Mississippi Has Already Produced Some Great Wrestlers

 As you can imagine, I get into conversations about wrestling quite often. Had a guy the other day that went on and on about the talent and phenom that was Bo Nickal.  How it made him wonder over the years how many great athletes the sport of wrestling missed out on because wrestling wasn't really a thing in Texas high schools for such a long period of time. I of course had to mention other greats from Texas, such as Brandon Slay and Tom Grossman.  

Our conversation soon turned to Mississippi as we pondered how many kids from the hospitality state would make great wrestlers if given the opportunity.  Much to his surprise, I told him that I already knew of a few. 

Houston Antwine 

Antwine spent most of his youth in Louise, Mississippi.  Destined to be a legend on the gridiron, he played basketball during the winter. The court wasn't too friendly to the short and stalky Antwine, so when his family uprooted to Memphis, Tennessee, Antwine took immediate notice that there was another option during the winter.  Wrestling.  While it would never replace his love and passion for football, Antwine soon found his second favorite sport.  

Good enough to earn scholarships in both football and wrestling, Antwine took his athletic career to Southern-Illinois Carbondale where he was a standout on the football field and on the wrestling mat.  He was third at the 1959 NAIA championships, winning the NAIA title in 1960.  

Post college, Antwine went on to play professional football.  Ironically enough along with the Boston Patriots the other team Antwine played for was the Houston Oilers!  Houston for Houston! 

Dick Arrington

The summer before his freshman year of high school, Dick Arrington's family moved from Kiln, Mississippi to Erie, Pennsylvania.  Already a promising Football player, Arrington decided to also go out for the wrestling team.  

Post high school, Arrington went on to have a standout football career at the University of Notre Dame where he also took third place All American honors in 1965 as a wrestler.  After college, Arrington played for the Boston Patriots in the NFL. 

Edwin Barnett 

Edwin Barnett spent up through eighth grade in Corinth, Mississippi before moving to Michigan as a freshman in high school.  There he went out for the wrestling team at Warren Fitzgerald High school, where by the time he was a senior in high school he saw himself finishing third in the state. 

Post high school Barnett competed for Wayne State (Michigan) where he went 43-5, making the regional finals four years straight.