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Another Pihakis leaves mark on wrestling

3 min read

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Growing up in Canonsburg, James Pihakis knew he had made it when people started calling him by a nickname, Jamo.

Having a nickname meant he was somebody, at least to his friends and family and the community he lived in.

Maybe Birmingham, Ala., might want to start the tradition.

If it did then James Pihakis would have another nickname, most likely “The Father of Wrestling” in the state.

Pihakis is the reason why the sport exists in Birmingham. That is also one of the reasons why Pihakis will be inducted into the Alabama Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Pihakis will be inducted during ceremonies this spring. Now retired, the 88-year-old Pihakis is a 1951 graduate of Canonsburg High School and a 1955 graduate of Waynesburg University.

“I got a letter in the mail. I was nominated by the coaches in Alabama, ex-coaches and the referee’s association,” said Pihakis.

In 1958, Pihakis cousin, George Pihakis, was transferred to Alabama through his job as a state manager for an insurance company. That brought Jamo down, first on a visit then as a resident and teacher.

“We started going to the high schools, me, my brother and my cousin Jimmy, and helped them out,” said Jamo Pihakis. “Then we refereed their eliminations, then we refereed their matches.”

Pihakis officiated for 20 years before a heart attack slowed him. He refereed every state tournament in those 20 years.

“I would say we had seven, eight schools to start with and each year we added one or two schools,” said Pihakis.

James Pihakis began wrestling in high school one weight above his brother Buns.

“I was at 95 and Buns was 88, I went to 103 the next year and he went to 95, then I went to 112 and he went to 103,” said Jamo Pihakis.

Jamo Pihakis was a two-time WPIAL runner-up, losing to Ed Peery of Shaler in the finals as a senior and Ronnie Kurtz of Waynesburg as a junior. Both losses were close, two points to Peery and one to Kurtz.

He had a good college career and roomed with two-time national champion Tony Gizoni while at Waynesburg.

One day in 1956, a man he didn’t recognize but who knew of Pihakis came up to him and told him he would be wrestling for their team. 

Pihakis, who hadn’t wrestled in months, refused the offer but the man was persistent.

“His name was Dean Seese, I found out later, and he wrestled my brother, Buns, in the state finals,” said James Pihakis. “Seese was wrestling for the Navy and they needed a 125-pounder.”

Pihakis agreed and made it to the finals, a win away from earning a spot in the 1956 Olympic Trials in California. Seese made the team but broke his foot while working out and was unable to compete.

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