
So as Sandy just mentioned, you know, after forty seven years,
(25:17):
we have three young men at one time who are
now members of the Hall of Fame. First family with
three members in the Hall of Fame. And I will
tell you that from where I stand and looking in
the re view mirror, I think of really four people
(25:41):
that come to mind immediately.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
My father, War.
Speaker 9 (25:45):
Claw Polish soldier, wounded in World War two, spent over
five years as a prisoner war. His last prison of
war camp was Dachau when the war ended, that's where
they found him. My mother spent all of World War two.
She was a German citizen Jewish in a Nazi in
(26:07):
doctrination camp because she didn't quite get the German ideology.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
That she wasn't to fall in love with the enemy.
She was taking care of my dad when he was wounded, and.
Speaker 9 (26:18):
She fell in love with him, and they were both
punished severely and it destroyed their lives.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
But what it did.
Speaker 9 (26:27):
What it did is it gave them the motivation to
leave Europe and to come to the United States and
to give their children, of which there were fourteen of
us when our house burned down, we lost our family
in December.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Of sixty three.
Speaker 9 (26:45):
It would give their family an opportunity to live the
American dream. And I will tell you I've been all
over the world, and what works is the United States
of America. My mother and father, or Klon Genevieve, they.
Speaker 6 (27:17):
Couldn't handle anymore.
Speaker 9 (27:19):
And I never saw my father after December sixty three,
and my mother was just medically broken down and lived
the rest of her life in a medical facility. The ball,
the baton, if you will, was handed off to Stephanie
Tooley and Allen Tooley, and again, just such a tribute
to them for taking in three boys they couldn't have
(27:39):
any children. Who I was taken in three boys and
raising three boys who broke every single piece of furniture
in the house at least once, okay, and then to
be surrounded. And my only regret tonight is I can't
thank everybody who poured into me, Ed and Leeu and
(28:02):
our family. It's just impossible but I'll tell you there
were so many people that did that for us, our
coaches and our teachers. You've heard Mark Fawler earlier today
speak on my behalf and Mark you tremendous words and
incredibly honored to have you represent me.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
But Mark cared about us. We had other.
Speaker 9 (28:27):
Coaches and teachers, all of them they are very noble
minded people. They carried themselves with a level of high
esteem confidence, not in just themselves, in our country, in
the United States, and who we are as Americans. You
need to understand you're different. You're not like everybody else.
(28:47):
We're not Russia, we're not China, we're not in North Korea,
we're not Iran. We're the United States of America, and
we do things differently, and we need.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
To remember that. We need to talk about it.
Speaker 9 (29:01):
To preserve what so many generations like my father war
Claw and Genevieve fought for. So our adoptive parents, Alan
and Stephanie Tully took us on and in this process
I had the unbelievable privilege to grow up with Ed
and Lou Bannock, and it was amazing to have two brothers.
(29:27):
There was no daylight between the three of us. We
would beat the daylights out of each other, but if
anybody came and tried to fight us, we'd pulverize them.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
Ed and LOEU, thank you so much for your love
and just you know, your friendship.
Speaker 9 (29:47):
Over all these years, the uncommon bonds and the journey
and optimism continues with the Lord Jesus as our point man.
And as long as that's the case, we're in pretty
good shape. I want to turn your attention to my wife,
Margie and my daughter Marilyn, who's here tonight. My daughter
(30:09):
Audrey couldn't be here. She just had a little baby boy, George,
her third boy. She has three boys, and my son
Sam and his wife Grace. When you serve in the
military for twenty seven years, three months and seventeen days
(30:29):
and you go off on six deployments and participate in
four invasions your family's in service to the country, it's
just impossible. And our family it was all all hands
on deck, all hands on the oars in that cycle
that we lived. I missed four Thanksgivings in a row
and two back to back Christmases. Kids got to a
(30:51):
point where they didn't know what I looked like, and
they asked, Mom, isn't Dad supposed to be here on Christmas?
And that's that's the the level of service and the
level of leadership that was required from me to the
forces that I was leading. You know, times after nine
to eleven that was talked about. Those are sacrifices we
had to make. Now I say sacrifices with a hedge.
(31:17):
From the time I can remember, I felt the need
to serve, and with service comes leadership. To lead effectively,
you must serve those you are leading. And where I'm
at in my life right now, the more I give,
the more I live. All Right, So living for me
(31:40):
is how much can I give to the people that
I come in contact with every day? How can I
enrich them? How can I make them better? That's what
I think about, and that's what I'm doing with my family,
our seven grandchildren, with an eighth on the way here
in October.
