Throwback Thursday: Morris Vs Geraci
 

This week's Throwback Thursday takes us all the way back to 1987 when defending state champion Sam Geraci of Lake Park battled 3x state placer Ben Morris of Fenton for the Class AA 112-pound state title.

This overtime thriller was mentioned in the "Biggest Crowd Eruptions in Assembly Hall History" thread on the Class 3A message board.

Another great match for Throwback Thursday! I note the great riding skills again, though I can see how we may have evolved away from riding with those stalling calls on top.

That stall call for the point with :29 left was brutal!

Yes it was.

And for whatever reason, Sam had a small fan base during that match in the Hall. It seemed like most were pulling for Ben, and the crowd got loud when he scored, or given a point.

Two of IL's Best
 

Geraci was cast as the villain in his day, and crowds were often against him, but he was a gamer. As part of the Lake Park contingent, it was a sad night, but looking back this was one of the greatest finals matches for two of IL's most accomplished wrestlers up to that point. You could see the mutual respect each of them had for each other's wrestling ability.

Great match!

I wish I could have been there to see it live! You could feel the energy just watching it!

Found this quote in the Chicago Tribune back then, guess Sam knew his destiny.

``If I have a close match, it`s not going to go my way,`` said Geraci, who failed to collect his second-place medal. ``I`m noted as a too aggressive wrestler. The referees don`t like me because of the way I wrestle and the way Jerry (Ancona) coaches me. I`m not going to get any breaks out there. It was kind of my fault tonight, not scoring big points. I can`t expect to win the state final match by one point because they are not going to give it to me. I`m happy with what I`ve done in four years.``

Different Year
 

That was probably a quote from his senior year when he was also a runner-up losing a very controversial match vs Pete Shultze from OPRF. I believe he was penalized for walking off the mat to spit in garbage. He finished 1st, 2nd, 2nd back in the day when you didn't see a ton of 3x placers let alone 3x finalists.

This was a great match and the one I looked forward most that year.

Does anyone remember the OT criteria from back then? I don't recall what the result would have been if the 3rd OT period ended 1-1.

I think it's was based on criteria.... something along the lines of who ever had the least amount of caution calls, stalling calls, penalty calls, etc wins the match....

if someone could provide the exact ruling ...


BTW I think the Geraci/Schultze match in the following year was determined based on criteria.