Richie Strell Jan 25th, 1:04pm My fondest greetings to Friends of Long Island Wrestling, I live out here in San Diego and admire the work you all are doing out there. Im also proud to have wrestled for (1963-66) and later coached (1988-91) at Valley Stream Central High School. Of course my coach was Hall of Fame member Harold Earl and I learned many valuable life lessons under his tutelage. I am glad to see that your upcoming April HOF induction dinner and Reunion includes honoring 2 former VSC grapplers…Bobby Emmons and Steve Buscemi. Although I was still in Junior High School there were a couple of years that I shared the locker room and wrestling room with Emmons and I was in awe of his prowess as well as the talents of the rest of the team in that 1960-63 era. Every single team member was a threat to win the counties in their respective weight class. Some weight class had more than 1 County place winners. My brother Alan Strell was part of that era although a year or 2 younger than Emmons. In his day, Alan out wrestled the likes of such notables as Brian Lambe, Elliot Tepper, George Riviera and Robert Stock. He eventually won several titles including the 1962 Nassau County Championship. In his graduating year of 1963 there was nobody that was going to beat him but unfortunately he broke his arm in 3 places in the 1st minute of his final dual meet against Wantagh and was unable to enter the Sections or Counties. By the way Alan convinced Coach Earl that he was OK and went on to wrestle the remaining 5 minutes of his match with one arm….wrestling eventual County Place winner Catania of Wantagh to a draw! Alan went on to gain a wrestling scholarship to Syracuse University and spent 2 years on their team with the likes of NCAA champion Jim Nance and Floyd Little. Alan Strell passed away 3 weeks ago on January 4th 2015 after finally meeting an opponent he could not defeat. Cancer took his life away at the age of 69. Alan lived most of his life in New Hampshire and for a while coached a Middle School wrestling team there. Alan had a unique style of wrestling which usually ended in low scoring decisions in his favor. Without a lot of fanfare he would simply go out against the best and do his and get 3 points for the team. His technique involved using his mind more than his body resorting to trickery and allowable stalling at times to work the clock when he faced opponents with much more muscle than he. Nobody rode him out. He was just impossible to hold down and always managed to escape quickly form the bottom position. Its a shame that he was injured in 1963 because I feel that he would have been a NYS champion at the very first State Championship. There were no States in 1962 so when he won the Counties that of course was far as he could go. Im not sure who will be reading this letter but if it is Jerry Seckler, then I think he would know of Alans escapades and accomplishments although Jerry attended Central 7 years earlier than Alan. Please excuse the long and verbose nature of this letter. I can get carried away when it comes to the sport that changed my life as I tried to follow in the footsteps of my 3 year older brother. The whole reason for this letter may be for naught. I was wondering if The Friends of Long Island Wrestling pays honor to deceased County Champions by mentioning their names at your Reunion Dinners. If that is a possibility then I am asking that the name of Alan Strell be mentioned as one of those who has passed on to the big mat in the sky. He loved the sport of wrestling. Regards to all, Richie Strell Valley Stream Central Class of 1966 3 Time Nassau County Place winner
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 18:48:36 +0000
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