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Question for wrestling fans from early 70's....re: Kevin Love...

Somerset Panther

Somerset Panther

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My father was principal at Carnegie High School in the late 60's and Carlynton in 1970 when they merged. Wrestling was king there at that time, and they had a 138-145 pounder named Kevin Love. He won at least 2 state championships and maybe three. Anyway, I know he matriculated to Pitt about that time that Chapman was there. We moved from Munhall to Somerset in 1971, and I can remember watching PSU-Pitt up at Rec Hall in 71 or 72. I think Pitt only won two matches that night with Love winning one of them. Did Love only wrestle one year? He did not wrestle at nationals that I know of, and I wondered if anyone knew what ever happened to him.

Thanks
This post was edited on 2/9 9:00 PM by Somerset Panther
 
He lasted 1 year. Would have been great, actually was great. Grades were a big problem. Have no idea what happened after that.
 
If my memory is correct, Kevin wasn't eligible to wrestle as a freshman (grades). He wrestled intramurals where he (predictably) tore it up. He then wrestled varsity as a sophomore and won the Eastern League title at 150, then withdrew from Pitt.

He and Chatman were dorm roomies.

There were rumors that Kevin later suffered serious burns in a fire, but I can't confirm this.....
 
Correct. He was prop 48. He would have won the NCAA tournament if he had stayed.
 
Parrothead: When I was at Westminster in mid 70's a Carnegie kid that i

was there with mentioned the same thing about Kevin being severely burned in some sort of accident. Too bad he never got to fully make his mark at Pitt. I think he'd have jhad a decent chance to be a national champ.
 
Re: Parrothead: When I was at Westminster in mid 70's a Carnegie kid that i


Originally posted by Somerset Panther:
was there with mentioned the same thing about Kevin being severely burned in some sort of accident. Too bad he never got to fully make his mark at Pitt. I think he'd have jhad a decent chance to be a national champ.
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I lived on the same dorm floor as Kevin, "Bimbo", and later, George "Fuddy" Bryant from Wash High. All good, fun-loving guys....

Pitt had some great wrestlers back then. The Payne Brothers were still there, too, but the story/rumor was that they left the team allegedly over the coach forcing them to get their long hair cut! (The early 70's was like that.)
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Re: Parrothead: When I was at Westminster in mid 70's a Carnegie kid that i

The Paynes left the wrestling team because they got removed from school because of drugs/grades. Great wrestlers, but drugs were a big problem. Both using and selling. Mark had an issue of not wanting to cut weight. The hair was not an issue with Pitt, but an issue with the NCAA rules.
 
Re: Parrothead: When I was at Westminster in mid 70's a Carnegie kid that i

Thanks for clarifying. The hair issue might have been the excuse given to cover-up the real issues? In any case, Pitt had some talent in those days. It's a shame that they never reached their potential.
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Re: I knew him fairly well

from wrestling. He was one year behind me when I wrestled for Mellon Jr High in Lebo and he was at Harding Jr High in Carnegie. He won states two years (1969 and 1970) He lost in the WPIAL finals in 1969 to my best friend in high school, Lynn Housner who won the state championship that year at 138.

Kevin went to Pitt and I know he won the Easterns his freshman year but he may have dropped out his sophomore or junior year. I don't think he ever graduated from Pitt. I don't know if he is still alive or not. There were some ugly rumors that went around in the seventies but I don't know if they were true.

You probably remember Ted Bouyoucas who transferred from Lebo to Carlynton and graduated in 1971. He died about ten years ago from cancer.
 
Re: I heard that the fire

was because he was dating a white girl in North Carolina. The trailer was reportedly fire bombed. Like you I have no idea if it is true.
 
Re: That Pitt team had a lot of talent.

Too bad the coach couldn't develop it. They had the Payne brothers, Chatman, Love, Kuhn brothers, Flemming, Caramanna and a bunch of others.
 
Re: That Pitt team had a lot of talent.

They also had Ralph Cindrich. 2nd place in NCAA his 2 nd year. Coach was good, but there was cancer on the team and almost none of those kids finished Pitt.
 
I don't know what the problem was with those Dave Adams' teams, but there clearly was a major problem. He could recruit and had good talent but the results weren't there. I am not sure he really wanted to be a wrestling coach. He later became the AD at San Jose State.

