Wrestlers that went on to unexpected careers

[jdalu75 93]

John Irving, award-winning novelist, wrestled at Phillips Exeter Academy.

[jdalu75 93]

Norman Jack Kleiss (pronounced Kleece), USNA '38, wrestled against Lehigh in the 1937 and '38 duals.  I don't know how good he was overall because Navy wasn't in the EIWA at that time, but he WBF in the 1937 dual and drew with Gus Hagerman in 1938; Hagerman won EIWAs a few weeks later.

Four years after he graduated, flying a dive bomber off USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway, Dusty Kleiss put bombs into two enemy aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser, the only pilot to score three hits in a battle, ever.  Kleiss retired in 1962 as a captain; he lived to 100 and was the last surviving bomber pilot from Midway.  Written late in life with the help of two co-authors, his autobiography Never Call Me A Hero was a bestseller.

 

[TobusRex 1,866]

Roger Frizzel, CEO to Carnival Cruise Lines, was a 4 time All American at OU (4,3,3,3). Next time you ride a Carnival ship and get the ****s, he's the one to complain to!

[Jim L 232]

2 hours ago, jdalu75 said:

John Irving, award-winning novelist, wrestled at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Actually wrestled a year at Pitt, too and worked out with Hawkeye wrestling club when he was at the Iowa writer's conference.

I recommend his book, Imaginary Girlfriend, which is his autobiographical account recounting his wrestling and becoming a writer

[gimpeltf 1,536]

2 hours ago, jdalu75 said:

John Irving, award-winning novelist, wrestled at Phillips Exeter Academy.

 

1 minute ago, Jim L said:

Actually wrestled a year at Pitt, too and worked out with Hawkeye wrestling club when he was at the Iowa writer's conference.

I recommend his book, Imaginary Girlfriend, which is his autobiographical account recounting his wrestling and becoming a writer

Back around the early 80s (I think 83) I was at the head table helping Coach Leeman run the National Preps. He and I were talking and I noticed that a Colin Irving was wrestling for Northfield Mt Hermon. Coach looked out on the mats and went- There's John Irving! He went out and talked with him for a while. It sounded like they both said the same thing. "I've always wanted to meet you!"

[Housebuye 2,157]

5 hours ago, Greatdane67 said:

3x AA Ken Chertow. Went on to create one the greatest mass marketing email platforms for wrestling camps...

I’ve met Chertow a few times and been to a couple clinics he ran. 
  
he is a great wrestler and a good teacher, but he doesn’t ever stop talking about his camps. It’s very annoying when I’m trying to figure out why I can’t finish a single ever 

[bnwtwg 485]

9 hours ago, Greatdane67 said:

3x AA Ken Chertow. Went on to create one the greatest mass marketing email platforms for wrestling camps...

If your team has 12 or more subscribers he gives a discounted rate of only 75 emails per week

[Gambatte 49]

Greg Surenian only wrestled one full season at Lehigh finishing 3rd at the 1971 NCAAs at 125 lbs, losing in the semis to Fujita. He left school and went to Boston to pursue other interests which I thought were music related though I am uncertain. Perhaps Gimpeltf or another of the Lehigh brethren can fill in details. I thought he attended the Berkeley Music Conservatory In Boston. One interesting obscure fact I discovered looking up his wrestling career was that he never won the NJ regionals (3x 2nd place) although he was a 2x NJ State champ. One thing for certain, he was a very exciting wrestler to watch.

[Sstern 119]

Has anyone ever seen Finalthoughts, Logan Paul and Ken Chertow in the same room at the same time?

[gimpeltf 1,536]

2 hours ago, Gambatte said:

Greg Surenian only wrestled one full season at Lehigh finishing 3rd at the 1971 NCAAs at 125 lbs, losing in the semis to Fujita. He left school and went to Boston to pursue other interests which I thought were music related though I am uncertain. Perhaps Gimpeltf or another of the Lehigh brethren can fill in details. I thought he attended the Berkeley Music Conservatory In Boston. One interesting obscure fact I discovered looking up his wrestling career was that he never won the NJ regionals (3x 2nd place) although he was a 2x NJ State champ. One thing for certain, he was a very exciting wrestler to watch.

We knew went to Boston but the story we heard was to sell candles!

We have no idea. It looks like he set up a small family business about a dozen years ago but no idea what it is.

[MadMardigain 1,275]

Alex Cisneros’ Energy Drink empire.  Oh yeah...nevermind. 

Edited August 22, 2020 by MadMardigain

[manatree 9]

A lot of these careers are not at all unexpected.

 

Is it really unexpected that Neil deGrasse Tyson became an astrophysicist after getting a degree in physics from Harvard, a Masters in astronomy at Texas and a PhD in astrophysics at Columbia? 

 

Norman Borlaug, grew up on a farm and got a degree in forestry and a PhD in plant pathology goes on to become an agronomist.

 

John Irving became a writer after getting a BA in English and an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. 

 

Roger Frizzell, degree in public relations becomes a corporate executive. 

 

Nate Parker, degree in management, becomes an actor is unexpected. Most of the rest mentioned, not so much.

Edited August 22, 2020 by manatree

[TobusRex 1,866]

19 hours ago, Housebuye said:

I’ve met Chertow a few times and been to a couple clinics he ran. 
  
he is a great wrestler and a good teacher, but he doesn’t ever stop talking about his camps. It’s very annoying when I’m trying to figure out why I can’t finish a single ever 

Plus he talks like that motormouth guy on the old Federal Express commercials. I've noticed lots of little guys do.

 

[Gambatte 49]

20 hours ago, gimpeltf said:

We knew went to Boston but the story we heard was to sell candles!

We have no idea. It looks like he set up a small family business about a dozen years ago but no idea what it is.

Thanks for this more likely version. My imagination had me heading down a path of a Tale of Armenian Ashkenazi Klezmer Music Tradition. Both are good stories and as Black Elk said, “ ... whether it happened so or not I do not know; but if you think about it, it is true.”