2023 AAU Hall of Fame Inducts Three New Members
06/22/2023
Alan Solomon, James Tanniehill, and Tom Erikson are part of the 2023 AAU Wrestling Hall of Fame
By: Mike Newbern
ORLANDO, Fla. (June 22, 2023) -- Alan Solomon, James Tanniehill, and Tom Erikson were inducted into the 2023 AAU Hall of Fame Class Tuesday night in Orlando Florida. Hall of Fame Chairman Gary Myers introduced the inductees along with AAU wrestling’s outstanding persons of the year.
Alan Solomon, a graduate of SUNY Geneseo in New York has been a wrestling official for 48 years. Alan has officiated in high school, AAU, USAW, and many other tournaments throughout his career including 17 Scholastic Duals. Alan and his wife moved to Florida in 1979. He is a retired teacher of American history, civics, and government. He became an official in a very unique way. He returned home from work one evening in 1979 and his wife told him he had a meeting to attend that evening. Alan asked, “what meeting” and she replied, “a wrestling officials meeting, I signed you up!” Not one to disagree with his wife, Alan attended the meeting, and a hall of fame officiating career began.
Alan also coached several teams during his years as a teacher with numerous district, regional and state placers. The 3x captain at SUNY Geneseo has also been inducted to his alma mater’s Hall of Fame and in 2016 he was inducted into the Florida Wrestling Official’s Hall of Fame.
James Tanniehill was born in Alabama and moved with his family when he was 15 years old to Minnesota. The move was life changing for a young African American man in the 1960’s but with the strong support from his mother, he strived to make his mark. A wrestling coach noticed his strong physique and asked him to give wrestling a try. James remembered seeing wrestling on TV back in Alabama, and he proceeded to body slam and stomp on his opponents that day. The coach quickly helped James learn that amateur wrestling was quite different, and James had found something that would change his life. He went on to win the district and regional titles, and place 3rd at the state tournament. His success afforded him the opportunity to attend Winona State College where he received a BA in Art. While there, he won 52 of 56 duals, scoring 48 falls, and was a two time Dll All-American. James continued his post collegiate career winning 9 interservice Freestyle tournaments and 5 Greco-Roman titles while serving in the military. James was also a winner of the prestigious Midlands tournament and is the first African American to win 12 national championships. Olympic Champion and 2x NCAA Champion Ben Peterson noted that, “James Tanniehill taught me more about hand fighting than anyone else.”
Upon receiving his award, a very emotional and humbled Mr. Tanniehill said, “I am very honored, and I loved my mother and coaches who supported me, Coach McCann, Bobby Douglass, and many others.”
Hall of Fame inductee Tom Erikson is the epitome of perseverance. He recalled a time prior to a match at Oklahoma State where he and his teammates were sitting around talking about their high school careers. Fellow OSU All-Americans John Smith, Vince Silva, Mike Farrell, and Glen Lanham were all recounting the number of state titles each had won, and they were stunned to find out that Tom never qualified for the state tournament in Illinois.
Tom had the opportunity to attend and wrestle at Triton College in River Grove Illinois. Tom made the most of this opportunity by becoming a 2x National JUCO champion. He almost stepped away from wrestling after his first JUCO title because he didn’t see how he could ever surpass that year’s accomplishments. Triton won the team title as well. However, his coach, the late Art Kraft promised him that he would be his last champion, and that he would retire afterwards. What he did not tell his champion, who would also be named that year’s Outstanding Wrestler award winner, was that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Coach Kraft passed away the summer following Tom’s second championship. Honoring his revered late coach, Tom developed a “never say quit attitude” and went on to become one of the best heavyweights in American wrestling history. He went on to become a 2x All-American at Oklahoma State University placing 4th his junior year and 3rd his senior year.
Erikson finished his wrestling career as a 15 time US National medalist winning 1 gold, 10 silver, and 4 bronze medals, never finishing below 3rd place in any US Open. “He’d have been a three time gold medalist (Olympic) if it wasn’t for Bruce Baumgartner,” said Mitch Hull, national team’s director for USA Wrestling who also was an alternate in for the 1984 Olympic Games. Tom went on to win 28 international tournaments and a world Cup silver medal. "It's an emotional roller coaster," says the 6-foot-4-inch, 286-pound wrestler. "It's hard for someone to feel sympathy for me. It's like, 'Are you stupid?' But I still have a dream to be the best at it, and I try and keep a sense of humor." But the joke wears thin at times, especially because Mr. Erikson is no slouch himself. He was finally able to capture first place in the 1992 World Cup, the only year Mr. Baumgartner had sat out. "He was No. 2 in the world, behind Bruce, for a long time," said Olympic coach Greg Strobel. "He beat all the world champions but Bruce. He could have been a gold medal winner."
Known to many as Tom “The Big Cat” Erickson, he then took his talents to the world of MMA fighting. Tom had a 9-4-1 career record in MMA before returning to college wrestling as a coach. He was a longtime assistant coach at Purdue University before becoming a head coach at Lyon College in Batesville Arkansas. Tom has served as an assistant coach at Duke University for the past eight years. Tom was enshrined in the Triton College Hall of Fame in 2009.