I remember one match when Pitt had 4 guys wrestle against PSU wrestlers they had wrestled and beaten in HS -- and all four lost. Kevin and one of the Payne brothers were major, major talents.
 
Thanks Dallas. I do remember that name. As I said my Dad was the

first principal at carlynton after the merger, but we moved in late 71. Love was an awesome wrestler who I guess couldn't handle the school work load. Too bad, I think he may have had a shot at a NC.
 
Re: I knew him fairly well


Originally posted by Dallas Burgher:

You probably remember Ted Bouyoucas who transferred from Lebo to Carlynton and graduated in 1971. He died about ten years ago from cancer.
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Anyone who saw the Bouyoucas-O'Korn match in the WPIAL final in the Pitt Fieldhouse will never forget Ted Bouyoucas.

I took my girlfriend (later-to-be-wife) to that match. It was the first high school wrestling match that she'd ever seen, and she walked out of there shocked by the drama/circus that ensued....it was amazing. The "watching a train wreck" analogy fits it perfectly.

But my girlfriend/wife became a wrestling fan and accompanied me to the state tournament many times afterward.
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Re: Ted went through a very tough time with

drugs and all things that entails. He was second string to me at Lebo and was a strange guy even then. I think he had some very serious problems that stemmed from childhood. Talked to his sister at our 40th reunion and Ted was brought up. The more I hear the sadder the story becomes.
 
He won EIWA's in 1972 - anyone know why he didn't wrestle at NCAAs? He's nowhere in the bracket that year.
 
Kevin was a stud and the toughest wrestler that I was ever associated, he had the talent to win several NCAA crowns. I was on the team with the Payne brothers (New York), Randy (younger of the brothers) as a freshman was runner up at 126 at the NCAA's, 1st year freshman were eligible. Pitt had talent, Bimbo Chatman (Trinity), Kevin Love (Carnegie), Gary McClure (Waynesburg), Dave Wylie (Avella), Fuddy Bryant (Wash High), Ray Dallatore (Trinity). Kevin only wrestled as a sophomore and won Easterns with 3 pins in 4 matches if I remember correctly. Never went to nationals or returned to the team. I ran into him a few years ago in Bridgeville and believe he may have been an assistant pastor in a Baptist Church. All basically regressed except for Fuddy. Off the mat issues destroyed ruined many talented Pitt wrestlers at that time.
 
jbuzzatto said:
Kevin was a stud and the toughest wrestler that I was ever associated, he had the talent to win several NCAA crowns. I was on the team with the Payne brothers (New York), Randy (younger of the brothers) as a freshman was runner up at 126 at the NCAA's, 1st year freshman were eligible. Pitt had talent, Bimbo Chatman (Trinity), Kevin Love (Carnegie), Gary McClure (Waynesburg), Dave Wylie (Avella), Fuddy Bryant (Wash High), Ray Dallatore (Trinity). Kevin only wrestled as a sophomore and won Easterns with 3 pins in 4 matches if I remember correctly. Never went to nationals or returned to the team. I ran into him a few years ago in Bridgeville and believe he may have been an assistant pastor in a Baptist Church. All basically regressed except for Fuddy. Off the mat issues destroyed ruined many talented Pitt wrestlers at that time.
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Great post. As I said in another thread, anyone who lived in Pitt's dorms in the early 1970's was exposed to a serious party atmosphere. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best place for athletes who weren't single-minded and focused like.....say, Dan Gable. ;)
 
Great poll question: would Dan Gable have been able to live in the Towers and be as successful as he was?
 
Pitt also had 2 other multiple NY state champs at the two wt classes above Randy Payne. They were very talented also. They both lasted 1 year only. One of them only lost one or two matches in HS and both were to Randy Payne.
 
guyutethepig said:
Great poll question: would Dan Gable have been able to live in the Towers and be as successful as he was?
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Gable was different. If the reports are accurate, he was passionately driven by the horrific death of his sister. He focused his anger and intensity into wrestling. It became his obsession.
 
The reports are accurate about his being driven like no one else. Gable stories are legend. I have spent a reasonable amount of time with Dan and he is a very interesting guy.
 
Panther Parrothead said:
Gable was different. If the reports are accurate, he was passionately driven by the horrific death of his sister. He focused his anger and intensity into wrestling. It became his obsession.
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That is accurate - my "poll" comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
 
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