The Legend of Ritenour Wrestling

Ace’s Boys 

by Dennis Williams

You can’t be a jockey if you weigh 250 pounds. You can’t play offensive tackle if you tip the scales at 100 lbs. However, regardless of your height, weight, or build, you can compete in the sport of wrestling. Between 1941 and 1970 a group of high school athletes of all shapes and sizes came together and competed more successfully than any other team in Missouri before or since. These were the young men of the Ritenour High School Wrestling program.

 

During that 28-year period, the Huskies never finished below fourth place in the state. Included in their incredible run were 14 straight state championships (the second most nationally) and 5 additional second place finishes. This era produced more than 60 individual state champions, including the 4-time winner Ray (Buzzy) Berkfeld. No other Missouri school can even come close to matching these marks.

 

Much of the program’s success can be attributed to one remarkable family; the family of Willard and Isabel Grubbs, also known as “The Grappling Grubbs Boys.” Starting in the 30’s with their oldest boy, Bill, several generations of Grubbs boys and their cousins wore the orange and black singlets that became the symbol of Husky dominance. Willard and Isabel became fixtures on the scene, hauling team members to meets and even helping to sew together old long johns to make practice uniforms. In all, seven members of the family won state championships, and several went on to wrestle at colleges such as perennial power Purdue and the University of Missouri. Jack Grubbs qualified for the Olympic Trials and came one match short of making the U.S. team for the 1960 Rome Olympics, where the world was introduced to a brash young boxer from Louisville with the unusual name of Cassius Clay. For their accomplishments, the family has received many honors, including election to both the National Wrestling and Ritenour Halls of Fame.

Ritenour wrestling coach, John (Ace) Moore

Just as important to the program was Hall of Fame coach John (Ace) Moore.

 

Moore, after whom the current high school field house is named, was a thin, serious man who was a true believer in the gospel of hard work and that practice makes perfect. Coach Moore’s word was law, and if you were going to wrestle for him you had better be on the same page. His practices were legendary for both their length and intensity, with a heavy emphasis on cardiovascular fitness. His boys were not going to lose a match because their opponent was in better shape. 

 

Proving you were tough enough to wrestle for  Moore was a rite of passage for hundreds of young men, and they felt it made them part of an elite fraternity. Their great success made the brutal workouts and the strict diet easier to swallow.  Moore’s wrestlers used his lessons in toughness as a springboard to success in many fields throughout later life and many of their individual journeys are worthy of their own columns.

 

Times were different in the 40’s and 50’s and the Ace’s wrestlers competed for camaraderie and fun, as well as the respect they received for being champions. It is sport at its purest. They didn’t do it for fortune, fame, or 15 minutes of YouTube notoriety. I’m sure they didn’t think someone would be writing about them a half century later. I like to think the men who wrestled on these teams, some of whom are now in their 80’s, look back on those times as golden. I hope they can laugh about how hard the practices were and I hope they take the time to exaggerate a little when they describe them to friends and family, just like most of us do when we spin yarns about how tough we were during our ball playing days. One thing they can’t exaggerate is how great those teams were. The record speaks for itself. So the next time you see a fellow in the area who may be up there in age but still has fire in his eye, you better show some respect and stay on his good side. That man just might be one of Ace’s Boys.