The story of Foxcatcher, John DuPont, and his murder of Dave Schultz

wrestlingcardking

The first international wrestling event I ever attended was the World Championships in 1995 in Atlanta. In retrospect, this may have been one of the greatest freestyle wrestling teams ever put together by the USA. I was quickly introduced to the amount of Iranian fans in attendance. The other side of the arena was absolutely packed with Iranians, and it felt like I was in another country if I walked the concourse area on that side of the arena. I heard at the World Championships this past year in Las Vegas that very rich people from Iran will buy blocks of tickets and then give them to Iranians (most of whom live in the US) if they are interested in attending for free. Anyways, I was moved when Dave Schultz came into the arena. The entire crowd went wild and Dave Schultz waved to the Iranian fans in addition to the Americans in the stands. Dave spent a lot of time with other foreign wrestlers learning their technique and taking an interest in other cultures. I have to say that I also recognized the guy that was largely funding the efforts of our Olympic hopefuls in John DuPont. It saddened me greatly to hear the news on January 26, 1996 that would shock the wrestling world.

On those August days in Atlanta in 1995 I was able to collect these autographs and even got to see a very young Kurt Angle win his only World Title.........My time getting Dave's autograph was brief, but I can remember it distinctly to this day.


Later on, brother Mark Schultz wrote a book "Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John DuPont's Madness and the Quest for Olympic Gold" that eventually became the framework for the movie "Foxcatcher". Of course there is a Hollywood spin to the real story, but some of the acting was spectacular with Steve Carell (DuPont) and Mark Ruffalo (Dave). Channing Tatum played Mark in the movie.


You may want to check out this video on Mark at the Olympics in 1984 where he was disqualified for "Excessive Brutality" and officials were closely monitoring the actions of both Dave and Mark. Both brothers went on to win Olympic Gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otSAWYs7Qtw

I also recommend that you watch "Prince of Pennsylvania" as I am sure that many of us enjoy all the stories that ESPN puts together as part of their 30 for 30 series. The best part of ESPN in my opinion. This showed real footage, interviews of some of the wrestlers from the Foxcatcher farm, etc.


In addition to the 30 for 30, there is another documentary that was released this last month that was largely launched by Dave's wife Nancy. This can be found on Netflix and is titled "Team Foxcatcher". I have not watched it yet, but looking forward to it.


I was able to find a piece that shows that John DuPont may be a little bit odd.....I wasn't sure whether to "collect" this piece or if I should destroy it...... I have this now to tell the story as part of my collection.


Finally, here in California the youth wrestling tournament and our state championships are named after Dave Schultz and in a few weeks I will be coaching my team and my nephew; and remember what Dave meant for the sport of wrestling, not only in California, but the USA. In fact, an international wrestling tournament is named after Dave Schultz as his presence was felt across the entire world in our sport. I cannot believe it has been twenty years since wrestling lost Dave Schultz in such a senseless act.



Thanks for reading.

PMKAY

I watched the 30 for 30 a few months ago. I only vaguely remembered what had happened going into it. I thought ESPN did a good job.

Great cards. Had not seen most of these before.

Stingray

Cool stuff, have not seen those before!!

Tabe

Originally posted by: PMKAY
I watched the 30 for 30 a few months ago. I only vaguely remembered what had happened going into it. I thought ESPN did a good job.

Great cards. Had not seen most of these before.

If you have Netflix streaming, I'd highly recommend their "Team Foxcatcher" documentary. I thought it did a MUCH better job of telling the story than either ESPN or the Steve Carrell movie did.

PMKAY

Don't think it's on Netflix Canada but will have a look.

wrestlingcardking

I do not stream Netflix so that is the only reason why I have not seen the last documentary yet.

Nathaniel1960

30 for 30 was great. Very creepy, especially the part about the trees. Really built up the sense of impending doom.

Stingray

Originally posted by: Nathaniel1960
30 for 30 was great. Very creepy, especially the part about the trees. Really built up the sense of impending doom.

The trees are staring at me!!