I wanted very much to go to West Point after high school, but to compete for the appointment, I knew I'd need a good resume. I was vice-president of the student council, first in my class, an Eagle Scout, and captain of the golf team. But I felt I needed another sport. So I decided to go out for the wrestling team. This would help my application, and it would get me in better physical condition.
The good news is that I loved wrestling, and my body was getting stronger by the week. The bad news, if you want to call it that, was that my team-mate in my weight class was the All-Europe champion. I had to wrestle Skip Ledbetter in practice every day. I knew the only way I'd ever wrestle in a match was if he got injured. So I accepted my role as "practice dummy" for him. My ambition was a pragmatic one: I would learn to wrestle well enough that I could at least survive a practice without being pinned....
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