Catching up with Ed Banach

When the job at hand is to find out what a former Iowa wrestler is doing these days, the questions are likely to be, “what are you up to, or what are you doing now?”  That’s how I began my interview with Ed Banach, one of the more decorated wrestlers in University of Iowa history. 

“Well, I’m living in Ames and working for Iowa State University”, he replied.  If I hadn’t done some pre-interview research, I would have been blown away with his response.  Still, I had to make sure the internet was right.  It’s not always correct, as we’ve come to find out.  I had to laugh.  A Hawk living and working in Cyclone country.  I guess turnabout’s fair play considering former Cyclone Dan Gable did the exact opposite in 1972 when Iowa head coach Gary Kurdelmeier hired him as an assistant coach. 

For the next hour and a half, we spent time discussing what had led him to Iowa to wrestle, his highs and lows (very few of them) and what his ultimate goal was in wrestling.  Much of the love for the sport began for Ed in 1972 when he watched Gable win his Olympic Gold Medal in Munich, Germany.  Not only was Dan a crowd favorite, he didn’t allow a single point to be scored on him.  He became a wrestling icon. 

Ed had started wrestling the season before Gable’s success putting up a dismal 1-7 record as a 7th grader.  Then with a new focus, the next year he was 7-1.  The man responsible for Ed’s mat technique and improvement was Port Jervis, New York High School head wrestling coach,Mark Faller.  Also on the team were a couple more talented Banachs, Ed’s twin brother, Lou and 13-month older brother Steve.  Ed spoke in glowing terms of Faller and what role he played in leading him down the right road.  By today’s standards, none of the Banach boys were decorated high school wrestlers.  They weren’t three and four-time state champions.  Perhaps their motivation was greater because of that fact.  Ed finished with a 97-8 record and won a state title in 1978 as a senior.  Lou won a title in 1977, Steve placed 3rd as a senior.  Yet, their names were abuzz at tournaments during the summer time and at the Junior Nationals held in Iowa City during that time.  It was at the Junior Nationals that Jon Marks, Iowa’s recruiting coordinator, began making connections with all three.  Ultimately, Steve chose to attend Clemson University his freshman year before transferring to Iowa.  Ed and Lou both committed to Iowa as high school seniors.  Ed alluded to the fact, there was no way we weren’t going to commit with Dan Gable sitting in their living room.  “The guy was a living legend”, he punctuated.

Ed redshirted his freshman year at Iowa.  Then the following season he began his run on titles and accolades.  Despite success in the wrestling world, Iowa didn’t have much fan support in those days.  Ed helped changed that.  The more he won the more people showed up.  “The crowds went crazy for Ed”, Gable recalled.  “He had that edge to him.”  He and Gable drafted walk-out songs to pump up the crowd.  His nickname, “the Horse”, became known far and wide. 

All total Banach won 3 NCAA Crowns (1980, 1981, and 1983) and finished runner-up his junior season to Mark Schultz of Oklahoma 16-8.  At the time, Ed was seeking to become the first-ever 4-time NCAA Champion.  The loss to Schultz was called at the time by WIN writer, Mike Chapman, as the second biggest upset in NCAA history, second only to Gable’s loss to Larry Owings in 1970, 13-11.  Ed finished with a career mark of 141-9-1.  In 1984 he went on to win the Olympic Gold Medal at 90 kg. Brother Lou won Gold in the same Games at 100 kg.  Shortly thereafter, Ed joined head coach Jim Gibbons in Ames and served as an Iowa State assistant coach for four seasons.  He suffered a concussion in practice and retired from the sport.  Today he is a Classification Officer at ISU.

I asked him if he ever wrestled Gable.  He laughed.  “It was after I won my first NCAA title. I walked into the wrestling room for practice and everyone had a partner. Except Dan.  I think Gable planned it that way so he could wrestle me.  During our workout, I was able to turn him on his back for two seconds which to me was a pin.  Later when we walked off that mat, I said, I pinned you. He looked at me like only Dan could and said, no you didn’t”.  Ed laughed again.  A number of years later they went at it again.  This time, Banach heard a cracking noise in Dan’s knee as they were wrestling.  Gable was in extreme pain but refused to quit.  So both agreed to have Gable wrestle from the top position.  “He beat the snot out of me”, said Ed. “I had scrapes and welts all over my body.  Of course, he doesn’t ever stop, you have to ask him if he’s had enough for his workout”.  According to Banach, he said Gable finally acknowledged to him that he was “finally learning to wrestle”. 

We then turned to a rapid-fire question-and-answer period: 

1.  Could you have seen yourself wrestling in MMA had it been a sport during your time?  “No, I had like 10 concussions.  So no way”. 

2.  What do you think of the new wrestling rules?  “Not much.  Why are you changing the rules?  There’s no need to make changes”.

3.  How about NIL.  Thoughts?  “The NCAA needs to make it profitable for all.  There needs to be more guidelines in place.  If there isn’t some compliance,  people are going to go off on their own and then where is the NCAA?  They might just disappear”.

4.  What do you miss most about wrestling?  “ I miss the practice element.  Like in the first 20 minutes of practice the wrestlers have so much fun and become so tight as everyone tries to help each other become better at their skills”. 

5.  Did you ever suffer a major injury during competition?  “My senior year, I tore up my ACL before the conference season started.  I wrestled the remainder of the season without one, just like Spencer Lee.  I learned to wrestle technique-wise without one.  It made me a better wrestler”. 

6.  Who do you enjoy watching wrestling nowadays?  “Spencer Lee for sure.  He’s such a dynamic wrestler.  Also Gable Steveson.  He has so much brute strength”. 

7.  Do you keep in contact with your brothers much?  “Lou lives in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and Steve in Kansas City.  We get together quite often and are still very tight”. 

8.  You live in Ames.  Do you wear Iowa gear around town?  I laugh. “I work for the University so that would be a “no”.  When I do go to Iowa City I wear some once in a while”.  So, I ask, since your son, Riley lives in Iowa City, does he keep some Hawkeye gear for you in his closet?  We both laugh.  “No, actually he wrestled for UNI.  So between him and my ties we have the state covered in wrestling”. 

Ed Banach represented the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the sport of wrestling with humbleness and integrity.  He continues doing the same type of work in his present-day job, something not seen much these days.  He was called the “Horse”.  There is another famous Mr. Ed he’s had to share time and space with because of that nickname. 

“Hello, I’m Mr. Ed!.  A horse is a horse, of course

And no one can talk to a horse of course

That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed”. 

Now that the tune is in your head, see if you can sing the remainder of the song.  I hope it sticks with you.  But…know there are not many famous Mr. Ed’s.  We’ve been fortunate to have this one in our midst.