Two Wrestling Legends

Thursday, January 8th, 2026 | Other, Wrestling | No Comments

When Dan Severn, legendary MMA legend and former amateur star, visited us in Newton recently, I invited him to sit in the rocker chair once owned by the great Frank Gotch, and “The Beast” was happy to oblige. I purchased this chair and a writing table in an auction on June 29, 1996, at the house Frank owned in his hometown of Humboldt, Iowa, when he was the heavyweight wrestling champion of the world. Frank died in 1917 at the age of 39 of Bright’s Disease, but his house remained in ownership of extended family members until 1996.

In addition, I have written numerous books and articles about Gotch and produced a video about him 20 years ago. I also own his derby hat, 5 autographs by him and led the charge to have a handsome statue of him erected in Bicknell Park in Humboldt, and I was the main speaker at the unveiling on July 4, 2012. Bicknell Park is where Frank did his training for the his epic rematch with The Russian Lion, George Hackenschmidt, in Chicago, in 1911.

Dan was a national high school and college star before entering the world of MMA. He was the first athlete to show the world that wrestling is a martial art and able to compete with all other combative disciplines. We have been friends for 25 years, and I even worked his corner once in one of his top battles.

Tags: Dan Severn, Frank Gotch, Humboldt

KXEL IowaFest on August 2

Tuesday, June 24th, 2025 | Book Signing, Books, Other, Radio | No Comments

Mike and Bev will be among the special guests at IowaFest, “A Celebration of Food, Friends, and Fellowship” presented by News/Talk 1540 KXEL of Waterloo, on August 2.  The event is an annual celebration hosted by the popular radio station and there is no admission fee. All are welcome! 

The event will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at the National Cattle Congress Pavilion in Waterloo. Snacks, soda and water are also free.

Mike has appeared on KXEL numerous times with Jeff Stein, station manager and well-known talk show host. He will have some of the 32 books he has written for sale, and will have several very unique items on display, including the framed letter that Ronald Reagan wrote to him back in 1990 when Mike was executive editor of the daily newspaper in Dixon, Illinois, the hometown of President Reagan. The letter was featured on Antique Roadshow earlier this year. He will also have items related to Waterloo legends such as the five Sullivan brothers, Fred Becker and Dan Gable.

Another special guest will be Van Harden, the retired legendary voice of radio station WHO in Des Moines, who has written several books and will have them available for purchase too.

New Documentary on Frank Gotch Planned

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024 | Documentary, Wrestling | No Comments

Two documentary filmmakers, one from Los Angeles and the other from Iowa, came to Mike’s house on November 20 to film him for a project they are doing about the early days of professional wrestling, with a heavy emphasis on Frank Gotch. They spent the previous day in the Humboldt area to film various spots where the Gotch legend began, and at Bickell Park, where the fabulous statue of Gotch stands tall along the river’s edge. Mike played a key role in that statue’s development and was the guest speaker at the unveiling in 2014.

Tags: Bickell Park, Frank Gotch, Frank Gotch Documentary, Humboldt

Remembering Two Great Iowans on Veterans Day

Monday, November 11th, 2024 | Radio | No Comments

To help celebrate Veterans’ Day, Mike was a guest on the KXEL radio show in Waterloo with Jeff Stein, program director, talking about the legends of Fred Becker and Nile Kinnick. A graduate of East High School in Waterloo, Becker became the first All-American football player at the University of Iowa in 1916 as a sophomore and then volunteered to serve his country in World War I. He died fighting along the Western Front in France on July 18, 1918, and is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Waterloo. Kinnick, from Adel, won the Heisman Trophy for the Hawkeyes in 1939 and lost his life on June 2, 1943, as a pilot off the coast of Venezuela. Mike, a Navy veteran himself, has written extensively about both Becker and Kinnick and his book “Triumph and Tragedy” tells their stories, along with the stories of Jack Trice and Johnny Bright.

Listen to the show here: https://on.soundcloud.com/2Zmx1

Tags: East High School Waterloo, Fred Becker, Jeff Stein, KXEL, Nile Kinnick