Speaker 6 (31:57):
Another boy.
Speaker 9 (32:04):
You know, I have my high school quarterback here, David Ferris.
He flew or came in from from Colorado. You know,
Edlu and I didn't do what we could do or
did do without great teammates and people who were kind
of in the alphas around us. You know, who pushed
(32:25):
us back, pushed back on us and really provided you know,
pure leadership. And David for that, I'm eternally grateful for
your friendship, and I thank you for coming out here.
And I'm just gonna close by thanking my college coaches,
Dan Gable, Jay Robinson, in particularly Waye Shallicer's others. There's
(32:48):
too many to mention, but they taught me how to
work hard. Dan Gable taught me how to work harder
than I ever thought I could work. And he was
an example that I reached into when I was getting
ready to do combat paracht shoot assaults into foreign countries.
Speaker 6 (33:04):
I thought about Dan Gable.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
I thought about sprinting for an hour and then carrying
somebody up four flights of stairs and all the other
things that followed, and I said, I got this. This,
this is easy compared to what we what we did
at Iowa.
Speaker 6 (33:21):
And so men like.
Speaker 9 (33:22):
Dand did phenomenal work for us, while while the three
of us that were there at Iowa, my last family.
I want to recognize this in my military family, all
the gold Star families out there who had had sons
and daughters killed her and in some cases.
Speaker 6 (33:41):
Wounded in combat.
Speaker 9 (33:43):
I am the man I am today because of all
the relationships that I that I have uh in in,
you know, in the furnace of affliction, in these crucible experiences,
shouldered to shoulder with giants. We were in situations where
(34:06):
you didn't know how you're going to get out of it,
but you knew you were going to get out of
it because the men that you were serving with were
well trained and they weren't going to be beat And
it was an honor for me to serve in their company.
And it's an honor for me to say thank you
tonight for induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Legends is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of
Fame and produced by the matt Talk podcast Network.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
If you want to hear more from wrestling's.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Legends, contribute to the project today by going to matttalkonline
dot com slash contribute. We hope you've enjoyed this look
in the wrestling history. This has been Legends. I'm Jason Bryant,
From the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. This is Legends
is Legends. I'm Jason Bryant. Prepare for a journey through
wrestling's past, present, and future. As we'll hear are the
great stories of wrestling and success from the true legends.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Of the sport here on Hall of Fame Legends.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
So, without any more ado, let's go ahead and get started.
I might say that we hope everyone enjoyed the meal,
and now it's time for the program to begin. This
is another opportunity for us to learn more about this
special group of individuals who we are honoring this weekend.
We're going to hear from those who know them the best,
and that's their family and their friends. Each of the
(00:55):
speakers will be allowed to talk for five minutes. Unfortunately,
there will be no injury timeouts, and we don't have
any time for overtimes. The Outstanding American Award is described
as recognizing individuals who have used what they've learned in
wrestling to launch notable careers after concluding the wrestling career.
(01:18):
This year's Outstanding American is Steve Bannock. And now speaking
about Steve is Mark Fowler, his high school wrestling.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Coach thank you did. I had to be the luckiest
(01:47):
guy in the world. When my first day as a
high school wrestling coach, I walk into the wrestling room
and I meet freshman Steve Bannick. But the day necessrely
end that well. I had run the toughest practice I could,
and my first day lasted three and a half hours,
(02:08):
and at the end of the practice, young Steve walked
into my office and said, coach, not sure if I
liked the sport. And not only did I see the
whole franchise disappear, but I knew my mother that morning
had reminded me to look out for Anni Jazzimbowski's young grandson.
(02:31):
And if I came home and said Steve was no
longer a wrestler, I would no longer have a home.
Years later, I started to realize that Steve had no
problem with that first three and a half hour practice.
He was worrying about his more sensitive brother Lou coming
up the next year. Steve was always about thinking about
(02:56):
other people, in particular his two fellow adopted twin others.
Everything he did in his career that I was associated
was about helping his brothers be the best human being
as they could.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Be.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
He volunteered his position as a varsity wrestler his sophomore
year because Ed was going to be top seed in
the region. He gave up his state championship his senior
year because he was more worried about Ed's bout on
the matt next door to his and looked over when
(03:38):
he heard noise and gave up his own chance at
a state championship. He gave up his opportunity to be
an All American because he was worried about Ed and
Low transitioning at Iowa and decided to join them there
to help them out. That's Steve, but I think it's wrong.
