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In 1957, Ed Carlin, a three-year letter winner on the Syracuse wrestling team, was on his way to graduating in the spring. After graduation, he was planning to either join the family machinery business or teaching physical education in the public school system.
But a human error set him on a different course.
The academic adviser Carlin was working with had mistakenly left out a core course from his schedule during his time at Syracuse and the course was only offered in the fall. Carlin had to stay for another semester at SU, where he became a graduate assistant for the wrestling team. After several local coaching jobs and a stint with the military, Carlin became the SU head wrestling coach in 1964.
Without the adviser's mistake, Carlin admitted, he might never have become a coach at Syracuse nor had the success that followed.
Fifty years later, Carlin is now being recognized with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award" by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The public induction ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at the R.I.T. Inn and Conference Center in Rochester, N.Y. A reception will begin at 1:30 p.m. followed by dinner and the induction ceremony at 4 p.m.
"It had meant a lot for me to be picked a letter winner of distinction at Syracuse University, and I didn't expect anything beyond that," Carlin said. "But then the (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) inducted me, and now the NCAA. So I must have done better than I thought."
In 36 seasons as the SU head coach, he amassed a record of 275-184-7 and coached 22 All-Americans, 42 EIWA champions and seven national champions. In his last 15 years of coaching, he coached the Orange to a national top-three finish 11 times and racked up five team championships.
"The leadership he showed, the citizenship and what he taught the young people through the sport of wrestling is probably second to none," said Michael Clair, national state chapter director. "He is an individual that the National Hall of Fame is very happy and proud to present the award to."
One of the young people on whom he had a great affect is Lelan Rogers, who competed for Carlin for two seasons in the late 1980s and is now an assistant coach for the Syracuse men's lacrosse team. Rogers remembers how Carlin would be early for every practice, how he would stay late to work on drills with his players and his hands-on approach in those drills. Carlin would always ask for a partner in drills when instructing his team, and the entire team would tremble just a little bit. Carlin would then choose someone and put his move on them.
"He would ask you how you feel to make a point, and you couldn't even talk because you were in so much pain," Rogers joked. "His dedication to the sport and passion for it really rubbed off on his guys."
With this dedication and passion, Carlin built the program at SU virtually from the ground up. He and members of his team even gutted an old building and built their own wrestling facility, which sat next to Manley Field House for a number of years.
"He had an old coaching style," former Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel said. "He didn't need facilities, he never asked for anything; he just did with it what he had, and what he had was self-generated. He built the program, he sustained the program, and he did his own recruiting."
But after building the program for almost 40 years, Carlin watched as it crumbled under the pressures of Title IX. SU disbanded the team in 1996 and Carlin retired at age 62 the following year. He continues to feel angry, frustrated and saddened by the decision. He often pauses before speaking about that year, almost searching for the words to describe the pain he still feels.
"I was crushed, needless to say," Carlin said. "I had put my whole life into the wrestling program, and it was like going back to square one."
It wasn't the first time Carlin had overcome adversity in his position. In the late 1960s, SU cut all scholarships for eight years to every sport except football and basketball, leaving Carlin with eight seasons of mediocrity. In the late 1990s, Carlin's team was sanctioned along with the SU basketball and lacrosse teams for a violation and the squad lost 10 scholarships over four seasons.
But it has been Carlin's ability to overcome these hardships that have allowed him to have such a long and illustrious career.
"You learn to get back up when you have been knocked down in life," Carlin said. "Get back on your feet and move on with your life, and that's what you have got to do in this world."
Since his retirement and the disbanding of his team, Carlin has enjoyed living on Oneida Lake, going to Florida in the winters, playing golf and working on his newest project: fundraising to help build a park in Brewerton, N.Y.
Despite these activities, Carlin still retains his love of wrestling. His grandson competed in pee-wee wrestling for a time and Carlin, in true form, was there to show him the moves. Each year, he sees former wrestlers and frequently talks on the phone with former teammates, players and coaches.
"I enjoyed my years at Syracuse and I enjoyed the coaching, but what I missed most after my retirement was working with the young kids because they kept me young," Carlin said. "I am looking forward to the induction because any day I can get together with any of my old wrestlers will be a great day."
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