Hauppauge Wrestling Program's Success Rooted in Family

While snow piles up outside, wrestling is a winter sport of choice for many Hauppauge residents. 

The Eagles wrestling has a deep history with even deeper roots within the community, witnessed during its second annual Alumni Night on Jan. 11.  Originally scheduled for Jan. 7, old timers gathered to discuss wrestling’s history since 1957 and how the current team was built. 

“To look at it from its beginning to where we’re at now, I never thought I’d beoming part of history,” said alumni Richard Bowman, one of the team’s captains in 1957.

A 16-member team was formed in 1957 after Hauppauge’s Athletic Department issued a call for wrestlers to join the forming Suffolk County league. Bart Olson, the first varsity coach, recruited members from hallways, other sports teams including Bowman and Sal Dinolfo, class of 1959.

“The coach had a book. He didn’t know how to wrestling so he read us pages out of the book,” Dinolfo said.

Bowman was the only one out of the 16 members who had wrestling experience from a youth program. 

“I had experience so Orson used to ask me what my coach show me, and tell the guys,” Bowman said. “It turned out alright.”

Hauppauge’s wrestling team had a record of 3-8-2 that first year, coming in last in the county in 12th place. It was no surprise when Bowman was awarded the first outstanding wrestler of the year – and he still has the trophy.

The second year of the program built, improving to a winning record of 7-5-1, and despite coming in last in the county again, eventually won its first title of League Champion in 1962.

In more than 50 years, Hauppauge Eagles wrestling has only had three head coaches. Bart Olson started the program and stayed varsity coach until 1973, before passing to Lou Curra, then to wrestling alumni and current head coach Chris Messina in 1982.

Coming from what he called “a typical Italian family,” Messina threw open the doors to his house and further promoted Hauppauge wrestling as a community, a family.

“What I learned from my high school coaches is if you treat these kids like your family, they are going to respect you. You can make them believe they are better people then they believe, they are going to become better people,” Messina said. “That’s why we’re here, to teach them to become better people, better students, better husbands, better fathers.”

Hauppauge wrestling alumni Charlie Clackett, organizer of the Alumni Night, recalled sleepovers at Messina’s house when attending summer wrestling camp.

Alumni Tony Thompson, class of 1992, said he made bets with Messina their team would beat rivals, Huntington, in return for grilled steaks, did so before making further bets on baked potatoes and side dishes to accompany those steaks at the end of the season. Others said they raked leaves pres-season for Messina’s mother, Rose, who formed “The Sideliners” to get others to watch Hauppauge’s wrestling matches.

At Wednesday’s alumni night, over 300 spectators filled the stands despite warnings of snowstorm. The alumni presented missing championship banners that had never been raised to the rafters for the league championships won in 1962, 1966, 1986, 1990, 2002 and 2009.

Since it’s founding, Hauppauge’s wrestling team have a record of 584 wins, 194 loses and six ties. Yet the moment that means most to Messina, a 29-year coach, is one more personal.

“The best moment I ever had in my wrestling career is the moment my son won county, followed by state,” he said. “It’s selfish, but all through high school my goal was to win a county championship and I never did, I never tasted that.” 

It came when Messina was coaching his son, Mike, in 1998. It does seem after all, Hauppauge wrestling is about family.