During my father’s college years at Joliet Junior College and Oklahoma State, he would come face to face with the 400 pound plus Giant, Chris Taylor. Chris Taylor was a legendary American wrestler that earned a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic Games. Dad would wrestle Taylor a total of six-time throughout his collegiate wrestling career, the matches would bring the crowd to their feet with excitement. I was able to get a great narrative, from Coach Henry Pillard, of Taylor and Dad’s epic battles at the 1969 NJCAA Championships and the 1972 NCAA Championships; you’ll hear more of that in my future works!!!
The black and white picture you see in the background of this blog is Dad taking down the 400 pound giant at the 1972 Big 8 Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
One of the tools I have used in researching my book is Taylor’s biography: The Gentle Giant, The Chris Taylor Story. In it the book it talks of Chris and my father’s “Great Rivalries”, sharing some insight into their battles on the mat. Coach Pillard told me about the book during one of our conversation and I was able to find the book on Amazon.com for $14.95 plus shipping and handling.
No comments:
Post a Comment