The “Big Cat” is without a doubt the epitome of” perseverance and a never quit attitude.”
Congratulations to the 2023 AAU Hall of Fame inductees.
ORLANDO, Fla. (June 22, 2023) -- Alan Solomon, James Tanniehill, and Tom Erikson were inducted into the 2023 AAU Hall of Fame Class Tuesday night in Orlando Florida. Hall of Fame Chairman Gary Myers introduced the inductees along with AAU wrestling’s outstanding persons of the year.
Alan Solomon, a graduate of SUNY Geneseo in New York has been a wrestling official for 48 years. Alan has officiated in high school, AAU, USAW, and many other tournaments throughout his career including 17 Scholastic Duals. Alan and his wife moved to Florida in 1979. He is a retired teacher of American history, civics, and government. He became an official in a very unique way. He returned home from work one evening in 1979 and his wife told him he had a meeting to attend that evening. Alan asked, “what meeting” and she replied, “a wrestling officials meeting, I signed you up!” Not one to disagree with his wife, Alan attended the meeting, and a hall of fame officiating career began.
Alan also coached several teams during his years as a teacher with numerous district, regional and state placers. The 3x captain at SUNY Geneseo has also been inducted to his alma mater’s Hall of Fame and in 2016 he was inducted into the Florida Wrestling Official’s Hall of Fame.
James Tanniehill was born in Alabama and moved with his family when he was 15 years old to Minnesota. The move was life changing for a young African American man in the 1960’s but with the strong support from his mother, he strived to make his mark. A wrestling coach noticed his strong physique and asked him to give wrestling a try. James remembered seeing wrestling on TV back in Alabama, and he proceeded to body slam and stomp on his opponents that day. The coach quickly helped James learn that amateur wrestling was quite different, and James had found something that would change his life. He went on to win the district and regional titles, and place 3rd at the state tournament. His success afforded him the opportunity to attend Winona State College where he received a BA in Art. While there, he won 52 of 56 duals, scoring 48 falls, and was a two time Dll All-American. James continued his post collegiate career winning 9 interservice Freestyle tournaments and 5 Greco-Roman titles while serving in the military. James was also a winner of the prestigious Midlands tournament and is the first African American to win 12 national championships. Olympic Champion and 2x NCAA Champion Ben Peterson noted that, “James Tanniehill taught me more about hand fighting than anyone else.”
Upon receiving his award, a very emotional and humbled Mr. Tanniehill said, “I am very honored, and I loved my mother and coaches who supported me, Coach McCann, Bobby Douglass, and many others.”
Hall of Fame inductee Tom Erikson is the epitome of perseverance. He recalled a time prior to a match at Oklahoma State where he and his teammates were sitting around talking about their high school careers. Fellow OSU All-Americans John Smith, Vince Silva, Mike Farrell, and Glen Lanham were all recounting the number of state titles each had won, and they were stunned to find out that Tom never qualified for the state tournament in Illinois.
Tom had the opportunity to attend and wrestle at Triton College in River Grove Illinois. Tom made the most of this opportunity by becoming a 2x National JUCO champion. He almost stepped away from wrestling after his first JUCO title because he didn’t see how he could ever surpass that year’s accomplishments. Triton won the team title as well. However, his coach, the late Art Kraft promised him that he would be his last champion, and that he would retire afterwards. What he did not tell his champion, who would also be named that year’s Outstanding Wrestler award winner, was that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Coach Kraft passed away the summer following Tom’s second championship. Honoring his revered late coach, Tom developed a “never say quit attitude” and went on to become one of the best heavyweights in American wrestling history. He went on to become a 2x All-American at Oklahoma State University placing 4th his junior year and 3rd his senior year.
Erikson finished his wrestling career as a 15 time US National medalist winning 1 gold, 10 silver, and 4 bronze medals, never finishing below 3rd place in any US Open. “He’d have been a three time gold medalist (Olympic) if it wasn’t for Bruce Baumgartner,” said Mitch Hull, national team’s director for USA Wrestling who also was an alternate in for the 1984 Olympic Games. Tom went on to win 28 international tournaments and a world Cup silver medal. "It's an emotional roller coaster," says the 6-foot-4-inch, 286-pound wrestler. "It's hard for someone to feel sympathy for me. It's like, 'Are you stupid?' But I still have a dream to be the best at it, and I try and keep a sense of humor." But the joke wears thin at times, especially because Mr. Erikson is no slouch himself. He was finally able to capture first place in the 1992 World Cup, the only year Mr. Baumgartner had sat out. "He was No. 2 in the world, behind Bruce, for a long time," said Olympic coach Greg Strobel. "He beat all the world champions but Bruce. He could have been a gold medal winner."
Known to many as Tom “The Big Cat” Erickson, he then took his talents to the world of MMA fighting. Tom had a 9-4-1 career record in MMA before returning to college wrestling as a coach. He was a longtime assistant coach at Purdue University before becoming a head coach at Lyon College in Batesville Arkansas. Tom has served as an assistant coach at Duke University for the past eight years. Tom was enshrined in the Triton College Hall of Fame in 2009.
The “Big Cat” is without a doubt the epitome of” perseverance and a never quit attitude.”
Congratulations to the 2023 AAU Hall of Fame inductees.
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