Lehigh Wrestling 1950s and 1960s

The 1950s was marked by a decisive national strength of the Eastern Conference along with the debut of coach Gerry Leeman, a past NCAA champion and Olympian. This set the stage for the 1960s, one of the best decades for Lehigh Wrestling. The 1962 team had five wrestlers ranked in Lehigh’s top fifty of all time and standout leaders such as Kirk Pendleton and future coach Thad Turner. By 1965, Lehigh wrestling had not had a losing season in twenty years and their popularity was booming. Lehigh had some diehard fans. They had great knowledge of the sport, and would pack Grace Hall far past capacity and stomp their feet to intimidate the opponent, earning the arena the nickname “The Snake Pit.” Sophomore Mike Caruso, who would become a 3 time NCAA champion, was one of Lehigh’s most beloved wrestlers. In 1965 the “terrific trio” (Caruso, Peritore, and Stuart) led the team to a fourth place overall NCAA finish with a record of four All-Americans. Great success at the NCAA tournament continued into 1967 and 1968.

First Photograph: Grace Hall 1968
[Crowd / Tepper, Eliott / Wrestling / 1968, F2782], Lehigh Photographs Collection, Special Collections, Lehigh University Libraries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Second Photograph: Mike Caruso and Joseph Peritore 1967
[Group portrait / Caruso, Michael J. (Mike); Peritore, Joseph F. (Joe) / Wrestling / 1967, F6092], Lehigh Photographs Collection, Special Collections, Lehigh University Libraries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Third Photograph: Mike Caruso wrestling Fehrs in the NCAA finals
[Group portrait / Caruso, Michael J. (Mike); Fehrs / Wrestling; NCAA / 1967, CX351], Lehigh Photographs Collection, Special Collections, Lehigh University Libraries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Fourth Photograph: Article from Newsweek from 1965 which describes what the atmosphere of "The Snake Pit" was like.
Newsweek. January, 25, 1965. Sports/Wrestling (Lehigh Collection Vertical File). Call Number. SC LVF S767. Special Collections, Lehigh University, Linderman Library, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Videos:
Video Below: Interviews conducted by the group Academic Image with Mike Caruso and others about Grace Hall, "The Snake Pit".