Former wrestler Ed Gottwalds had plans for adulthood.
Like all young people, he planned to bring down the world. However, he ended up winning the match.
Gottwalds is a former wrestler from Chambersburg who graduated from the university with a degree in political science. His plan was to work on government issues.
A twist of fate changed his strategy.
Although Gottwalds was pursuing a career in politics, he decided to accept a part-time job as a sportswriter at his hometown newspaper.
he loved it. He decided to escape.
Suddenly, the topic of politics was left on the mat as Gotwals focused full-time on sports writing. I won by decision.
For nearly half a century, Gottwalds was a steady staple of Franklin County sports coverage (all athletics, including wrestling). He was a local man whom readers had known for 40 years at Chambersburg Public Opinion.
Gottwalds' accomplishments as a writer and passion for wrestling were cemented last month when he was inducted into the District 3 Wrestling Hall of Fame for his reporting and dedication to the sport.
Note the states:He failed to reach his goal two years ago.Chambersburg senior is currently the District 3 wrestling champion
in retrospect:Top 25 wrestlers in Franklin County District 3 over the past 25 years
Q: Wrestling is a popular sport, but it doesn't seem to get the same amount of coverage and attention as baseball, football, and basketball. You used to compete as a wrestler, what drew you to this sport and what made you pursue it so passionately?
A: Of course, ever since I started wrestling, I really appreciated the sport. That's why I wanted to write about it. I'm obviously biased, but I think wrestling is the best sport played in schools. It's very rewarding. Although it is a team sport, it is also an individual sport.
When you're there, it's just you, yourself, and me. You are in charge of the outcome in terms of what you can do. You don't have to worry about your teammates or anything like that. It's just 1 to 1.
I think it is valuable for growing children to experience that they are the only ones responsible.
If you think about wrestling, there are probably a lot of other individual sports where you compete against someone else at the same time. But with wrestling, it's physical in nature. It's really just you and that guy…or in this case, since women's wrestling has become pretty popular, it's you and that girl.
The one-on-one aspect makes it pretty cool.
Q: You graduated from college with a degree in political science. How did you end up covering professional wrestling?
A: When I graduated, I sent out a bunch of letters trying to get into politics or something…I was working in an office or something. That didn't work out, but I knew there was a part-time sportswriting job available at Public Opinion. I thought I'd give it a try until I could get something else.
I applied and they decided to make it a full-time job. I said, “Well, you can try it for a while.” Then I got involved with it and loved almost every aspect of it.
Q: Sportswriters look for angles. When covering a professional wrestling match, what is your purpose and what story are you trying to tell?
A: If you're covering a dual match, I'm always looking for unheralded players. He's the guy who might be able to save some by winning a big match that he wasn't expecting, or maybe not being pinned when he was expected to be. team points.
The really good kids look out for themselves because it's expected of them and they're probably going to win. I'm looking for something a little different – perhaps something that exceeds my child's expectations.
When it comes to the postseason, it seems like you've found something along these lines, but when you're trying to write about kids that everyone knows, you try to look for something a little different. I would like to ask them about the strategies they tried to take. If I had wrestled this kid a while ago, would I have done anything differently?
Q: What is your most memorable moment from covering pro wrestling?
A: Any time you cover a kid who wins a state championship, you have to start. In Pennsylvania, that's an incredibly difficult feat.
When people ask me that, and I think of the sports that Penn State is considered the best in the country for, the only two that come to mind are wrestling and field hockey. So if you win a state championship in wrestling, you've faced a really big challenge.
Since I've covered wrestling, I think it's only happened four times (in Franklin County). We had a kid named Kurt Bowman from Waynesboro, we had Garrett Hammond from Chambersburg who won two state titles, and Luke Nichter won another.
At that moment you can see it. You know the kids back then, so you know how much it meant to them to win a state championship. It's huge.
Q: What is your most memorable team?
A: The first year Chambersburg reached the finals of the District 3 team championship (2013). This was the coolest thing because they had never done it before and they had three really close games to win the championship.
