William(Bill) A. Hughes
Bill Hughes was married and he and his wife, Carol, may have lived in the Hensel
apartments. (Not sure of this) Bill was a regular at our Friday night Poker games and it was
during one of these Friday nights, Bill, being the athletic type, decided he wanted to ride in a
dryer. Since the laundry facilities were next door to our apartment it was a short trip to the
dryer. Bill (after a few brews) decided he wanted me to give him a ride, so I accommodated
him. Bill's size of about 5' 6" made him a perfect fit for the dryer. He climbed in and I closed
the door and deposited (I think a quarter) and the dryer began spinning. I didn't count the
number of times he went around but it was several (keep in mind, I had a few brews also) I
am not sure if the door popped open by accident or if Bill kicked it open, or perhaps I opened
it. Anyway, Bill came tumbling out, and walked dizzily away. Of course both; the brews and or
the spinning contributed to this. Bill said he had a fun ride and wanted to do it again, but I
declined to be a party to a 2nd ride.
One of our fun activities was intramural sports, including: Football, Basketball, Tennis, Golf
and Wrestling. Since Bill had been a college wrestler, he was ineligible as a participate, but he
could coach. At one time I remembered where he attended college, but I have long since
forgotten. He told me about his bouts and how he had starved himself and even thrown up
before weigh-in in order to get into the proper weight class. According to Bill, he finished 3rd,
three straight years in the NAIA championships. He finished 3rd because he each year he was
defeated by the same guy and this placed him in the position to win 3rd, which he did three
years in a row. The guy beating him won the NAIA championship 3 years in a row and Bill
place 3rd three years in a row. This was NOT wrasling (like the fake on TV) but true
Wrestling. Very few of us had ever known anything about collegiate wrestling, but we were
willing to learn and Bill was willing to teach us. The only rules I remember are as follows: At the
beginning, one participant is on the floor while the other stands.( I told you, I don't remember
the rules) At the time I weighed 138 and was training to be one of the participants when the
time came. The time came and someone else was selected to be the one in my weight class
and I was glad. Roger was selected to be in the Heavyweight class and after taking a look at
the Gorilla he was going to have to face, it was not a hard choice to forfeit. I cannot remember
how many bouts we had or if we won any, but I do remember we had fun trying and thanks to
Bill, we all knew a little more about Wrestling.
Bill received his Masters in 1967 and stayed at A&M where he earned a degree in
Oceanography. I learned this by looking on Aggie re-connect, but I have been unable to
re-connect personally with Bill. I have tried numerous times to find him. Where ever you are
Bill, I hope you are well and just letting you know, I enjoyed knowing you and Carol
Note: 11/30/20 Roger Banwart and I have been talking via text about Bill and Wrestling. From
Roger I have learned Bill wrestled for Bloomsberg College and Roger found that in 1963, Bill's
record was 6-1-1. I also found the bracket for that year fro the national championships, but
could find no other information. Will continue to look. Bill is listed in 115 lb category and this is
the link to the 1963 brackets.
Bill Hughes was married and he and his wife, Carol, may have lived in the Hensel
apartments. (Not sure of this) Bill was a regular at our Friday night Poker games and it was
during one of these Friday nights, Bill, being the athletic type, decided he wanted to ride in a
dryer. Since the laundry facilities were next door to our apartment it was a short trip to the
dryer. Bill (after a few brews) decided he wanted me to give him a ride, so I accommodated
him. Bill's size of about 5' 6" made him a perfect fit for the dryer. He climbed in and I closed
the door and deposited (I think a quarter) and the dryer began spinning. I didn't count the
number of times he went around but it was several (keep in mind, I had a few brews also) I
am not sure if the door popped open by accident or if Bill kicked it open, or perhaps I opened
it. Anyway, Bill came tumbling out, and walked dizzily away. Of course both; the brews and or
the spinning contributed to this. Bill said he had a fun ride and wanted to do it again, but I
declined to be a party to a 2nd ride.
One of our fun activities was intramural sports, including: Football, Basketball, Tennis, Golf
and Wrestling. Since Bill had been a college wrestler, he was ineligible as a participate, but he
could coach. At one time I remembered where he attended college, but I have long since
forgotten. He told me about his bouts and how he had starved himself and even thrown up
before weigh-in in order to get into the proper weight class. According to Bill, he finished 3rd,
three straight years in the NAIA championships. He finished 3rd because he each year he was
defeated by the same guy and this placed him in the position to win 3rd, which he did three
years in a row. The guy beating him won the NAIA championship 3 years in a row and Bill
place 3rd three years in a row. This was NOT wrasling (like the fake on TV) but true
Wrestling. Very few of us had ever known anything about collegiate wrestling, but we were
willing to learn and Bill was willing to teach us. The only rules I remember are as follows: At the
beginning, one participant is on the floor while the other stands.( I told you, I don't remember
the rules) At the time I weighed 138 and was training to be one of the participants when the
time came. The time came and someone else was selected to be the one in my weight class
and I was glad. Roger was selected to be in the Heavyweight class and after taking a look at
the Gorilla he was going to have to face, it was not a hard choice to forfeit. I cannot remember
how many bouts we had or if we won any, but I do remember we had fun trying and thanks to
Bill, we all knew a little more about Wrestling.
Bill received his Masters in 1967 and stayed at A&M where he earned a degree in
Oceanography. I learned this by looking on Aggie re-connect, but I have been unable to
re-connect personally with Bill. I have tried numerous times to find him. Where ever you are
Bill, I hope you are well and just letting you know, I enjoyed knowing you and Carol
Note: 11/30/20 Roger Banwart and I have been talking via text about Bill and Wrestling. From
Roger I have learned Bill wrestled for Bloomsberg College and Roger found that in 1963, Bill's
record was 6-1-1. I also found the bracket for that year fro the national championships, but
could find no other information. Will continue to look. Bill is listed in 115 lb category and this is
the link to the 1963 brackets.
| Below is the 1963 bracket Bill was in. He won his 1st 3 matches and Lost to Hazewinkel in the 4th |