Prep Wrestling's Holy War

Notre Dame-Father Ryan Battles, 1968-71

  • Monday, February 6, 2012
  • B.B. Branton

It was prep wrestling’s version of the Holy War.

The best two teams in the TSSAA – Notre Dame and Father Ryan – stood toe-to-toe and traded duals wins on Sunday afternoons before huge crowds and swapped four state crowns, from 1968-71.

The names are legendary – Pez Whatley, Martin Francis, Yogi Anderson, Ken Mara
And for the guys in Purple – the royal and heavenly color ...  but as one Notre Dame alum once said . ..” who ever heard of Purple Irish?” ... Frank Baltz, Bubba Donnelly, Tim Wilson and Eric Wood.

“My brothers and I had never seen anything as exciting as a Ryan – Notre Dame match on those Sunday afternoons when we were growing up,” said Father Ryan coach Pat Simpson who wrestled in those Holy Wars in 1973 and 1974. “We were hooked and knew we wanted to be part of that.”

The Sunday Holy War Matches started in 1968.
Here is a close look at four duals.

Year ... Dual Winner ...  State Champion
1968 ...  Notre Dame ...  Notre Dame
1969 ...  Father Ryan ...  Father Ryan
1970 ...  Notre Dame ...  Notre Dame
1971 ...  Father Ryan ...  Father Ryan

(Note: The ND-Ryan Sunday matches ended in the early 1980s)
 

Sunday Jan. 21, 1968 (at Notre Dame): Notre Dame won, 24-19
Undefeated
- Both teams entered the match at 8-0-0 ... ND’s Pez Whatley pinned Phil Mattlingly in the final match to break the 19-19 tie and secure the win ... ND finished the season at 14-0 and won the state, dethroning two-time defending state champ East Ridge.
 
Steve Christison put ND up 3-0 with a 7-1 win against Roy Garr at 98 pounds … Ryan won the next two by decision for a 6-3 lead, but would not win again until Scott Brunette defeated Bill Glascock, 3-0, at 156 … ND led 19-11 after 156, but Ryan gained a pin and a decision at 167 and 183 to tie the match at 19-19.

Whatley posted the fall in 3:06 for the team win.

What It Was All About: “We prayed together (mass) on Sunday morning, ate lunch together at noon and then beat the heck out of each other at 3 p.m.,” said former Notre Dame state champion Ken Mara who beat Greg Garr, 3-2, on riding time at 135 pounds in 1968.

State Champions in the Match (4; past champs or ones who won it that year): Yogi Anderson, Ken Mara, Pez Whatley … Ryan – Frank Baltz … all four won that day.

In a battle of future state champs at 147, Steve Hammond (ND) tumbled Bubba Donnelly (Ryan) from the unbeaten ranks, 3-2, on riding time … both would win state titles in 1969. .. Donnelly had beaten Hammond earlier in the season at the Red Bank (now Central) Invitational ... At 129, ND’s Yogi Anderson knocked Charles Hosey from the unbeaten ranks with a 2-0 decision.

NOTE: McCallie assistant coach Jim Morgan was the referee … ND finished 14-0 that season … Ryan is referred to as the Panthers in the Chattanooga Free Press story

Sunday, Feb.2, 1969 (at Father Ryan): Ryan won, 20-19
Ryan entered the match 11-0 and, as was the case in 1968, the match came down to heavyweight ... This time Ryan’s Phil Mattingly did not get pinned and the Purple Irish won and went on the win the state championship (its first of 11 traditional titles, 1969-2009) and win it all again in two years.

With a pair of young Simpson brothers in the crowd (Pat and Frank), a Notre Dame freshman named Martin Francis walked on the mat at 98 pounds and started things off with a 6-0 win against Doug Henard.

The teams swapped wins until Notre Dame held a 16-14 advantage with three weights to go … Ryan’s Frank Baltz (168) and Jim Wilson (178) posted decisions for a 20-16 advantage entering the Whatley-Mattingly match.

With a roaring crowd on its feet, Notre Dame needed a five-point pin from 1968 state champ Pez Whatley for the victory. But Mattingly lost 5-2, avoided the pin and preserved the win. Ryan would go on to win the state title; the first for any school outside of the greater Chattanooga area.

“After Phil lost his match and saved the win for Ryan, his teammates carried him around the gym on their shoulders in a victory celebration. I had never seen a guy who lost, get carried around as a hero,” said Nashville attorney John Popham with a laugh, Saturday night at the TSSAA state duals in Franklin. Popham played football and baseball for Notre Dame in the mid-1960s and was an NCAA Postgraduate Scholar in football at The University of the South.

 Notre Dame ended the season at 11-3.

State Champions in the Match (6; past champs or ones who won it that year): Notre Dame – Martin Francis, Reggie Gaddis, Steve Hammond, Pez Whatley … Ryan – Bubba Donnelly, Scott Brunette

Five of the six won that day … Brunette and 1970 state champ Bill Glascock tied, 5-5, at 157.

Sunday Feb. 8, 1970 (at Notre Dame): Notre Dame won, 26-20
Notre Dame entered the match 10-4 while Ryan had won 11 straight since an early season loss to Baylor.  Notre Dame kept the same scenario going of home team wins the duals and later claims the state title. ND would wait 36 years to win another team title; a three-peat in the D-I A-AA duals (2006-07-08).

Notre Dame started fast with pins from Bill Higney and Martin Francis, but Ryan countered with four straight wins to lead 12-10 at the halfway mark.

Match of the Day: A 14-13 win by David Held at 148 gave Notre Dame the lead by one (13-12) and would prove to be the match of the day. Held trailed 5-0 entering the third period, but scored 14 points in the final two minutes on three reversals, a predicament (2-pt near fall) and two near falls (3-pt near falls) for the win .. The two wrestlers scored nine points in the final 23 seconds and the gym was rockin’ …

After the match, Notre Dame head coach Schaack Van Deusen said, “David Held won it for us. Wasn’t that a tremendous rallying effort.?”

Notre Dame kept things rolling with two pins and a decision in the next three weights to secure the win before 1,000 fans … led 26-12 with only two matches remaining … Pete Musgrove (fall) and Tony Marchetti (decision) gave Ryan eight team points.

State Champions in the Match (4; past champs or ones who won it that year): ND – Martin Francis, Bill Glascock … Ryan – Joe Morales, Kevin Lenehan … all four won that day
 
Sunday Jan. 31, 1971 (at Father Ryan): Ryan won, 26-11
Before a standing-room-only crowd, Ryan won by the surprising score of 26-11and improved to 9-2 … Ryan, who had also beaten defending national prep champs Baylor earlier in the season, would win again in 1974 and 1977.

Notre Dame won two of the first three weights (Paul Erikson and Martin Francis), bur besides a tie (two team points) at 140, the Chattanooga wrestlers would not win again until David Cowan had a decision at heavyweight.

After Francis’ win at 114, Ryan won seven of the next eight (all by decision) for a 26-8 lead before heavyweight … no pins on the day and one tie … Ryan’s Wayne Coverdale (187) stayed perfect at 16-0, defeating Henry Jones, 5-0 .

State Champions in the Match (3; past champs or one who won it that year) ND – Martin Francis … Ryan – Eric Wood, Tim Wilson … all three won that day.

The two teams stopped wrestling on Sundays in the early 1980s ... someone should highly suggest the two schools resume this great Sunday afternoon tradition once again and soon ... a great way to have wrestling alums from both schools re-unite and for the current wrestlers to learn of the past.

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

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