(04:03):
I've started to realize it's wrong to call it a sacrifice.
Some might say he's just a good motivator, and certainly
he did motivate those little brothers to conquer Olympic goals,
and he motivated soldiers to become heroes in Afghanistan in Iraq.
(04:25):
But I prefer to think of it as something else.
Steve has this gift that when he believes in the
strength and goodness of others, somehow they start to believe
(04:45):
in their own strength and goodness. And by the enduring
faith in his presence in their belief, they mysteriously become
good and strong. I watched that happen as those two
little brothers became Olympic gold medalists. I watched it in
(05:06):
his teammates, who somehow he made into ferocious warriors. I'm
absolutely certain it was there, and those young soldiers who
became heroes in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I lived it
as a person who initially believed I was Steve's mentor
(05:27):
and then grew to learn that I was actually the
disciple Steve. I, Marge, your family, and everyone who has
had the honor of sharing that belief.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
That you have in us. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
We are better teachers, coaches, brothers, wives, sons, daughters, human
beings because of having known you. Welcome to this great honor.
Speaker 6 (06:04):
With the love we all have for you.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Thank you, Thank.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
You very much. Mark kind words we will now hear
from Steve's son, Samuel Bannock.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
Good morning.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
As you have already heard, my name is Sam Bannock,
and I am Steve Bannock's son. That I have the
unique and exciting opportunity to provide some additional background on
my dad that maybe not everyone knows. So very honored
to be here and get the to have the opportunity
to speak to you today. It's a little ironic that
(06:57):
I'm speaking about my dad's induction to the National Wrestling
Hall of Fame, and having never seen him wrestle before,
I can't really provide too much context there. What I
can talk about is some of his athletic feats that
I have seen. The one that comes to mind is
when I was younger, about four or five years old,
(07:17):
we lived in Richmond Hill, Georgia, and I ran out
of our office one day screaming that I had accidentally
killed my sister. In reality, what had happened was my
sister and I played a really fun game where we
twirled each other as fast as we could on the
office chair, and I told my sister so hard she
flew off the chair and hit her nose on the
side of the desk and there was blood, and I
(07:38):
was so terrified that I actually had killed her. I
ran out and I saw my dad leap over a
couch in about two steps and then bolt to that room.
That was one of the few times that I've seen
him move that quickly, and he's definitely not moving that
quickly today after multiple parachute jumps and feats within the army.
That being said, I consistently saw the attributes and characteristics
(08:03):
of a world class wrestler in man and my father
steve from the determination to work ethic to leadership.
Speaker 6 (08:12):
I saw it every.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
Day in the way that my dad led our family
and he led his soldiers. My first memories of my
dad were actually very inlaiden with the military. As you
may have guessed, it would usually be my dad coming
home from a long day of work and his military
fatigues that were extra starched, and that's an important point.
They were always extra starched, and it led to a
(08:34):
very distinct smell of those fatigues. But he would run
home and try to get dinner before all the kids
had eaten, and even if there was a little bit
of dinner left, we would always sit up on his
lap and start eating his food. So, Dad, thank you
for your sacrifice at home. I know you became pretty
accustomed to PB ANDJ dinners, which aren't too bad themselves.
(08:56):
But aside from the sacrifices at home, he had so
many more in the military. After nine to eleven, my
dad deployed to Afghanistan, and subsequently Iraq in the coming years. Dad,
I know you had to leave your family, your friends,
and your kids, and thank you for your sacrifices for their.
Speaker 6 (09:18):
Over the next several years.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
After being deployed, missing birthdays, missing Thanksgivings, and missing multiple
Christmases in a row, I can't imagine the feelings that
you experienced as a father and a husband now being
away from my family for that long, being in hostile territories,
(09:40):
being shot at. Thank you for your service, Dad. I
go to Texas and I get sad after a couple
of days, So thank you.
Speaker 6 (09:54):
All.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
This being said as a kid and a younger kid
in these times, I have to say thank you to
my mom for holding down the fort. After a few
missed Christmases for my dad, the present situation got pretty good.
