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Discussion Topic: Former Madison wrestling coach, Gene Melin, in hospital
Todd Vennis added to this discussion on February 18, 2009
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Even though I don't know Gene Melin, his reputation is well known. He obviously needs the prayers of the wrestling community and would relish visitors.
This article was in the Ashtabula Star Beacon yesterday.
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Quote:
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"
Melin in need of support
Former Madison wrestling coach battling esophageal cancer
Rich Kelly - Star Beacon
One of the area’s legendary coaches is in need of plenty of moral support in a moment of personal crisis.
Gene Melin, who molded the Madison High School wrestling program into one of the powerhouses in northeastern Ohio, has been in Cleveland Clinic since Dec. 18, 2008 while battling esophageal cancer. He is currently breathing with a ventilator and is unable to speak, but is alert and able to accept visitors and answer questions only requiring yes or no answers.
Word of Melin’s condition was received from two of his old coaching assistants, Rex Reigert and Frank Haibach, as well as Evan Francis, a pillar of the Madison wrestling community. Francis was collecting signatures Saturday on a get-well card created by the Madison High School art department at Saturday’s match between the Blue Streaks and Jefferson and Lakeside high schools.
All three have visited Melin at Cleveland Clinic, along with a variety of his other old coaching chums. The 70-year-old Melin always seems to welcome visitors and have his spirits elevated on such occasions.
“I think Gene gets pretty depressed sometimes,” Francis said. “He really brightens up when someone comes to visit, though.”
The feisty old coach, who was a three-sport standout athlete at Edgewood before his graduation in 1955 and has been active for years as an officer in the Edgewood Alumni Association, has indicated he hopes to have the ventilator removed and get back to his home in Geneva.
“He may not be able to tell you, but he always gives the thumbs-up when you’re leaving,” Haibach said. “Gene was really happy when Jerry McIntyre (his right-hand man as Blue Streak JV coach) and I went to see him.”
Melin is in Section G1, Room 18. Visiting hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., according to Haibach, although visitors are advised to call the clinic for more specific details.
Melin took the relatively new Madison wrestling program in 1963 and learned right along with his athletes while building it into a powerhouse. The Blue Streaks eventually claimed one championship in the old Western Reserve League, all five of the titles in the defunct Lake Shore League and 11 Northeastern Conference titles, including seven straight from 1980-86, when he retired.
During his 23 seasons, Melin’s wrestlers helped compile a 211-59 dual-match record (.781 winning percentage). At one time, from 1970-75, the Blue Streaks won 59 straight dual matches.
Those achievements earned Melin induction into the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986 in his first year of eligibility. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame of his collegiate alma mater, Adrian (Mich.) College, in 2000.
Melin was also a key factor in the success of the Madison football program in the 1960s and early 1970s, serving as defensive coordinator for George Opron and Jack Hribar."
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