Kenny Mara dedicated himself to being the absolute best amateur wrestling referee he could possibly be many years ago and he’s finally being rewarded for a positive career in the business as he will be one of eight individuals inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Let’s be serious for a minute. This is a really big deal. If you’re a baseball player, your dream is Cooperstown. If you’re a football player, it’s Canton. If you’re involved in wrestling, it’s Stillwater.
This news broke around Christmas and immediately, the wheels started turning on how to best honor a man who has been a major difference maker on the wrestling mat, not only in Chattanooga and the state of Tennessee, but on a national level as well.
A list was made of outstanding coaches, referees and sports writers of who could be contacted to fully appreciate just how big an honor this really is.
There were seven such individuals who were contacted by phone and the overwhelming reaction was unanimous about Kenny Mara as he is a very deserving man who is finally being recognized for a career of making a difference on the wrestling mat.
One of the first was long-time coach Schaack Van Deusen, who started his career at Notre Dame and just happened to have Mr. Mara as one of his stars when the Fighting Irish won the team state championship in 1968.
“Kenny was one of my first wrestlers and was captain in 1968 when he won a state title at 132 pounds and we won as a team,” Van Deusen began.
“He had the strength, balance and speed to be a great one and had a good workout partner in Yogi Anderson. This honor this weekend is well deserved. He’s the one who calls it as he sees it and was never out of position. I’ve had a long and fun relationship with him and it’s all been positive, but I’m so happy that’s he’s finally being recognized for his hard work,” the long-time Baylor assistant added.
Gordon Connell was another one who had plenty of positive things to say about his buddy.
Connell created quite a record in a number of years as the McCallie head coach, but he was also involved at the college level, having been the head coach at MTSU before taking the job at McCallie. There was one match in particular at the NCAA finals a few years back that stood out in Connell’s mind.
“Kenny was never scared to make the right call. He was always fair and you didn’t have to worry when he was the referee,” Connell began.
“I’ll never forget a match in the NCAA finals where the kid was the top seed and really good from Iowa. Dan Gable was his coach and Kenny called the guy for stalling. The guy came back and won the match, but that call just showed he was about doing the next right thing.
“Kenny Mara was the epitome of what a wrestling referee was supposed to be,” Connell added.
Steve Henry is another retired coach who made a name for himself at Soddy Daisy. He too has plenty of positive memories of his association with Mara.
“Kenny is a class act and one of the best under pressure at any level,” Henry began.
“He handled tough situations better than anyone and I was always confident the right call would be made when he was on the mat. He set the bar pretty high, but what a huge honor for a guy I consider to be a really dear friend,” Henry said.
Danny Gilbert is another one who has been involved in the sport most of his life as a wrestler, then a coach and finally an official. Like everyone else, Gilbert had nothing but good things to say.
“Kenny Mara defines what a good referee is and we all learned from him,” Gilbert began.
“You never had to worry when he was calling your match as he was the model of consistency. I’ve been on the same mat with him on many occasions. The more time I spent, the more respect I got,” Gilbert said matter of factly.
Mike Parker is like everyone else in that wrestling has been a huge part of his life. Mara wrestled one of Mike’s good friends when he was at East Ridge and at the time was the enemy, but how all of that has changed.
“Kenny was the enemy for a while, but it’s really hard to describe just how good he is as there was no moment in any match too big for him,” Parker said.
“He always called it as he saw it and let the chips fall, but he never got caught up in the moment. He wasn’t worried about anything more than what was happening inside that 28-foot circle,” Parker added.
Turner Jackson had a great career as a wrestler who earned All-America honors at UTC before starting his coaching career at Bradley. He too had nothing but good things to say about Mara.
“There aren’t many people who reach that level in their profession, but I’m so proud of him,” Jackson began.
“He was always fair and knowledgeable and handled controversy well. He’s just a great guy and this is a much-deserved honor for him. He was also really involved in the TSSAA state tournament for many years, so working the national tournaments never changed him,” Jackson praised.
Ward Gossett had a remarkable career as a sports writer at the Times-Free Press, retiring in 2016 after some 48 years covering a lot of prep sports, including more high school wrestling than he can remember. He too has tons of positive memories.
“It’s a well-deserved honor for sure, but Kenny set the standard for wrestling officials,” Gossett said after thinking about it for a minute.
“He was good enough to work local events, even though he was a nationally-renowned referee. Most importantly, he was just a good person who was consistent and always right down the middle with his calls,” Gossett added.
So now you have it. The veterans in the business are all in complete agreement. Kenny Mara is a much-deserving fellow who is finally being rewarded for a career of hard work.
And folks in Chattanooga and around the state and nation are better off for it.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)