We also got a dog during that time, so it
wasn't all bad for the kids at home, I guess,
(10:15):
so Dad, thank you for the hazard pay and Mom,
thanks for the legos. It really helped keep things moving
along in all serious or seriousness though, I've always known
my dad to be a leader. He's led and his family,
and he's led at work, and he's led with his
friends and in wrestling for my graduation. After college, I
(10:35):
moved down to Houston, Texas, and I didn't know anybody.
And if you know anything about Houston, it's a big city.
It's a lot of people, and there are the world's
worst drivers. At the end of our move day, my
dad and I moved into a third or three story
out or three story outdoor apartment complex.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
We were exhausted.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
It was about one hundred and twenty degrees with humidity,
and my life at that time girlfriend had just started
long distance dating, and I was pretty distraught. I was
pretty tired. I was pretty freaked out about the whole transition.
What was amazing was my dad coming over to me,
seeing me in that state, and he sat alongside me,
(11:17):
and he came alongside me in a way that I
hope I can do for my son someday.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
He approached it like a military operation.
Speaker 5 (11:26):
He sat me down and we planned out the military
operation that we needed to go find the familiar points
of interest.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
And I'll try to wrap this up.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
I see the red up there, But we tried to
find the familiar points that we need to go explore.
And that's work, that's the gem, that's the grocery store,
and then we got some chow and things became a
little bit better after that, And I know I need
to wrap up, but lastly, I would just like to
say that this weekend would not be possible without our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and God to whom all
(11:57):
glory is given. My dad's life, life and achievements are
a reflection of God's goodness. We're so thankful for it.
His life has not always been easy. The start of
his life was not easy, but God was always with him,
and God has and always will be good through it all.
So thank you again for the opportunity to speak here. Dad,
(12:19):
Thank you for paying away for our family for generations
and rangers lead the way.
Speaker 7 (12:37):
Good evening, everyone, Welcome, Welcome to the twenty twenty four
Hall of Fame Induction of honorees. We're delighted to have
you here with us this weekend and this evening. I'm
happy now to bring to the podium the Chairman of
(12:59):
the Board of the Governors of the National Wrestling Hall
of Fame, Tom Slowey.
Speaker 8 (13:10):
Good evening, actually great evening on behalf of the Nashal
Wrestling Hall of Fame. Welcome to the forty seventh Honors
Induction Ceremony. This evening's turnout is certainly a testimony through
the exceptional individuals we honors this evening, but also to
the fantastic and loyal support of our wrestling community. So
(13:32):
thank you for being here. The National Wrestling Hall of
Fame is grateful you're with us to celebrate the class
of twenty twenty four inductees.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
This is a very special.
Speaker 8 (13:44):
Time as we recognize and enshrine our sports very best
and honor their extraordinary achievements. The class of twenty twenty
four inductees are an inspiration to us all. Their life
pass and accomplishments offer positive guidance and examples to us all,
and especially to our country's youth and future leaders. The
(14:06):
National Wrestling Hall of Famer is privileged to host and
celebrate Honors weekend with them. As we all know, wrestling
teaches invaluable lessons. It also instills positive traits that serve
us well over a lifetime. Determination, commitment, perseverance, persistence, and resilience,
(14:28):
to name just a few. And so as we move
forward in life, we are well prepared to manage the
challenges and opportunities that we will encounter with purpose and
excellence and as leaders as an example for.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
Others to follow.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
On.
Speaker 8 (14:48):
Behalf of the Sponsors Volunteers, National Wrestling Hall of Fame Staff,
Board of Governors, Governors Associates. Thank you for sharing this
evening with us as we proudly celebrate the class of
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (15:05):
For our next honoree. We got to go to the
Award for Outstanding American Our Honoree Steve Bannock.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Bowing Up Batic brothers. Very dramatic story.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
House burned down when they were two years old.
Speaker 9 (15:35):
Fourteen children in the family all got separated at alone,
adopted by the Julies, grew.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Up, took wrestling with the k National Champions, not only
become with the Jimdies.
Speaker 6 (15:47):
Steve was the leader and we followed my dad's.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
A motto that he said for a long time.
Speaker 10 (15:54):
Minutes do the next right things, and he kind of
lived that out for us too in his example to
us as well.
Speaker 11 (16:00):
I think of Steve Bannock, I think of a leader,
I think of a commander, and I think as someone
who was always going.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
To do the right thing when no one's looking.
Speaker 9 (16:08):
I went the math class and my math feature was
a guy by the name of Mark Fowler.
