Memorial Service for Blue Devil Great Draws Crowd
While the Huntington High School wrestling program has had many great athletes in its ranks through the years, Willie Gadson will always have a special place of honor reserved just for him. A crowd of about 250 turned out last Saturday in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium for a memorial service for the Blue Devil great, who passed away this past March. He was 59.
A string of teammates, coaches and even opponents eulogized Gadson last weekend, testifying to his insatiable thirst to compete and willingness to train hard and set high goals. The service was organized by Pete Berti, one of Gadson's Huntington teammates, who spoke eloquently about his fallen friend. Steve Williams, another teammate, served as the master of ceremonies.
Speaker after speaker told of how Gadson pushed them to be better wrestlers and better men. More than one speaker said that Gadson was colorblind at a time of racial tension around Huntington High School and the country at large. There were stories about how Gadson stepped in to prevent physical attacks of teammates and how once you met him, you were his friend for life. There was even an a capella performance of a gospel song.
The crowd sat in the gym's bleachers while Gadson's family and many speakers sat at tables that were set-up on either side of the podium. The audience included seven decades worth of Huntington wrestlers, numerous state champions and college All-Americans, Long Island wrestling coaches and friends and admirers.
Many speakers tried to hold back tears and some failed to do so. Nick Gallo, who competed at nearby Deer Park High School and went on to win the 1977 NCAA championship and the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award while wrestling at Hofstra University was among those who acknowledged Gadson's remarkable competitive drive and desire to be the best.
Many teammates said that Gadson was an inspiration to them, motivating them in ways big and small. Former Blue Devil wrestlers Vernon Leake, Steve Pizzo, Paul Widerman and Gene McNeil all spoke about their connection to Gadson or his family. Leake read a poem he wrote for the occasion and occasionally choked up while reading it.
Widerman told a touching story of how his mother, Carolyn was a business teacher at Robert K. Toaz Junior High School in the late 1960s and came home from work with many stories about the Gadson brothers in her typing class. Toaz had an assembly for students each Friday, but they needed to wear a tie to attend the program. The Gadsons never brought a tie to school with them, so Mrs. Widerman raided her husband's extensive collection and brought ties to school for the brothers to wear and they were happily able to start attending the assemblies.
Widerman said his father, Milton, passed away two years ago, but his tie collection is still intact. He then said he raided it the other day and held up a tie, which he went on to present to Kyven Jackson, Willie's son who won All-American honors for Iowa State this past March. It was a tear-jerking moment for everyone in the crowd last Saturday.
Gadson's high school coach, Lou Giani, spoke about the pair's 47-year friendship. Gadson was an incredibly hardworking athlete who embraced wrestling and focused all of his attention on it, showing "desire, discipline and determination every step of the way." Chuck Henke, Gadson's coach at Nassau Community College, told of the wrestler's impressive athleticism and competitive spirit and how he was untouchable over a two-year period.
Charlie Gadson described how he and his brother would wrestle around the house, with matches starting indoors and continuing through doorways and outside. "Willie was tough," said Charlie Gadson as he laughed.
Current Huntington head coach Kieran Mock said what Willie and Charlie Gadson have meant to the Blue Devil program cannot be put into words. The school has created the Willie Gadson Award and will present it to the top wrestler in its annual junior high school tournament.
Denita Gadson, Willie's wife of 31 years told the crowd that her husband was doing what he was born to do; work with young people, coach them, motivate them and push them to aspire to improve themselves on and off the mat.
A tree in Gadson's honor was donated by Huntington alum Matt Boyd of Boyd Landscaping & Design. It has been planted outside the school gym as a living memorial to one of the greatest athletes in Blue Devil sports history
The Gadsons came to Huntington from South Carolina as youths. When Giani took over the Huntington High School wrestling program in November 1970, the two brothers, by then in their junior and sophomore years, respectively, helped the eventual National Wrestling Hall of Fame coach turn the Blue Devils from perennial losers to one of the best teams in New York in short order.
A 1972 Huntington alum, Willie Gadson was a league champion and Section XI runner-up for the Blue Devils. He went on to win two junior college national titles for Nassau, where he went 45-0 under Henke.
After winning his second national crown for Nassau, Gadson was recruited by many top-flight college wrestling programs and coaches, including legendary Hall of Fame Iowa State coach Dr. Harold Nichols, who coached the famed Dan Gable.
Gadson turned away offers from many top programs to sign with Iowa State and he didn't let Cyclone fans down, capturing two Big Eight championships and All-American honors as a junior and senior.
Pete Galea who starred at Long Island's Brentwood High School before heading to Iowa State and covering himself in glory there, spoke this past Saturday about life as one of Gadson's college roommates. While there were many wonderful wrestling achievements, there were also some crazy moments off the mat. Galea, like every other speaker, said Gadson's friendship was something to cherish.
Gadson was capable of incredible physical feats. His athleticism and raw strength and speed combined with a willingness to train long hours, made him an intimidating presence on the mat. He captured two Midlands tournament championships (considered by some to be the Super Bowl of wrestling) and earned a medal in the 1982 Tbilisi tournament in the Soviet Union, which was regarded to be tougher than the Olympics.
Following the end of his competitive career, Gadson turned to coaching. He enjoyed stints as an assistant at Michigan and Iowa State and a five year run as the head man at Eastern Michigan University, where he led the program to its first Mid-American Conference title in 1996 when he was named MAC Coach of the Year. When he decided to return to Iowa to be closer to his family, Gadson coached at Iowa City West High School and finally at Waterloo East since 2004.
After deciding to drop a few pounds, Gadson noticed that he was still losing weight even after reaching his target last year. He went to see his doctor. A series of tests revealed he was suffering from Stage 4 lung and bone cancer. Gadson underwent treatment in Iowa and at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota over the next 11 months before passing away on March 10 at 11:38 a.m.
Gadson coached his son, Kyven to a pair of Iowa state high school crowns. Kyven Gadson won the 197 lb. Big 12 championship for Iowa State one day before his father passed away. He went on to place sixth in this year's NCAA Division I tournament in Des Moines.
Despite his illness, Willie Gadson continued coaching at Waterloo East, before finally taking a leave of absence this past January. He developed 16 state qualifiers and 10 state place-winners at Waterloo East during his career there.
The large crowd started gathering at Huntington High School last weekend at about 10 a.m., an hour prior to the start of the 11 a.m. service. Once the last speaker stepped away from the podium at about 12:45 p.m., most of the crowd stayed in the gym, chatting with one another, introducing themselves to the Gadson family and enjoying snacks and refreshments.