Roger Szostek in 1973

I read this story when it was in the paper and I just had to track it down.

 

Bear-wrestling legend lives on

Post-Tribune (IN) - Friday, April 29, 2011

Author: By Dale Bowman ; Post-Tribune correspondent

The image of Victor the Bear hightailing it away from Roger Szostek sticks with Walter Coffman.

“I can still picture in my mind the bear running away,’’ said Coffman, a senior vice president of investment for Raymond James & Associates, Inc. “He was running away. Roger had him down. The bear ran away and he was not coming back. The bear gave up.’’

One of the collective memories for those of a certain age was attending the mega outdoors show at the Amphitheater on South Halsted in Chicago. At its peak, it drew more than 200,000 people from across the Midwest. Watching Victor whip all comers was an iconic part of the show.

That’s where the story of Szostek , a private investigator and former Lake Station police chief, is different.

After seeing an old grainy photo published this winter of Victor pinning an attendee in 1979, he e-mailed, “If you happen to have any pictures of a skinny kid on top of Victor or even on the stage I would love to see them.’’

In 1973, he and four high school friends from East Gary Edison drove to the show. Szostek , who lied about his age and said he was 18, was one of five people picked to wrestle. He wrestled at 165 pounds in high school.

Promoters asked wrestlers to immediately grapple with Victor, whose superior size and strength took over in those bear hugs.

“The bear would just flip them, throw them 10 feet,’’ Coffman said.

But Szostek told his friends he had a strategy, “When he blows that whistle, I am going to take off running toward the bear.’’

And things turned out far different than usual.

“By a fluke of luck, or answer to a quick prayer, I caught Victor off balance and he landed on his back with me on top of him,’’ Szostek said. “I was afraid that he would hurl be into the adjoining pool or worse if I stood up, so Tuffy (Truesdale) told me to just roll off. Which I did.’’

And he ran off. What he didn’t see was Victor running the other way. Truesdale, the fabled wrestler, did exhibitions with Victor.

The story lived on. Coffman has told it dozens of times. Szostek used it as an icebreaker during the interview process with the Secret Service, and one of the interviewers had wrestled Victor.

Coffman had one other memory, “We basically had to drive all the way home with the windows down because he stunk so bad (from the bear).”

Memories are nice, but Szostek would love a photo.

“I would probably pay a $1,000 for that,’’ he said.     

We don't know of any video with Roger but if you are interested in Victor the Wrestling Bear, check out this video..Victor the Wrestling Bear Youtube

     

Where were we in 1993?

Do you remember our class colors, our class flower, or our motto?

Did you forget to attend the 20 year class reunion or maybe you threw out your 20 year class reunion booklet?

Well...all is not lost. Click on the link below and you have access to the 1993 booklet. It will give you something to talk about at your 40th reunion.

1993 Booklet

Remember Graduation

 

 

 

 

'72 East Gary Eagles reigned in football

Remember this...

'72 East Gary Eagles reigned in football

Post-Tribune (IN) - Sunday, October 24, 2004

Author: John Mutka

 

Three years ago, Lake Station came perilously close to shutting down its football program because of bankrupt numbers. It's a sad fact which former coach Gil Hamilton still finds hard to digest.

It was called East Gary during his eight years as coach, which began in 1972. Manpower and victories were plentiful at the home base, which was dubbed the "Mosquito Bowl" because cascading rains frequently turned the riverside site into a soggy mess.

"We'd have a mud trough in the middle of the field," said linebacker Roger Szostek, who teamed up with Bob Deering in East Gary 's 5-2 defense. "We'd take that into account when we ran our plays."

Back then, the current field was used only for practice. On game nights, the Eagles dressed at the school, then walked several blocks. They stopped traffic, crossing Central Avenue to join their opponents.

In Hamilton's first year, he teamed up with assistant coaches Andrew "Ike" Halaschak and Rich Renn to guide the Eagles to 10 consecutive victories. Many were on the soggy side.

"It must have rained six out of the 10 games," Halaschak recalled.

