BBB's facts make it easy for me, too, to believe that Harlow is the best to come out of Tennessee, so far. St. Andrews may well have had eighth graders in those days. It seems to me now, years later, that he was, indeed, a five time Mid-South champion. Help me, BBB! In fact, I believe that the first time he won, he was an eighth grader and defeated in the finals a senior who was a 2 or 3 time defending champion. Help me, BBB!
I believe that Randy Weinberg was the only other 5 time Mid-South champion; so he belongs somewhere on our list.
Two brothers, Chip and Rob Healy, also deserve mention, for they both were 2 time champions at the National Prep Schools and Academies Tournament in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. During the 1960s McCallie and Baylor sent their entire teams to that tournament after the Mid-South Tournament. Both schools had numerous individual champions, but the Healys (and maybe Jim Glasser? Help me, BBB!) were, I'm pretty sure, the only 2 time winners. Bill Harlow may have won championships at that tournament, too (Help me, BBB!).
After all these years, it's hard to compare the best TSSAA wrestlers to the best Mid-South ones, for they didn't wrestle in the same end-of-season tournament, except in 1962 (Help me, BBB!). However, they did wrestle one another during the regular season. For instance, I'm pretty sure that Chip Healy wrestled Charlie Goss and Jim Beattie and maybe the great Ernie Rose of Kirkman. Randy Weinberg's only two regular season losses in his 5 year run were to the also great Kenny Whitworth of East Ridge when the former was an eighth or ninth grader and the latter a junior or senior (Help me, BBB!).
Thanks to all of you who write to celebrate wrestling and to acknowledge the accomplishments of years' and years' worth of hard working young athletes, regardless of school. I enjoy those posts!