Northwestern Wrestling in a Decade of War
1/9/2016 10:06:00 AM | Wrestling
By David Herder
In the 1940s, with the world at war, resources of all sorts were being redirected to the war effort: food, textiles and even wrestling coaches.
Wes Brown, a three time Big Ten Wrestling champion for Northwestern, had returned to coach his alma mater in 1937. But after six years of service, he left for the services. Brown headed to Annapolis to become a physical education instructor of jiu-jitsu and wrestling for the Navy.
Even with the turmoil across the globe, the program would still continue. Brown had handpicked a successor: Roy Greening, who had wrestled in Brown's program until he graduated in 1939. Just as the country was climbing out of the Great Depression, Greening was tasked with leading the Wildcats, who had gone a decade without a conference champion, out of a slump of their own.
Greening inherited a talented squad, including Art Nethercot. The 121-pounder began to blossom under the new coach, quickly making strides towards the conference's elite. In 1944, he became the program's first conference champ since Wes Brown in 1933. Northwestern would not have to wait nearly as long for their next title, with Nethercot's teammate, Duane Hanson, repeating the act a year later, going the entire season undefeated and winning the 136 lbs. title.
In what was becoming a trend for the program's members, both Nethercot and Hanson quickly left the program because of the war effort. Hanson had come to the school as a "Northwestern Navy Trainee."
But as of September 2, 1945, there was war no more. With the allied victory, Hanson returned to Iowa, where he would finish his wrestling career. Nethercot left Evanston earlier, heading not to Europe or the Pacific, but to help Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project.
As the war finished, so did Greening's time leading the program. Like many others in the service, Brown was no longer needed by the Navy, and returned to coach his Alma Mater for the second time.
While the program didn't lift the championships under Brown that it had with Greening, it provided entertainment on and off the mats. Brown, in addition to being the wrestling coach, was an officer for the Evanston Police.
One spring night, the school's Athletic Director, Tug Wilson, was driving home when he saw the coach in his squad car at an intersection. The director decided to give the coach "a little workout," and "pushed the accelerator down awfully close to the floorboards."
Wilson saw that the officer was dutifully following him, and began leading him through curves around Evanston. Soon, Wilson decided to call the game to rest, pulling over to "see the look on Wes's face."
But he never did.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't Brown's face, but that of a new man on the force.
In 1948, there was no war to go off to, but Brown was still returning to the Navy. Again, he would be replaced by a Northwestern wrestling alum. This time, it was the decorated Jack Riley, one of two Northwestern athletes at the time to have been an All-American in two separate sports (wrestling and football). Similar to Brown, Riley had been in the armed forces, serving as a Marine for four years and seeing action in the South Pacific. Also like Brown, Riley maintained a second job, but instead of policing, Riley owned a lighting store on the north side of Chicago.
While the school's trophy cabinet was undisturbed during Brown's reign, it was one similarity that Riley would soon break. Jack Herschend was the surprise of the 1952 Big Ten Championships, making a run to lay claim to the 123 lbs. title. The following year, the 115-pounder, Bob Christensen would make a run at that mark. While missing out on the Big Ten title, the team earned a spot at the NCAA Wrestling championships. There, Christensen was named an All-American for finishing second in the nation, the first Wildcat to place at Nationals in over 20 years. On the shoulders of Christensen's results, the Wildcats placed ninth as a team, their highest national finish in years.
After leaving campus, Herschend's professional career proved even more fruitful than his wrestling one. Herschend purchased a 99-year lease on an attraction near Branson, Missouri in 1950. After a decade's work, it was opened as Silver Dollar City, a theme park still in use. Hershend Family Entertainment is now one of the largest family-owned theme park and tourist attraction companies in the country, operating multiple parks, including Dollywood.
With Herschend and Christensen graduated, the team needed a new star. In stepped Ken Kraft. The 167 lbs. wrestler led the team in points scored from 1955-57. His senior season, he swept his final 11 matches en route to the program's 12th individual conference championship. He graduated with a 38-7-2 record for a winning percentage that ranks among the top-10 in program history.
Jack Riley decided in 1957 to retire to spend more time with his lighting business, and Kraft became the next in the long line of Northwestern alumni wrestling coaches. While the Wildcats had been a conference power their first forty years, Kraft would soon push them higher, turning Northwestern into a veritable national powerhouse.
