Abbott Blog: Why Greg Strobel means so much to me, and to wrestling

Photo of Greg Strobel from his Facebook page.


As I was driving with my work colleagues from Colorado to Iowa to attend the Senior Nationals, I received a shocking call from USA Wrestling President Bruce Baumgartner that shook me to the core. Bruce told me that Greg Strobel had passed away. It has really thrown me for a loop. I feel compelled to share some thoughts about Greg as we all come together as a wrestling family this weekend at Senior Nationals.


I first got to know Greg Strobel when I was hired as Communications Manager at USA Wrestling in 1988. I knew of Greg Strobel through my years as an athlete and journalist. Everybody knew about Greg. From the day I joined the company, he was welcoming, friendly, supporting and full of knowledge. He made me feel at home.


One of my first thoughts when I heard the news was from my first Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympics, only a few months after I was hired. It was my first overseas trip. For some reason, Greg and I ended up at an Olympic-related social on the edge of Seoul, way up on a large hill. It was night, and we had a glorious view of one of the world’s largest cities, spread across the valley and lit up for miles. Greg basically said, “Enjoy this when you can.” It was my first true taste of the life I had ahead of me within the international wrestling community.


Greg told me to take time to smell the roses when I was just 27 years old, but I chose not to listen to that wonderful advice until just recently in my life. I was focused on the work part of my life, and often missed the entire forest by looking at only at the trees around me.


That’s not to say Greg did not have a strong work ethic. He worked as hard on his career within wrestling as anybody on earth. It was Greg Strobel who told me “if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.” He was spot-on with that life truth, and he was one of those busy people that you could truly count on to get the job done.


Greg was excellent at everything he did. He was an excellent athlete, coach, administrator and leader within wrestling. But he was also excellent in all the important things in life: husband, father and friend. When I think of Greg, words come to mind like mentor, leader, visionary, teacher. But the most important one was friend.


A lot of wrestling folks love to talk about wrestling, but when you spent time with Greg, he wanted to talk about everything except wrestling. Sure, he could talk wrestling with the best of them. He was wrestling. But with Greg, we always talked about his other life passions, especially his family.


Greg was one of the most upbeat and positive people I have ever met. He lived his life with gusto. Whether it was fishing or hiking or going on vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Greg always had great stories about the different adventures in his life.


This man was tough. I’m not talking about the kind of tough that led him to win two NCAA titles for Oregon State and to become one of the nation’s best college and international coaches. I am talking about his ability to deal with adversity and pain with class and dignity. This is a guy who had kicked cancer and he never really ever talked about it. A few months back, he had an unfortunate crash riding his bike, which really messed up his body and required extensive medical care. Even when he told you about it, he quickly dismissed it in that positive way he talked, and went on to the next thing.


When Greg was in your life, so was his wonderful wife Donna, who was also a dear friend to me. They were high school sweethearts and shared their life journey together. I have my own personal Donna Strobel stories, including a fun day at an Octoberfest in Colorado Springs in my first year at USA Wrestling, when Greg was off on one of his wrestling travels. In 2008, Greg and Donna attended my wedding, where the reception was held on the beach that I grew up on, located on the north shore of Long Island. It was a perfect summer weather day. Greg and Donna told Pat and I that they had a fantastic time, one of the best weddings they had attended, which meant a ton to us.


Donna passed away in January, and now we have lost Greg as well. I am unbelievably heartbroken for Greg’s family, and wish to again let them know we are here for them during this unimaginable time of sorrow and pain. The family has told me that they received so much love and support from the wrestling community in the hours since Greg has passed and it is greatly appreciated. I know many others will reach out to them during the tough days ahead. I heard so many stories from Greg and Donna about their kids, as well as their grandkids. That was always part of any conversation we ever had.


I have so many stories about Greg Strobel that it could fill a book. But there is already a great book written about Greg by Jamie Moffatt entitled Strobel: Stories from a life with wrestling. It is a great read, whether you knew Greg personally or not.


It is a bit strange to be at a major USA Wrestling event and not have Greg here to be part of everything. But Greg is here with all of us. Few people have done as much to build USA Wrestling than he did. Greg worked as National Teams Director and National Coach for the organization back when it first became the national governing body in the early 1980’s. After he left his staff position, he became one of the most influential volunteer leaders in the sport, helping guide USA Wrestling to a much larger and more effective organization that serves so many more people than we did in the early years.


Greg was a man of impact, both in wrestling and in life. And as one of the thousands of people that he mentored and influenced, I know Greg will be part of the bright future for our sport, through the continuing efforts of the people who he has impacted.