Wrestler reminisces about special mentor

Port Washington wrestling legend Phil “Pee Wee” Mueller recently traveled from his home in North Carolina to visit his native land and reconnect with old friends.

One he especially misses is gone. But Mueller will never forget Tom Watry, who died at 70 on Oct. 18, 2020, in Colorado.

Watry was a senior when Mueller was a freshman at Port High and just starting to figure out high school wrestling after becoming interested in the sport a couple of years earlier.

At practice, freshmen were only supposed to wrestle freshmen, but these two didn’t adhere to that rule.

“I used to wrestle Tom every day in practice,” Mueller said. “We took a liking to each other.”

Watry was already a star, an undefeated conference champion for two consecutive years, and he qualified for state at 180 pounds in 1968. Mueller was an up-and-coming talent, pinning all 10 of his opponents as a freshman.

Watry ended up losing in the semifinals to unbeaten Rich Hinebaugh of Monroe, who went on to beat Ben Peterson of Cumberland for the title. Peterson later won gold and silver medals in the Olympics. Mueller said it was the “toughest weight class in years.”

Spending that one season watching Watry made an impact on Mueller and the other “sponges” on the team.

“Myself and the other young wrestlers, we looked up to Tom,” he said.

Watry and Mueller especially hit it off. Watry even came to watch Mueller wrestle at home freshman meets.

“Every night I’d come to him for more and more advice,” Mueller said. “He never said no.”

Advice ran the gamut from wrestling technique to mental tips. One of the best pieces of advice Mueller remembers receiving from Watry was, “‘It’s not how good you are right now, Pee Wee. It’s how great you want to be.’”

Mueller went on to be great. He won the state title at 155 pounds in 1970, was third in 1971 and held most of the Pirates’ records when he graduated. Those records weren’t broken until Alex Dieringer came along decades later.

In 2017, Mueller was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in recognition of his 53 years of competing, coaching and officiating. That, he said, felt better than winning a state championship.

Watry wrested for the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a scholarship and became a journeyman ironworker for 30 years in Denver. He was described as “a kind man often quietly helping others and donating time and goods to those he saw as needy or troubled.”

Mueller and Watry had crossed paths several times since high school, sometimes at Fish Day as Watry rode his bike around. Mueller said Watry never treated him any differently than in high school.

“He always made it out like you were the only friend he had,” he said. “We hugged each other every time we saw each other.”

Mueller continues to officiate today and keep Watry’s legacy alive.

“Some of the knowledge he gave me I pass along,” he said.