In the 1940s, with the world at war, resources of all sorts were being redirected to the war effort: food, textiles and even wrestling coaches.
Wes Brown, a three time Big Ten Wrestling champion for Northwestern, had returned to coach his alma mater in 1937. But after six years of service, he left for the services. Brown headed to Annapolis to become a physical education instructor of jiu-jitsu and wrestling for the Navy.
Even with the turmoil across the globe, the program would still continue. Brown had handpicked a successor: Roy Greening, who had wrestled in Brown's program until he graduated in 1939. Just as the country was climbing out of the Great Depression, Greening was tasked with leading the Wildcats, who had gone a decade without a conference champion, out of a slump of their own.
Greening inherited a talented squad, including Art Nethercot. The 121-pounder began to blossom under the new coach, quickly making strides towards the conference's elite. In 1944, he became the program's first conference champ since Wes Brown in 1933. Northwestern would not have to wait nearly as long for their next title, with Nethercot's teammate, Duane Hanson, repeating the act a year later, going the entire season undefeated and winning the 136 lbs. title.
In what was becoming a trend for the program's members, both Nethercot and Hanson quickly left the program because of the war effort. Hanson had come to the school as a "Northwestern Navy Trainee."
But as of September 2, 1945, there was war no more. With the allied victory, Hanson returned to Iowa, where he would finish his wrestling career. Nethercot left Evanston earlier, heading not to Europe or the Pacific, but to help Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project.
As the war finished, so did Greening's time leading the program. Like many others in the service, Brown was no longer needed by the Navy, and returned to coach his Alma Mater for the second time.
While the program didn't lift the championships under Brown that it had with Greening, it provided entertainment on and off the mats. Brown, in addition to being the wrestling coach, was an officer for the Evanston Police.
One spring night, the school's Athletic Director, Tug Wilson, was driving home when he saw the coach in his squad car at an intersection. The director decided to give the coach "a little workout," and "pushed the accelerator down awfully close to the floorboards."
Wilson saw that the officer was dutifully following him, and began leading him through curves around Evanston. Soon, Wilson decided to call the game to rest, pulling over to "see the look on Wes's face."
But he never did.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't Brown's face, but that of a new man on the force.
In 1948, there was no war to go off to, but Brown was still returning to the Navy. Again, he would be replaced by a Northwestern wrestling alum. This time, it was the decorated Jack Riley, one of two Northwestern athletes at the time to have been an All-American in two separate sports (wrestling and football). Similar to Brown, Riley had been in the armed forces, serving as a Marine for four years and seeing action in the South Pacific. Also like Brown, Riley maintained a second job, but instead of policing, Riley owned a lighting store on the north side of Chicago.
While the school's trophy cabinet was undisturbed during Brown's reign, it was one similarity that Riley would soon break. Jack Herschend was the surprise of the 1952 Big Ten Championships, making a run to lay claim to the 123 lbs. title. The following year, the 115-pounder, Bob Christensen would make a run at that mark. While missing out on the Big Ten title, the team earned a spot at the NCAA Wrestling championships. There, Christensen was named an All-American for finishing second in the nation, the first Wildcat to place at Nationals in over 20 years. On the shoulders of Christensen's results, the Wildcats placed ninth as a team, their highest national finish in years.
After leaving campus, Herschend's professional career proved even more fruitful than his wrestling one. Herschend purchased a 99-year lease on an attraction near Branson, Missouri in 1950. After a decade's work, it was opened as Silver Dollar City, a theme park still in use. Hershend Family Entertainment is now one of the largest family-owned theme park and tourist attraction companies in the country, operating multiple parks, including Dollywood.
With Herschend and Christensen graduated, the team needed a new star. In stepped Ken Kraft. The 167 lbs. wrestler led the team in points scored from 1955-57. His senior season, he swept his final 11 matches en route to the program's 12th individual conference championship. He graduated with a 38-7-2 record for a winning percentage that ranks among the top-10 in program history.
Jack Riley decided in 1957 to retire to spend more time with his lighting business, and Kraft became the next in the long line of Northwestern alumni wrestling coaches. While the Wildcats had been a conference power their first forty years, Kraft would soon push them higher, turning Northwestern into a veritable national powerhouse.
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