If you walked in any Chattanooga area gym for the last half century and heard that high-pitched, distinct laugh, you knew it belonged to Charlie Goss.
You then could walk in most any area gym during the past four decades or more and kids who wore the Orange and White singlets of East Ridge, plus coaches sitting matside – sometimes both sets of opposing coaches – plus the refs calling the matches had been coached, mentored or touched in some way by the life of Charlie Goss who passed away Sunday morning at the age of 68.
* Tuesday’s Funeral: The 3:30 p.m. funeral will be held at Ridgedale Baptist Church on 1831 Hickory Valley Road.
Dedicating most of his life to the sport of amateur wrestling, Goss’ widespread legacy spanned from being the first state champ from East Ridge (1964), to being known as the czar, along with Hardin Satterfield, of the youth wrestling leagues in the Chattanooga area to coaching and officiating.
“A lot of our wrestling success in Chattanooga is due to that youth league formed by Charlie and Hardin that ran for so long,” said former East Ridge state champ, hall of fame coach and official Danny Gilbert who is the current principal at Soddy Daisy High School.
“If you look at the kids that came through that program it’s unbelievable. Now, a lot of people share in the credit for the league’s success, but Charlie was a huge part of it. Without him there was no league. ”
* City-County Wrestling: Satterfield recalls that he and Goss helped bring together the various area youth teams and tournaments under one organization and started the first city-county championship at the Central YMCA in the mid-1970s.
“There were several youth tournaments and clubs around the city including Gra-Y, St. Jude, Red Bank, Senter School, teams at Fairyland and Lookout Mountain Schools and others, but Charlie led the way starting in the mid-1970s to the late 1990s to form a cohesive, structured larger organization and the season-ending tournament,” said Satterfield who wrestled at Brained HS in the early 1970s and coached Gra-Y wrestling (and other sports) along with wrestling at Tyner Jr. Tyner HS and Heritage HS for two decades.
“Thanks to Charlie’s hard work and persistence, kids from across the city have able to wrestle against each other on a consistent basis over the years and the city-county championship is still held today.”
* Halls of Fame: His tireless work for years to develop a great wrestling base for the Chattanooga area has been rewarded as he is a member of the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame, East Ridge High School Hall of Fame and the Tenn. Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“Charlie was so instrumental in bringing together the youth wrestling in our area under one banner and did it for no glory for himself, but for the betterment of the sport,” said former East Ridge wrestler and coach and National Wrestling Hall of Fame member Mike Parker.
“He was a great icon for our sport.”
* Mount Rushmore: If there was a Mount Rushmore for contributors to the sport in this area, the obvious faces would include Major Luke Worsham, Col. Dave Spencer, John Farr, Al Miller, Steve Henry, Steve Logsdon and Turner Jackson.
Charlie Goss stands right there with those icons, shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side and equal in contributions to the sport in every way.
“Charles treated everyone the same and loved every kid who walked through that door at the Goss Wrestling Building at East Ridge,” said former East Ridge coach Brad Jackson who is the current East Hamilton High School athletics director.
“He was my assistant for 17 years and I was the better coach and person for having him sitting in the corner with me all those years.”
* Goss the Wrestler: Thanks to East Ridge coaches Mac Franklin and Ed Woodham, the Pioneers first mats in the early 1960s were old mattresses donated from Lee University, tied together with rope with athat tough canvas cover and the Orange and White were in business ready to take on the already established programs at Red Bank, Chattanooga City, Rossville, McCallie, Baylor and others.
Goss started the long line of individual and team successes with an upset win of Red Bank defending state champ Jim Beatty in the 1964 state finals in March after losing to Beatty in the strong City Prep tournament in February and he had the school’s first state crown.
“Charlie is a huge part of the foundation of East Ridge wrestling which made it one of the top programs statewide from the early 1960s to the late 1980s,” stated Gilbert who is the current Soddy Daisy principal.
Following the Goss state medal, the Pioneers quickly added state team titles in 1966-67 (under coaches Franklin and Woodham), and then another one under Woodham in 1972, followed by a Mike Parker-coached team crown in 1975, two under Charlie’s younger brother Lynn Goss (1983-84) and a state duals crown in 1991 under the tutelage of coach Gilbert.
No other school had more state traditional team titles in that 19-year period (1966-1984) than East Ridge with six, followed by Father Ryan (4), Baylor (3), Notre Dame (2), McCallie (2), Hixson (1) and Cleveland (1).
Charlie Goss started the East Ridge winning tradition a half century ago and many have continued to carry the orange and white banner.
“Charlie Goss was my friend and I will miss him, “Gilbert stated. “He was East Ridge wrestling, period.”
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net