Jump to content
Reporting Scores to CoachT ×
How to edit games

Clarksville's Artie Manning Makes 2014 State Traditional His Last

bbb

By bbb
in Wrestling Mat

 Share

Recommended Posts

bbb Contender

bbb

Posted
Posted (edited)

As the curtain rises on the 54th TSSAA state traditional wrestling tournament Thursday afternoon, long time Clarksville High School wrestling administrator Artie Manning will enter the Williamson County Ag Expo Center for the final time.

 

He was there when Clarksville High School had no singlets, no mats and no wrestlers, but did have a dream of building a championship wrestling program.

 

That was 46 years ago (1968-69) and this weekend at the state tourney in Franklin, Manning will retire his clip board and scorebook.

 

He has seen the state tournament grow from 24 teams battling for one championship in 1969 at Brainerd High School to four traditional tournaments (including girls wrestling) under one roof in 2014 at the spacious Williamson County Ag Center.

 

“Artie has been a major part of wrestling in Clarksville, specifically, but really across the state for close to 50 years - an amazing contribution,†said former TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter. “He was a major part of the success of the State Dual Meet Tournament in Clarksville, but more than anything, he is just a great person who makes anything better when he is involved.â€

 

Wildcat Wrestling Beginning: Clarksville football coach Johnny Miller wanted his football players to wrestle in the late 1960s, Ed Bunio was hired as the first head coach and Manning, a sophomore at nearby Austin Peay and one who had wrestled at Sewanee Military Academy, helped teach the sit outs, single leg takedowns and plenty of half nelsons.

 

State's First Freshman Tournament: “Ed offered me $100 a month and expenses on the road to help the team which for a college student was a great deal,†said Manning who was one of two SMA wrestlers who competed in the state's first freshman wrestling tournament in 1963 at Red Bank Junior High School directed by John Farr and placed second at 98 pounds to the Soddy Daisy champ.

 

Bunio and Manning helped the wrestlers become fast learners as the purple-clad Wildcats had two fourth place medalists in 1970 (Stewart Salyer at 140 and Marshal Stewart at 178) and had a wrestler fighting for a title – heavyweight runner-up Steve Kulback – in 1971.

 

A strong advocate for the sport, Manning has worked with nine head coaches, seen four different Clarksville wrestlers’ hand raised as state champions (Matt McCarty was a 3-timer) and was one of the driving forces in Clarksville hosting the TSSAA D-I state duals for the first 10 years of the new millennium.

 

“Artie is the backbone of Clarksville wrestling and over the years has created the structure and organization that has made a seemless transition from one coach to another,†said current head coach Tommy Badon.

 

“He was the driving force behind the hiring of Jeff Jordan in 1993 who led the Wildcats to a state duals and traditional championships in 2000.â€

 

Hall of Famer: A fierce competitor and always loyal to the program and one of the true gentlemen of the sport, Manning’s contributions to the sport have been duly noted as the Clarksville wrestling building has his name on it and his name is also on a green jacket signifying membership into the Tennessee chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

 

“We built the wrestling building on a loan with no collateral,†said Manning with a laugh who is a 1966 graduate of SMA where he wrestled and starred as an outfielder on the baseball team.

 

But true to his word, Manning and others paid off the building on time in five years and has since doubled the wrestling space.

 

“Artie has been the main booster for Clarksville wrestling for nearly 50 years and was such a great help to me while I was the head coach (1993-2012) in doing all the administrative work so necessary in helping us to be successful,†said coach Jordan, also a member of the Tenn. Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

 

From the aforementioned state team titles in 2000 to watching the development of two of the programs best champions in McCarty and defending heavyweight champ Bruno Reagan (who holds an age division judo world ranking), Manning has a lifetime of treasured memories.

 

“It’s been a great 46 years to help Clarksville wrestling become a player on a statewide level, but it’s time to let others now run the show,†said Manning earlier this week.

 

The curtain comes down on the Artie Manning Era Saturday evening and hopefully one more state champion just for old time’s sake.

 

A half century of a class act. He will be missed.

 

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

 

story also posted on chattanoogan.com

Edited by bbb
Link to comment
Share on other sites
reftn Challenger

reftn

Posted
Posted

Great piece, BBB.

 

Artie Manning has been the heart of Clarksville wrestling for my duration as an official.

 

As an official, if Artie was walking to the table you better have your facts straight.  His knowledge of the rules, protocols, and justifications and so on is immense.  When we didn't see eye to eye, after a match or meet was over, it was over.  Artie doesn't carry things forward.

 

The kids he coached and sat in the corner for had no better advocate.  Artie told me a long time ago, "Rick , we just want a fair shake, that's all."  By that he knew the odds were on his side.

 

Glad you posted this.

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoosierdad Challenger

hoosierdad

Posted
Posted

Congratulations on your retirement.  I hope this does not mean you will not be coming around.  I know your passion and have witnessed for the past 30 years.  You are truly one of the great supporters of wrestling and Clarksville would not be where it is without YOU!  It is time to enjoy your wife and family; however, you still need to make some appearances at matches.

 

Best of luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

Announcements

  • Recent Posts

    • strongx
      Who vandalized Maryville's Football Field?

      By strongx · Posted

      Deja vu all over again, 7 yrs apart. SMDH Does anybody talk to each other?
    • Dawgz4life
      Bearden Bulldogs 2024

      By Dawgz4life · Posted

      OK, well, that’s because two quarterbacks can’t start. That’s football 101. The main quarterback won the starting job, so he was on varsity, and the Seymour transfer did not win the starting job. He played some varsity. He was mainly junior varsity, and he balled out when healthy, so for the starting quarterback who’s been starting varsity since his freshman year, if you have any form of proof that he’s gotten worse, somehow, whether that means stats or whatnot, please feel free to share.
    • Futbolfan2022
      Bearden Bulldogs 2024

      By Futbolfan2022 · Posted

      They’ve both gotten worse. I’ve seen enough games to know that. 
    • Dawgz4life
      Bearden Bulldogs 2024

      By Dawgz4life · Posted

      The only two transfers that Bearden has gotten that went on to play college football were a defensive back from Karnes, who transferred here way before the new coaching staff got here, and a running back from Carter, who went on to play at Maryville College. Both players received those offers while at Bearden, and both players got a diploma from Bearden High School. Therefore, they are Bearden kids, and you can’t do anything about that.   The transfer from Seymour didn’t win the job, what do you expect two quarterbacks to start at the same time? He played great on JV when he could stay healthy, and when he came in on varsity, he did great. The quarterback position is definitely going to be in good hands when the current starting quarterback leaves, but until then, they’re just going to be battling it out like every good quarterback competition does. The current starting quarterback has his flaws, and that is in the pass game, but what he doesn’t have flaws is running and scrambling, and if you go back and watch any game, which I’m sure you didn’t watch any, we used him very often, and when we needed a deep ball, we brought in the transfer from Seymour. The starting quarterback last year will be a senior this year, and the Seymour transfer will be a junior, so the Seymour transfer is definitely going to get his spotlight. He may even win the job this year. Football isn’t about who the newspaper thinks is the best kid. The best kid in the position will win the starting job, and I trust the coaching staff more than a newspaper or article to pick my starting QB.
    • Dawgz4life
      Bearden Bulldogs 2024

      By Dawgz4life · Posted

      I mean, we’ve only gotten two transfers that went on to play college football, one who went to UT Martin came his second semester junior year before the new coaching staff was here, and the other one went on to play at Maryville College, in which I don’t believe he had any interest prior to transferring.
×
×
  • Create New...