The golden age of wrestling
Published on May 9, 2009 by viratas · No Comments
The Open Mat.com
By: NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT (Original here)
At 51, North Chicago native Chris Brown has qualified to compete for a world Greco-Roman title.
Whoever thinks that life slows down after 50 has not met — or wrestled — Chris Brown. The North Chicago High graduate shows no sign of slowing down at the age of 51. He just returned from Las Vegas where he captured the Greco-Roman Division title at 167.5 pounds in the Veteran’s Division at the U.S. National Championships.
He also finished second in the Freestyle Division.
His championship means he will compete for the Veteran’s Division title in Finland in September at the Greco-Roman World Championships.
Many will argue, and rightfully so, that wrestling is not a sport for a lifetime, like golf, tennis, or bowling.
And Brown will freely admit that the mere physical requirements of the sport relegates wrestling to the young, strong, athletic, flexible, and well-conditioned athlete.
Still, for a very few die-hard, seasoned athletes, this rule was meant to be stretched, if not broken, by Veteran’s Division competitors around the U.S. and the world.
We have all seen and felt sorry for an athlete who ventures into the ring, court, or field well past his or her prime. (Think of Willie Mays ending his Hall of Fame baseball career as a stumbling buffoon playing the outfield for the New York Mets.)
Rest assured, you do not have to feel sorry for Chris Brown.
He still competes quite competitively against high school, college, open, and veteran wrestlers.
“Winning a national championship is the result of 38 years of training, conditioning, wrestling, coaching, and dreaming,” said Brown, a 1975 graduate of North Chicago High. “It lets you know that when you work hard, you will accomplish your goals, no matter how long it takes.”
Brown started wrestling at North Chicago High and credits then-coach Bob Therry with laying wrestling and life foundations with many hometown kids.
“Whenever old high-school teammates get together, we still talk about coach Therry and how he would motivate us with his classic stories,” said Brown.
Brown also quarterbacked the Warhawks’ football team and was a member of the school’s 1,600-relay team that qualified for the state track finals.
“We had some great teachers and coaches who really made a difference in our lives,” he said.
When he graduated from high school, he was given the Top Student-Athlete Award, and he then graduated on the Commandants List for leadership from the Air Force Academy in 1979.
While at the Air Force Academy, he wrestled and was a four-year letterman and team leader in pins. He credits his college coach and Olympian, Wayne Baughman, as the greatest wrestling influence on his life.
“My growth and success in the international and Olympic styles of wrestling came after college,” he said.
As a communications and computer-systems officer in the Air Force, Brown was a 12-time All-Air Force Freestyle and Greco-Roman champion and placed numerous times at the Armed Forces Wrestling Championships.
He placed 2nd, 5th, and 7th at the U.S. National Open Championships, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at three U.S. Olympic Regional Trials, and seventh at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1988.
The bittersweet taste of finishing second at last years Veteran’s Greco-Roman National Championships made him want to train even harder to win in 2009.
So, at the age of 51, he finally added a national championship to his career accomplishments.
Chris has coached teams at the youth, high school, college, national and International levels of competition for almost 30 years.
As a dependent of his military wife, Chris is still a North Chicago resident and resides, trains and coaches in the Washington, DC area with the Montgomery County Mat Club.
Tony Barnes, a DC Beltway wrestling commissioner said, “Chris brings a level of coaching experience to the wrestling room that commands attention when he teaches and motivates athletes. The fact that he still wrestles at practice and tournaments earns him respect and provides a positive impact on our kids, coaches, and parents.”
Even with his recent success and busy summer ahead, this married father of three sons is not content to “just be” the U.S. champion.
He says he still competes to show all the kids he coaches, especially his three sons — age 10, 9, and 7 — what hard work and dedication will achieve in life.
“As long as God gives me health, strength, motivation, and relatively pain and injury-free wrestling, I think I’ll continue to compete for a while. Maybe another 12 years and I can retire with 50 years of wrestling. I think that’s long enough,” he said with a smile.
Finland may be a long way from Illinois, but Brown said, “It all started in North Chicago.”
He credits his mother, Johnnie Ruth Brown; Christian Valley Baptist Church; and North Chicago High School as the foundation from which his success springs.
“I don’t know if North Chicago has a world champion,” he said, “but I am going to give my best to represent the Warhawks, Lake County, and the USA and bring home the gold in September.”
Tags: Chris Brown, Veterns Freestyle, Veterns Greco