Unfortunately, the championship didn't go very well. They played Central Dauphin and didn't do very well (losing 50-6). The three games leading up to that point were really close, with a lot of interesting results.
It was our first time so everyone was very excited and it was fun to write.
And since last year's (2023) Chambersburg team made it to the state tournament, they will play doubles at the Giant Center. Unfortunately, my timing was pretty bad. I was in Myrtle Beach at the time, so I was reporting from afar.
It was great to see them play against some really strong teams that we hear about every year.
The last year Garrett Hammond was at Chambersburg (2012), there were several other kids who made it to the state tournament. In fact, they finished in the top five in the team rankings. It was like, “Hey, Chambersburg is really on the map, this is it.”
Q: Are there any wrestlers or coaches that would be perfect for your story?
A: Someone asked me that the other day. There was a kid named Dave West from Waynesboro…That was the first year I became a writer.
He was a heavyweight and had a really good season. I was very good friends with my coach, and one day he said to me that this kid had a tough upbringing. He asked questions about creating stories. He told the child and they agreed to do so.
I think the people we interviewed with were the athletic director, the head coach, the assistant coach and this kid. It turned out that he had a very harsh life from an early age. He got into a bit of trouble over who he was running around with. He was placed in a foster care facility. It was the worst start to his life.
And in high school, he realized, “I have to do something here to better myself.” He had just turned the corner. He quit everything else and got really good at it. He might have been a district finalist or something.
It was the first really good full-length novel I'd written, in terms of subject matter. It was like the story was written itself. I'll always remember it because it was so cool to do that.
Another thing I remember is that Chambersburg College was in a duals tournament, and there was a kid from another school who started his senior year and was one win away from getting to 100, and he was playing in the tournament. I got injured during the season.
For some reason, the kids in Chambersburg heard about this and got together and said, “Why don't we let him play in a game (during the tournament)?” One of them offered him a forfeiture.
When they started the match, the boy stepped onto the mat. Then the kid from Chambersburg didn't show up (to the game), so the kid won by forfeit and got his 100th win. Otherwise, he didn't have any other chances that year.
Q: Are there any coaches on that list?
A: I think wrestling coaches as a whole are really fun people to talk to, so I can name a lot of them.
My Hall of Fame presenter was Doug Line, who was my coach at Chambersburg. He's the one who actually started this program. I think Doug had a pretty big influence on a lot of things that have happened, so it was pretty cool to see (Chambersburg wrestling) get better.
I covered them for years. They always managed to produce good children here and there. The team itself didn't do much until a while after Doug got there. ”
Q: When the time finally comes for you to step away from writing, will you still be involved in wrestling and other Chambersburg sports?
A: I don't know exactly what I will do, but I can't imagine not being interested. I’ll probably go see some games… I probably won’t travel much. I am sure that I will continue to be involved in some way in the future as much as I can.
The weird thing is, I don't have to write a novel to drive home. I don't know what that's like.
Q: Do you have any regrets about not finding a job in political science?
A: No, definitely not. It would have been just as interesting. It wouldn't have been all that rewarding either.
Meet Ed Gottwalds
He will be inducted into the District 3 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2024 for his 47 years covering high school wrestling, including 45 District 3 Championships.
Year: 69
Career: Retired Chambersburg Opinion Sports Writer (1976) and Sports Editor (2000-2017). He is currently the lead contributor to TheSportsPage.blog, a Franklin County sports site that covers high school sports. His game broadcaster on Chambersburg Radio and Mid-His Penn Broadcast TV. Part-time employee of Penn National Golf Club.
high school: Chambersburg High School, Class of 1972. He competed in wrestling for four seasons and became the first Trojan wrestler to reach the District 3 semifinals.
College: Gettysburg College, Class of 1976; He has a bachelor's degree in political science.
Other honors: 2019 PA Wrestling Roundup Media Award Winner.
Personal: Married to his wife Elizabeth.
