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A summer read #129920 07/12/08 02:31 AM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 393
Ryan Jilka Offline OP
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 393
I realize this isn't really a HS wrestling topic, but I just came across a story I'd never heard about a wrestler that might just be the craziest I've ever heard of.

**Disclaimer** I do not condone the actions of what Chuck Jean did. I laughed my butt off, but don't condone it. wink


found on http://www.illinoismatmen.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-6081.html

Here is the deer story on Chuck Jean:



HEADLINE: Jean among wrestling legends at Albert Lea

BODY: The walls of the wrestling room at Albert Lea High School are
covered with lists of accomplishments and photographs from the Tigers'
glorious past. Larry Goodnature, the current Albert Lea coach, is one
of the wrestlers prominently mentioned on these walls of honor.

"We've had an Olympian in Gary Neist. Tom Jean was a three-time state
champion," Goodnature said. "We've had a lot of great wrestlers. But
Charlie is always the one who sticks out."

"Charlie" is Chuck Jean, a state champion for Albert Lea in 1967, a
two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State in 1969 and 1970 and a two-time
NAIA champion for Adams (Colo.) State in 1972 and 1973.

Chuck was the oldest of four brothers. "They never lifted a weight, but
when a wrestler put his hands on a Jean, it was like grabbing steel,"
Goodnature said.

Two years ago, Goodnature arranged to have the Albert Lea wrestling
boosters come up with a stipend to make Chuck Jean a paid assistant.
This winter, he was added as a full-fledged assistant, paid by the
school district.

There is some wear in the eyes of Chuck Jean, there is a hint of
cauliflower in his ears, but that 5-foot-8, 180-pound body still has
the look of steel. There is a slight smile and a look of resignation
when Jean is asked about the most famous match of his career.

"Old Sammy was a 14-year-old, 300-pound, 10-point buck," Jean said. "He
was kept in a big pen, with a bunch of does, in Boone State Park.

"Don Gillespie, our 190-pounder at Iowa State, bet me a 12-pack that I
couldn't take that buck. Gillespie dropped me off and was going to come
back 15 minutes later.

"I jumped in the pen with a big Bowie knife. Sammy and I stared at each
other and then he charged. He stuck his antlers right into my chest and
the Bowie knife went flying. There was a feeding trough and he carried
me 15, 20 feet and slammed me into the trough. I got a lock on his neck
and threw him to the ground. All this time, he was kicking me. His
hooves turned the backs of my legs into raw meat.

"I had a pocket knife with a small blade on me. I got that out. It took
10 minutes of war before I finished him. Gillespie came back and was
screaming, 'Let's go.' I said, 'I'm getting my buck.'

"I flipped him over the fence. This was a 300-pound buck, so that
wasn't easy. I threw that bloody carcass across Gillespie's new Gran
Torino, which made him mad. A few days later, we had a keg party and
barbecued Sammy.

"I had that old buck mounted. Last I heard, Sammy's head was in a bowling alley in Trenton, Missouri."

The demise of Old Sammy became an issue in the Ames and Des Moines
media. "The game warden heard rumors and started showing up at
wrestling practice," Jean said. "One day, Nick [coach Harold Nichols]
said, 'They have no evidence, Chuck. They want you to admit to a lesser
offense.' I took the deal."

The match with Old Sammy occurred a couple of weeks before Jean won his
second national title in 1970. That spring, trouble came to the Iowa
State campus in the form of a riot with strong racial overtones.



"I was identified as being in the middle of it," Jean said. "For about
four days there, it was a battle between me and President Nixon for the
top of the front page in the Des Moines newspaper."

Eventually Chuck, the school and the authorities agreed his time at
Iowa State had come to an end. He spent 18 months in the Army, then
went to Adams State in Alamosa, Colo. After winning two NAIA titles, he
stayed in Alamosa and bought a saloon.

Jean's first wife was killed in a car accident. His second wife, Julie
Rahn, had been a cheerleader with Chuck's sister at Albert Lea High.
Chuck and Julie moved back to Albert Lea in 1984, when the oldest of
their three children was six months old.

The raconteur of the wrestling room is now a quiet family man. He is a
roofer from the middle of March to Thanksgiving, a wrestling coach the
rest of the time. It's a two-man crew on the roofs of Albert Lea -
Chuck and his 75-year-old father, Red.

The Jeans have sons and wrestlers, Justin and Jeremy, in the sixth and
fifth grades. Their daughter, Melissa, 8, has spina bifida. She has had
eight major surgeries.

"People in wrestling - we think we're tough," Jean said. "Compared to
Melissa, we're nothing. If a wrestler could have the spirit and desire
Melissa shows every day, he would never lose a match."

The Albert Lea Tigers had headed to the mats. A straggler, a block of a
kid named Jeff Long, smiled at Jean and said: "Come on, Chicken Wing. I
got something for you today."

Many years ago, Manny Holmes was the 167-pounder for Mason City (Iowa)
Community College. The Iowa State freshmen were scheduled to wrestle
Manny's team. A quote from Holmes in the Mason City newspaper - "It's
too bad Jean won't be down to 167 for this match" - made its way to
Ames.

"I cut 33 1/2 pounds in three days to get to 167," Jean said. "Manny was down 17-1 when I pinned him."

Please, young Jeff Long, take this advice: When referring to Chuck Jean as "Chicken Wing," never forget to smile.


"The days I can keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are good days" ~ Judy Hubbard
Re: A summer read [Re: Ryan Jilka] #129921 07/12/08 04:58 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,266
Ricky Bobby Offline
Member
Offline
Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,266
Good ole' Chuck Jean could have been the first NCAA D1 four time national champion if he hadn't killed that deer. I'd say it was worth it for that story. They should make a movie about this guy's college days, I bet they were awesome.


[Linked Image from media1.tenor.com]

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