No matter; the Eagles would not be denied. Their average winning margin was 29 points.

Pint-sized tailback Ricky Kemp (5 foot 5, 150 pounds) led the charge, rushing for 22 touchdowns. Quarterback Terry Barth clicked for 18 touchdown passes.

"Larry Pohlmann (preceding coach) worked with Terry ever since his freshman year," Hamilton said. "Terry probably watched more film than any of the coaches. He was so precise with his passes. He preferred dropping back, but could roll out either way."

Barth usually cocked his arm in end Buddy Faroute's direction. One of the finest athletes the school ever produced, Faroute led Northwest Indiana with 41 catches. In basketball, the 6-foot-7 senior racked up career totals of 1,306 points and 940 rebounds, which earned him a scholarship to Wisconsin.

No one was more dedicated to East Gary than Hamilton, a hometown boy who played fullback and tackle for Steve Georgakis. Hamilton matriculated to Murray State in 1966, where he played football and was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference shot-put champion.

Now on disability because of numerous health problems, Hamilton welcomed the chance to reminisce about his 1972 "dream team."

East Gary 's line was anchored by tackle Jim Ring, one of five Eagles named to the Post-Tribune All-Area Team. Mike Skarja and Rich Borisenko joined him. All three tackles were in the mid-200-pound range. In sharp contrast, noseman Jerry Gruitt barely came up to their belt buckles.

"Jerry probably shouldn't even have played football," said Hamilton, "but he was so quick, nobody could block him."

Added Halaschak: "He had no business being on the field. Probably 5-6, 150 at the most, he was as tough as nails."

East Gary 's closest calls were against Lake Central (26-14), Calumet (16-13) and Gary Wallace (18-14). Calumet nearly upset East Gary on one of those rainy nights, taking a 13-0 lead at the half. Hamilton was so upset, he turned the halftime lectures over to his assistants.

"I didn't want to see them," he said. "I was so hot, I was afraid I'd say something I shouldn't."

Halaschak instructed the Eagles to stick to the ground.

"We were dropping passes left and right," he said. "We knew we could run on them."

"Kemp basically took over," Hamilton said.

For East Gary , beating Portage was its primary goal. Once, the rivals shared membership in the disbanded Calumet Conference, but Portage had dominated.

"We only beat them once in my eight years," Hamilton said.

East Gary manhandled the Indians, who were 7-3 that year, by a 30-8 score. That left only Wallace, which nearly stunned the Eagles in the final game.

Szostek remembered how overconfident the Eagles were.

"We thought we were on top of the world," said the former East Gary police chief. "Wirt had beaten them and we beat Wirt (41-6). It turned out to be a scary game."

It was a down year for the Hornets, but they were still dangerous.

"Wallace had the Travline brothers," Hamilton recalled. "We were lucky to get out of there with a win."

During that fairy-tale season, the community rallied around the Eagles , who were ranked sixth in the state. It was a family atmosphere, which some of the players still nurture.

"Every year, for the last 25 years, a bunch of us get together and go to a (college) football game," Szostek said. "We never fail to talk about the 'old war stories.' "

You can't help but wonder how the Eagles would have fared if a state playoff system had capped that memorable season, instead of starting in 1973.

Slowly, East Gary 's climate began to change, starting with renaming the town Lake Station. Renn departed for Valparaiso, where he still serves as defensive coordinator. Halaschak coached at River Forest from 1973-78 and is now the principal of Willowcreek Middle School in Portage.

Still, they'll never forget that magical season, which catapulted a have-not, blue-collar school into the limelight. Think of it as fantasy football coming to life.

"Such a gifted group," Halaschak recalled. "For a school that size, it comes around once in a lifetime."

What made it even more special is that East Gary didn't have to share the spotlight. Unbeatens Hobart and Gary West stumbled in the final weeks, while the Eagles watched from their pedestal.

E-mail John Mutka at jandgmutka@msn.com.

Record Number: 105FFC684E61705A