Homeric Sweat

And their backs creaked beneath the violent tugging of bold hands, and the sweat flowed down in streams; and many a weal, red with blood, sprang up along their ribs and shoulders; and ever they strove amain for victory.

-- Odysseus v. Aias, from The Iliad

In Toledo last week, a group of U.S. wrestlers strove amain, using some of the classic grips of Homer's time. As in Homer's time, the sweat flowed in streams, even if blood did not. Toledo's heaving modern heroes were competing for titles in a wrestling style new to National A.A.U. competition : Greco-Roman, a modified descendant of the style used by Odysseus and Aias.

Unlike the free-for-all of catch-as-catch-can wrestling, Greco-Roman rules forbid use of the legs for attack or defense. That eliminates tripping, tackling, scissors grips and grapevine holds, and reduces wrestling to a grunting test of back, arms and shoulder strength. Popular in Europe, Greco-Roman leaves most Americans cold.

But at the Olympics last summer, U.S. Wrestling Coach Joseph Scalzo, 32, got hot under the collar when he saw Russia pile up 56 points in Greco-Roman wrestling while the U.S. scored none. What irked Scalzo even more: members of the U.S. regular wrestling team just stood around and watched, because they had never even tried Greco-Roman.

Scalzo promptly appointed himself a one-man committee to see to it that the U.S. is represented in the 1956 Olympics, persuaded the A.A.U. to sanction last week's matches. Says Coach Scalzo, 1939 intercollegiate champion at 145 Ibs. : "If

I didn't do it now, nobody else would." Thanks to Scalzo's tireless prodding, 41 competitors got on the mat to grapple for the Greco-Roman titles. The large turnout meant that matches had to be cut to ten minutes--from the regular 15. As in catch-as-catch-can, Greco-Roman allows points for falls, near falls, takedowns, reversals and "activity." Discredit points are handed out for illegal holds, unsportsmanlike conduct.

The conduct was sportsmanlike enough last week, but the illegal holds were plentiful as the competitors tried to remember not to trip, tackle and grip with their legs. The high spot of the meet: the 147-Ib. match between former Intercollegiate Champ Walter Romanowski, now an assistant coach at Purdue, and Safi Taha, of Atlanta, who competed for his native Lebanon in the 1952 Olympics. Taha quickly ran through five elimination matches, scoring falls in all. But Romanowski, who had picked up a few Greco-Roman pointers, countered Taha's every move expertly, finally pinned his man in seven minutes. Coach Scalzo, looking ahead to 1956, was jubilant: "It proves what I've said all along. American boys can learn Greco-Roman."

In Naples this week, the strong-armed Russians, winning five of eight events, outscored Runner-Up Sweden 41-24 1/2 in the world wrestling championships. The Italians were in fourth place with 17 points, the Greeks in 18th with one.

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