Former Panther Bill Koll Featured in College Wrestling Examiner

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Koll was among the Americans who bravely battled rough seas, towering cliffs, and an entrenched enemy on what has become known as D-Day.

Former Panther wrestler Bill Koll was among the Americans who bravely battled rough seas, towering cliffs, and an entrenched enemy on what has become known as D-Day.

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BY MARK PALMER
COLLEGE WRESTLING EXAMINER (June 5, 2009)

Sixty-five years ago - June 6, 1944 -- Allied forces stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy, France to take back Europe from German Nazi occupation during World War II.

All-time great wrestler and coach Bill Koll - named by Amateur Wrestling News as the Wrestler of the Decade for the 1940s -- was among the Americans who bravely battled rough seas, towering cliffs, and an entrenched enemy on what has become known as D-Day.

William Henry Koll - father of Cornell University head coach Rob Koll - was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa in 1923. He had a rough introduction to wrestling in high school; as a sophomore, he lost every dual-meet match. However, by his senior year, Bill Koll won the Iowa high school state 135-pound title as a senior. He then enrolled at what was then known as Iowa State Teachers College (ISTC) in Cedar Falls, Iowa (now University of Northern Iowa). In February 1943 - his freshman year - Koll was inducted into the U.S. Army, serving in the 149th Combat Engineers Battalion in Europe.

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