Jamie Moffatt is a wrestling fan and a history buff. In fact, he has written books on the sport and enjoys researching wrestling and telling its stories. About two years ago, Moffatt decided to look into the Olympic Wrestling Trials event as a possible topic for a new project. Before long, he was hooked on the idea.

"There were two main things. I noted for years that there was a void on that subject. There was also very little media coverage of the Trials at the time they were held," said Moffatt. "Also, I spoke with Frank Bettucci, who I wrote about in my book 'The Turning Point.' He said there were some great stories surrounding the 1960 Olympic Trials."

Moffatt then began a quest for information which took him on a number of trips, as well as hundreds of interviews, trying to get his arms around this large, but mostly undocumented, wrestling topic. 

The product of Moffatt's efforts is a new 196-page book entitled "Wrestlers at the Trials." The book provides in-depth coverage of each of the Olympic Wrestling Trials events held in the decades of the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. The major focus of the book is the athletes themselves, those who successfully qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team, as well as those who fell short of their ultimate goal. 

"This is not a book about wrestling, although it is about wrestlers. This book is about passion, and what you have to go through to reach your goals. It is also about what happens if you work so hard and do not reach your goals," said Moffatt.

His personal journey of adventure began with a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., where Moffatt met with a number of members of the USA Wrestling national staff. He also went over to the U.S. Olympic Committee, to visit with CEO Jim Scherr, a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic wrestling team in freestyle wrestling. While he was there, he collected a ton of information from both sources, as well as some personal stories from people who were part of the process. 

"The USA Wrestling people thought this was a valid project, a good idea. I also talked to Jim Scherr, who was encouraging. The USOC had a large database with contact names and phone numbers of past Olympians. I found that the hardest part of this project was finding the people who I had to interview. But, this project all started with USA Wrestling," he said.

Moffatt also took journeys to Stillwater, Okla. to visit the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and to Waterloo, Iowa to meet with the International Wrestling Institute and Museum. Both of these visits gave him more information, as well as additional support and encouragement, to document the Olympic Wrestling Trials.

He was soon on the phone with numerous wrestlers, coaches, administrators and referees who were actively involved in each of the Trials events. There were 91 people who were interviewed and their stories told in the book when it was finished. Moffatt found that the wrestlers who he talked to were very excited for the opportunity to tell their stories.

"It was amazing," said Moffatt. "They loved it with very few exceptions. I couldn't get them off the phone. They had very good recall. They were grateful to talk and delighted that they were going to be memorialized."

Initially, Moffatt was looking to cover all of the Trials events from 1960 through the present. However, once he got involved in the research, he realized that it would not be possible to do that much coverage in time for the book to be published during the 2008 Olympic year.

"When I started, my goal was to finish the book right before the 2008 Olympic Trials. That is when I thought I would go all the way with 2004 with the project. The amount of information was just massive. I cut it short, concentrating on those three decades, trying to get it ready for the opening of the wrestling season, leading up to the Trials this year," he said.

Moffatt then went through the laborious task of taking all of his research and interviews and crafting them into a book that would be both interesting and inspiring. 

"I consider the centerpiece of the book to be the 1984 freestyle 136.5-pound event," said Moffatt. "I had seven or eight key participants who were a part of that story. I talked to Randy Lewis, Lee Roy Smith, Ricky Dellagatta, the referee Rick Tucci, Greg Strobel who was with USA Wrestling then, and Steve Combs, the Executive Director of USA Wrestling. I also spoke with Dan Gable. Each of them was grateful to talk to me about the controversy. There were also many subplots off of this story. Most of the publicity was about the arbitration and the wrestling match held in California. But there was so much more," said Moffatt.

Moffatt truly enjoyed getting to know the people who were involved in the Olympic Trials, and had a few favorite stories that he uncovered along the way.

"There were three or four stories about Rick Sanders that were a real hoot. In 1972, the match between Sanders and Don Behm had a great story about their weighin. There was another great story about Kenny Monday and what went through his mind before his match with Dave Schultz in 1988. I found a great story from the battle between Stan Dziedzic and Wade Schalles in the 1976 Trials," he said.

"Then there was the Doug Blubaugh vs. Phil Kinyon matchup in 1960. They wrestled 11 times to a scoreless draw over a two-year period until Blubaugh finally scored on him. Blubaugh once said that their matches were like watching paint dry. Wayne Baughman, who was a great source for this book, said that when they came off the mat from their match at the Trials, with their eyes puffed up and blood streaming down their face, that they were the two toughest animals in the world," he added.

Each and every Olympic Trials was different, with new athletes, new rules, a different qualifying system and different locations where the drama unfolded. However, Moffatt did find a consistent theme in every story which he documented.

"One thing stands out is the passion of the wrestlers, their dedication and their focus," said Moffatt. "It was about their ability to overcome great obstacles, pain, dehydration, bad calls, talented opponents. None of that changed. All of the surroundings did change, but what is inside the belly and the hearts of the wrestlers was the same. It was as fierce in 1960 as in 1988, and in all the years between."

The wrestling community has begun to purchase copies of the book, and Moffatt is getting positive feedback from numerous people. He is especially proud when one of the athletes included in the book responds to him. The following note was sent to Moffatt from Wade Schalles, one of the athletes profiled.

"Wonderful book. Full of insights. If one reads it as a study in the behavior and thought process of achievers, it has a great deal of educational value," wrote Schalles.

For anybody looking for a great read during the holiday season, or a book to take along on a long journey this winter, "Wrestlers at the Trials" is a great choice.

For more information about the book and to order a copy ($30.00 which includes shipping), go to:
www.WrestlersAtTheTrials.com