Speaker 12 (16:16):
Mark Fowler, when he came as the head wrestling coach
at Port Jervis, did a really good job of finding
all the people and putting together a group of individuals
to help us. And if we had needs, I mean
doing junior Nationals three years in a row, we couldn't
afford that. But he developed a group of people that
(16:38):
went out and did fundraising for the junior national tournaments.
Speaker 13 (16:41):
So and he's at fifty five, Steve, he's at sixty seven,
Louis at seventy seven. All three going defeated. What you
can't imagine that year. We had a good team all round,
but we wrestled four or five in the top teams
in the country. And what you can't imagine we would
be going. Even with a team, when those three guys
stepped on the mat, it was brutality time. They The enthusiasm,
(17:08):
the joy of wrestling for those three guys when they
wrestled together like was log arrhythmic compared to anything else.
So they would cheer, they would get each other fired up,
and they go out and they just brutalized whoever wrestled.
So we might be down by fifteen points, pin pin pin,
and then we're pretty good heavyway, so we'd finish every
match with you know, at least eighteen or twenty points.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
I mean, it was.
Speaker 13 (17:33):
It was phenomenal, just the energy of those three wrestling together.
But of course Stevie was was the leader, you know.
Speaker 9 (17:41):
You know, the Iowa experience taught me how to be
the man that was born to be. It was in
many ways, it was a furnace of affliction.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
It was not until Steve came to Iowa.
Speaker 14 (17:58):
From Clemson that stabilization really came into the Bannings. I
mean they were already pretty good, I mean as the
wrestlers and people, so somebody had already been doing.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
A good job. But when Steve came, it's.
Speaker 14 (18:14):
The big brother syndrome where he's looking out after them.
Speaker 6 (18:19):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
It was almost like home moved into here.
Speaker 14 (18:22):
And you can see that they got better, they got
more dedicated, They just were more focused, and Steve.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Banning did that. I never saw a Banning take a
backwards step.
Speaker 9 (18:34):
It was a process to get you to the point
where you couldn't be broken physically. And once you got
to that point, then Dan could teach you how to wrestle,
and that was something that I actually tried to do
as a platoon leader, infantry platoon leader, infature company commander,
battalion commander, brigade commander, to try to get people past
(18:56):
that physical hurdle that breaks you mentally. And that's what
and did you know fairly early on in the in
the preseason.
Speaker 13 (19:04):
For me, courage is the most essential part of me.
You know, you have to be able to risk things
when they're needed, to be able to go that next step.
And Steve had courage, and you know, I would put
that at the top. You know, stubbornness, passion, those are
all good, but when you come down to it, you've
(19:27):
got to go under fire. You better have that, and
they all did, but Stevie had it in spades, and
that's why I imagine he's the best leader that the
Army's ever had, at least contemporarily.
Speaker 9 (19:40):
War is fundamentally the ultimate failure of mankind. One enters
into war for the first time with no idea what
you're going to experience. It's horrific. My approach after experiencing
it was not to think about how many, you know,
(20:03):
people I was going to kill, but you know, how
could I accomplish the mission and save as many human
lives as possible?
Speaker 6 (20:10):
You know, I was.
Speaker 9 (20:14):
Called to serve in six different combat zones, twice in Iraq,
twice in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Haiti, and in four
of those operations were invasions. A combat parachute assault into
Afghanistan right after nine to eleven. It's a spearhead for UH,
(20:37):
you know, the global War on Terror. Demonstrate US resolved,
put boots on the ground.
Speaker 11 (20:44):
We took almost the whole battalion, almost all the range
of battalion into the Chagal Valley.
Speaker 9 (20:49):
We went in that valley, UH.
Speaker 11 (20:51):
To grab some bad guys, and we walked the two
days straight. We had donkeys, we had you know, mrs
and water and all kinds of stuff strapped to these donkeys.
And we're walking in between these you know, a thousand
year old canals carved in the side of the mountain
in Afghanistan.
Speaker 6 (21:07):
And it was incredible.
Speaker 11 (21:09):
And Steve was right there with us, leading the way,
walking with a big hundred pound rock on.
Speaker 9 (21:14):
Later in March of two thousand and three, had an
opportunity to lead a second ranger Battalion Combat parachute assault
on twenty eight March in al Ambar Province H one
Airfield and opened up battlespace out out in western Iraq.
Speaker 10 (21:32):
He has, like, you know, his wrestler kind of ranger side.
But then also we do call him a heavywear too, So.
