Abe Lincoln’s wrestling legacy lives on

[March 03, 2018] 

LINCOLN

Lincoln, Illinois, the first town to be named after Abraham Lincoln: a town that is strong in heritage and proud of its history.

Abraham Lincoln, who was Lincoln’s first wrestler, would feel honored by the legacy that he began and has left in this small town in Central Illinois. He wrestled catch-as-catch-can style in Central Illinois only to lose 1 match to Jack Armstrong. The two went from rivals to close friends in this sport that creates a friendship like none other. Lincoln was thought to have over 300 wins, so the legend goes. Fast forwarding 180 years and the legacy of Lincoln’s name still resonates throughout the state of Illinois at the biggest and arguably the greatest High School competition in the state: The Illinois High School Wrestling State Finals.

It takes many people to make this impressive endeavor a continuous success year after year. There may not be a single town in the state that contributes on so many levels as our town Lincoln, where from come some of the best-of-the-best.

Lincoln had two referees – Dan Fulscher and Kirby Rodger, officiating all three days of the state tournament, one of which served as the Head Official. Anyone at the state tournament in the 2A class also had the pleasure of having their name called by Shannon Kelly, who was the announcer for 2A the entire weekend.

To finish off the list of Lincoln contributor’s was Sam Knox, who was the Athletic Director for Lincoln Community High School from 2005 to 2015 and is now the IHSA Assistant Executive Director. Knox not only oversees administrative duties for wrestling, he also oversees football, baseball, and the officiating department. The state tournament would not be what it is without these fine gentleman leading the charge.

Lincoln’s own Dan Fulscher has a long list of accomplishments. Fulscher has been an IHSA Official for 43 years. He has officiated more state finals than any other referee in the state, with 39 at the High School level, 16 at the Junior High level, and 23 at the IKWF Kid’s Club level. He also officiated for five years in NCAA Division 1.

Fulscher served on three different advisory boards, three separate honors as Grand Marshal at different state tournaments (the only official to be honored at all three venues); 20 years as IHSA Wrestling Head Clinician, 14 years IHSA Rules Interpreter, 10 years IKWF Rules Interpreter, and 10 years IKWF Rules/Director/Advisor. Fulscher was the Illinois National Federation Official of the year for Illinois for 1997 and 2003, the founder and multiple office holder of the IWCOA board as well as many awards.

Fulscher officiated his last IHSA State Finals in 2018 after a long life of service to the sport. He had the privilege to speak on the JumboTron in the annual IHSA State Finals video prior to the championship matches. He spoke of his career ending as a wrestler and wanting to continue with the sport. The socks he wore that day and in every State Finals he has officiated in the last 39 years he will keep as a memento.

Fulscher is stepping off the mat and joining Kirby Rodgers at the Lincoln Junior High School which has been flooded with experienced wrestlers coming up from the Lincoln Youth Wrestling program.

A graduate of Easter Illinois University and from Charleston, Kirby Rodgers is from Charleston wrestled as a walk-on at EUI with no prior wrestling experience. Rodgers moved to Lincoln in 2005. Not only is he experienced as an official, he coached middle school wrestling at different schools throughout his career. Rodgers was featured in a story in Lincoln Daily News on February 15th, 2018. Rodgers officiated in the 2018 IHSA State Tournament alongside Dan Fulscher. He also officiated this past weekend for the Dual Team State Championships in Bloomington.

Rodgers said, “working on the floor of the State Farm Center was a great honor. I have worked with two of the best officials in the state of Illinois and maybe the nation, Dan Fulscher and Ray Eikelschulte, for the past 12 years”. As far as living in Lincoln, Rodgers- “Living in Lincoln has allowed me to referee in many top notch school programs throughout Central Illinois”.

How was the state finals for you? Rodgers: “At the state Finals, thousands of fans watched and shouted for several key matches that our team officiated. I truly believe wrestling is the world’s greatest sport and I have been blessed to be a part of it for the past 50 years”.

With Fulscher, Rodgers will continue with the Junior High. The Trojans qualified 10 Wrestlers for the sectional tournament, eight of which came from the Lincoln Youth Wrestling program led by Walter Landers.

Dan Fulscher and Kirby Rodgers

Shannon Kelly is a Lincoln native, thrown into the wrestling world by his older wrestler brothers, Shawn and Kurt, and his sister Jennifer who was a wrestling cheerleader. This all started a few years ago when another Lincoln legend, coach Floyd A. Bee heard Kelly announcing on a local radio station. Coach Bee recruited Kelly’s unique talent to start announcing matches at the head table for the Lincoln Holiday Wrestling Tournament a few years after Kelly graduated in 1989. Back then the tournament was all run on paper, with none of the fancy computers that are used nowadays. Between his brothers wrestling and Kelly announcing, Shannon has been to every Lincoln Holiday Tournament since 1984.

In 2017, a couple weeks prior to the state tournament, Lincoln’s own Sam Knox called and said there was going to be a vacancy on the PA at the state tournament and he immediately thought of Kelly with his 33 years of experience. Believing that the IHSA Wrestling Grand March is the greatest event in High School sports and biting at the chance to be a part of it, Kelly jumped at the opportunity. Kelly said he has spoken with people from other states that have seen it and they said our state finals is as good an event as any in their state, because involves many more complexities than just calling names.

The announcers are generally the first ones to show up and the last ones to leave. When the arena clears, the announcers are still busy prepping for the next round. Painting a visual picture, Kelly, with wide eyes says Saturday is the longest day, but when the lights go down and the Grand March begins, you see 15,000 people in the State Farm Center, a new wind breathes through your body and you are not tired anymore.

Kelly said, “This year was exceptionally gratifying because we had two Railers wrestling. It also meant a lot because I got to call those two kids. My first year I did PSA’s; this year I moved up to the 2A announcements. It was hard not to put extra emphasis when I tried to call Trevor and Austin, but I had to treat all the athletes the same. It is an honor to work the State Tournament, one that I will never take for granted. I look forward to next year already. Hopefully, along with the honor of announcing at the state tournament, I will get the honor of calling the name of a Railer during the award presentation”.

Sam Knox moved to Lincoln in 2005 to become the Activities Director. Knox also coordinated the Central State 8 Conference master schedules in a variety of sports for the then ten-team conference. He held the treasurer position for the Illinois Athletic Directors Association for two years and served on various IHSA committees. Knox was named to the position of IHSA Assistant Executive Director on December 14, 2015, and started on July 11, 2016.

Hall of Fame coach Floyd A. Bee holds the honor and distinction of 30 years of consecutive winning seasons as a team at Lincoln Community High School. Coach Bee was great at shaping young men into leaders in their respective fields upon graduation. 2 of the 4 people in this story wrestled under Coach Bee.

In closing, the State of Illinois would not be as great a wrestling mecca without these men. As Fulscher said, “People think Barnum and Bailey Circus is the greatest show on earth, but they are wrong. The Illinois State Wrestling Tournament is the greatest show on earth.” Coach Bee molded Fulscher and Kelly for Illinois, adding to the great tradition and history of Lincoln wrestling over the last 180 years.

[Jason Lawrence]