Speaker 7 (21:41):
This is something we say to each other.
Speaker 10 (21:43):
I love you more today than yesterday, but not as
much as tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
And that's still the truth.
Speaker 6 (21:50):
That is the truth.
Speaker 13 (21:52):
Well, I'm sure there's not another.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Person in Montary cares more about.
Speaker 13 (21:55):
The people going to battle than he does. I mean,
just that's his.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
You know, he has this ability to you know, he
cares for him.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
It's amazing to know that others recognize what I see
in him, in the sacrifices.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
That he's made in his life.
Speaker 10 (22:11):
His capacity to love is something that I wish more
people knew about.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
I don't think.
Speaker 10 (22:16):
I may ever meet another person with such a high
capacity to love others. As a daughter, to watch other
people recognize the sacrifices and the hard work of your
parent is of blessing.
Speaker 7 (22:42):
And Now, friends, it is my honor to introduce not
only recipient Steve Mannick, but his brothers, distinguished members of
the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Lou Manick. They
are the first trio of brothers to be honored by
the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
M H, well, good evening, everyone.
Speaker 9 (23:30):
Just a quick shout out to the National Wrestling Hall
of Fame, Leroy in in In, the leadership team and
and all the support staff. Thank you for making this
experience such a wonderful time. And you know, it's just
uh just absolutely amazing, you know, suffice it to say, Uh,
(23:51):
you know, I'm incredibly grateful for being even being considered
for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, let alone and selected. Uh,
you know, to my fellow inductees, congratulations. I'm humbled to
be in your company and in your presence.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (24:10):
It's it's so great to see so many wonderful Americans, Uh,
you know come up and making remarks. Mister mister Kotch,
The you know remarks you made were incredibly moving and
inspirational to me. I'll never forget your comments there. But
(24:31):
I'm going to talk to you about what works you
heard a little bit on on the video. Uh, you
know ed Lou and I started out homeless when they
were three, and I was four. We we had no
economic standing that anybody would pay any attention to. But
(24:53):
that didn't stop our God and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ from doing an incredible will work with three
boys with a lot of energy, sometimes too much energy.
So as Sandy just mentioned, you know, after forty seven years,
(25:17):
we have three young men at one time who are
now members of the Hall of Fame. First family with
three members in the Hall of Fame. And I will
tell you that from where I stand and looking in
the re view mirror, I think of really four people
(25:41):
that come to mind immediately.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
My father, War.
Speaker 9 (25:45):
Claw Polish soldier, wounded in World War two, spent over
five years as a prisoner war. His last prison of
war camp was Dachau when the war ended, that's where
they found him. My mother spent all of World War two.
She was a German citizen Jewish in a Nazi in
(26:07):
doctrination camp because she didn't quite get the German ideology.
Speaker 6 (26:11):
That she wasn't to fall in love with the enemy.
She was taking care of my dad when he was wounded, and.
Speaker 9 (26:18):
She fell in love with him, and they were both
punished severely and it destroyed their lives.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
But what it did.
Speaker 9 (26:27):
What it did is it gave them the motivation to
leave Europe and to come to the United States and
to give their children, of which there were fourteen of
us when our house burned down, we lost our family
in December.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Of sixty three.
Speaker 9 (26:45):
It would give their family an opportunity to live the
American dream. And I will tell you I've been all
over the world, and what works is the United States
of America. My mother and father, or Klon Genevieve, they.
Speaker 6 (27:17):
Couldn't handle anymore.
Speaker 9 (27:19):
And I never saw my father after December sixty three,
and my mother was just medically broken down and lived
the rest of her life in a medical facility. The ball,
the baton, if you will, was handed off to Stephanie
Tooley and Allen Tooley, and again, just such a tribute
to them for taking in three boys they couldn't have
(27:39):
any children. Who I was taken in three boys and
raising three boys who broke every single piece of furniture
in the house at least once, okay, and then to
be surrounded. And my only regret tonight is I can't
thank everybody who poured into me, Ed and Leeu and
(28:02):
our family. It's just impossible but I'll tell you there
were so many people that did that for us, our
coaches and our teachers. You've heard Mark Fawler earlier today
speak on my behalf and Mark you tremendous words and
incredibly honored to have you represent me.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
But Mark cared about us. We had other.
Speaker 9 (28:27):
Coaches and teachers, all of them they are very noble
minded people. They carried themselves with a level of high
esteem confidence, not in just themselves, in our country, in
the United States, and who we are as Americans. You
need to understand you're different. You're not like everybody else.
(28:47):
We're not Russia, we're not China, we're not in North Korea,
we're not Iran. We're the United States of America, and
we do things differently, and we need.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
To remember that. We need to talk about it.
Speaker 9 (29:01):
To preserve what so many generations like my father war
Claw and Genevieve fought for. So our adoptive parents, Alan
and Stephanie Tully took us on and in this process
I had the unbelievable privilege to grow up with Ed
and Lou Bannock, and it was amazing to have two brothers.
(29:27):
There was no daylight between the three of us. We
would beat the daylights out of each other, but if
anybody came and tried to fight us, we'd pulverize them.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
Ed and LOEU, thank you so much for your love
and just you know, your friendship.
Speaker 9 (29:47):
Over all these years, the uncommon bonds and the journey
and optimism continues with the Lord Jesus as our point man.
And as long as that's the case, we're in pretty
good shape. I want to turn your attention to my wife,
Margie and my daughter Marilyn, who's here tonight. My daughter
(30:09):
Audrey couldn't be here. She just had a little baby boy, George,
her third boy. She has three boys, and my son
Sam and his wife Grace. When you serve in the
military for twenty seven years, three months and seventeen days
(30:29):
and you go off on six deployments and participate in
four invasions your family's in service to the country, it's
just impossible. And our family it was all all hands
on deck, all hands on the oars in that cycle
that we lived. I missed four Thanksgivings in a row
and two back to back Christmases. Kids got to a
(30:51):
point where they didn't know what I looked like, and
they asked, Mom, isn't Dad supposed to be here on Christmas?
And that's that's the the level of service and the
level of leadership that was required from me to the
forces that I was leading. You know, times after nine
to eleven that was talked about. Those are sacrifices we
had to make. Now I say sacrifices with a hedge.
(31:17):
From the time I can remember, I felt the need
to serve, and with service comes leadership. To lead effectively,
you must serve those you are leading. And where I'm
at in my life right now, the more I give,
the more I live. All Right, So living for me
(31:40):
is how much can I give to the people that
I come in contact with every day? How can I
enrich them? How can I make them better? That's what
I think about, and that's what I'm doing with my family,
our seven grandchildren, with an eighth on the way here
in October.
Speaker 6 (31:57):
Another boy.
Speaker 9 (32:04):
You know, I have my high school quarterback here, David Ferris.
He flew or came in from from Colorado. You know,
Edlu and I didn't do what we could do or
did do without great teammates and people who were kind
of in the alphas around us. You know, who pushed
(32:25):
us back, pushed back on us and really provided you know,
pure leadership. And David for that, I'm eternally grateful for
your friendship, and I thank you for coming out here.
And I'm just gonna close by thanking my college coaches,
Dan Gable, Jay Robinson, in particularly Waye Shallicer's others. There's
(32:48):
too many to mention, but they taught me how to
work hard. Dan Gable taught me how to work harder
than I ever thought I could work. And he was
an example that I reached into when I was getting
ready to do combat paracht shoot assaults into foreign countries.
Speaker 6 (33:04):
I thought about Dan Gable.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
I thought about sprinting for an hour and then carrying
somebody up four flights of stairs and all the other
things that followed, and I said, I got this. This,
this is easy compared to what we what we did
at Iowa.
Speaker 6 (33:21):
And so men like.
Speaker 9 (33:22):
Dand did phenomenal work for us, while while the three
of us that were there at Iowa, my last family.
I want to recognize this in my military family, all
the gold Star families out there who had had sons
and daughters killed her and in some cases.
Speaker 6 (33:41):
Wounded in combat.
Speaker 9 (33:43):
I am the man I am today because of all
the relationships that I that I have uh in in,
you know, in the furnace of affliction, in these crucible experiences,
shouldered to shoulder with giants. We were in situations where
(34:06):
you didn't know how you're going to get out of it,
but you knew you were going to get out of
it because the men that you were serving with were
well trained and they weren't going to be beat And
it was an honor for me to serve in their company.
And it's an honor for me to say thank you
tonight for induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Legends is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of
Fame and produced by the matt Talk podcast Network.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
If you want to hear more from wrestling's.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Legends, contribute to the project today by going to matttalkonline
dot com slash contribute. We hope you've enjoyed this look
in the wrestling history. This has been Legends. I'm Jason Bryant,
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