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National Champion Jim Woods
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Davenport, Iowa Fire Department
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Jim and Cathy Woods
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Jim and daughter, Cassie.
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With WIU teammate Jerry Strauman and former Coach Bob McMahan
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The Hallmark of a Leatherneck: Tenacity & Perseverance

October 22, 2020

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From the Summer/Fall 2020 Western Alumni Magazine

While the biologist and chemist Louis Pasteur is credited with saying, "Let me tell you the secret that has led to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity," this famous quotation could have certainly been said by – and been the motto of -- Western Illinois University Alumnus Jim Woods '74.

The WIU graduate grew up in Chicago Heights, in an inner city neighborhood. For Woods, sports was his refuge and served as a place to stay out of trouble. Wrestling, track, football, Woods did it all, putting all he had into these sports.

"I loved sports. I was a hard worker, and my senior year I received the Jim Bouton 110% Award for being the hardest working athlete. My sports resume was thin – I wasn't the best athlete – but my work ethic gave me stead," he remembered.

Woods' alma mater, Bloom High School, produced exceptional athletes, so college scouts were a fixture at his school. Two students from Bloom won state wrestling championships, so that brought recruiters to the school. Woods' wrestling coach, Tom Koenig, wouldn't let WIU Coach Bob McMahon out the door without telling him about his heavyweight wrestler, who happened to be Jim Woods. Coach Koenig is still a mentor to Jim, and he was honored in September of 2013 by Bloom High School Athletic Department and his many greatful wrestlers, including Jim Woods.

"Coach McMahon found out I held no titles, but he knew I still had some success, and my reputation as a hard worker stood out. Coach McMahon found a scholarship, and the next thing I knew, I was at WIU playing football and wrestling," he laughed.

Woods played football through his senior year at Western, but it was in the sport of wrestling where he made his mark … his work ethic and perseverance shining through.

"Wrestling with Coach McMahon, I found out I could be good at this sport. We weren't a really good team, so I was able to start right away," Woods said. "We went to a tournament at the beginning of the year in Champaign; there were 16 schools there, and in the second meet of my college career, I beat a guy from Northwestern in the finals."

Woods continued to excel in the sport his freshman year, making it all the way to nationals. Alas, that first year, he didn't place … and that gave him the determination to go all the way. He was the Division II runner-up his sophomore year, and that progressed to the number one seed in Division II his junior year. But that season ended with frustration when he got hurt, defaulted and forfeited, placing sixth.

"Going into my senior year, it was my goal to win the Division II tournament, and I was determined. I treated it like a business trip. I was methodical. I beat six other wrestlers at the D-II tournament, and I won 13-4 in the finals," Woods recalled.

Clinching the Division II title qualified Woods for the opportunity to move up and wrestle for the Division I national championship and an opportunity to win both national titles in one year. There were 65 wrestlers and Woods was seeded eight and he said ‘he was okay with that."

"I had it in my makeup that I wasn't afraid to lose because I always remembered I wasn't the best. There was always a guy trying to beat me so I worked hard to keep my spot," he added. "My philosophy when it came to wrestling, really with anything, was that I was going to do the very best I could and live with the results."

The national competition, which took place at Iowa State from March 14-16, 1974, was tough, and it took Woods four matches to make it to the final match in his heavyweight class. He first beat a wrestler from Duke by pinning him in 3:55 in the first period. He followed that by pinning a wrestler from Brigham Young in 46 seconds in the first period. Then he was up against the number one seed, Charlie Getty from Penn State, who was also drafted in the second round of the NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. In what Woods called a "muscle on muscle match" he pinned the number one seed in 2:38 seconds. Finally, in the fourth round, the semi-final match, Woods was tested by a wrestler from Yale and had to go the distance for a 4-3 win. Woods was now headed for the national championship match and a chance to win two national championships in one year.

"The wrestler from Yale was my toughest opponent yet. I was better than him, but I just couldn't get away from him," Woods said.

Woods' opponent was out of the Big 10 and from Michigan. He was the number three seed and had just defeated the number two seed from Oklahoma State. If the Michigan wrestler won the match, Michigan would win the national championship. If the Michagan wrestler lost to Woods, then Oklahoma would win the national championship, so the pressure appeared to be on. But not for Woods.

"I was in a fearless state. Nerves were never an issue for me. And there was a record crowd there; the screaming was just intense. I was calm, and Coach McMahon was surprised at how calm I really was," Woods chuckled. "My record was 38-2 my senior year, losing to a silver medal Olympian. I had wrestled champs and got to this point by being determined and focused, so it really didn't phase me."

Woods recalled the championship match was very tight and also remembers looking at the clock with one minute left in the match and seeing that he was trailing 4-2. Woods then went on the attack and put the Michigan wrestler on his back twice in that final minute and won the NCAA Division I individual heavyweight national championship by a final score of 9-5.

"I picked him up and got him down on his back, but it was precarious, so I let him go. He charged me and took me down, but he was desperate, so I took advantage of that desperation," he said. "After years of trying and determination, I ended my college wrestling career as the NCAA Wrestling champion. I also won the Gorriaran Trophy for the most falls in the least amount of time at the Nationals. I was happy to end my college career with a career record of 112–11."

When the 6'5" heavyweight wrestler graduated from WIU, he had aspirations of joining the Olympic wrestling team, but pro football came calling first.

"Professional football coaches will also look at wrestlers, so I was offered a free agent tryout with the Washington Redskins. Remember, the Penn State wrestler was a draft pick for the Chiefs, and a scout from Washington was so impressed with me from the championship that they flew me out for a tryout," he said. "They presented me with a contract and a bonus check, and said 'sign here.' But I knew if I signed, I couldn't wrestle and then I couldn't try for the Olympics, so I passed."

Woods was a member of the USA World Cup team that toured the USSR, Germany and Poland. He enjoyed wrestling around the world, but an injury put a stop to his Olympic dreams. That also meant he was no longer a contender for the NFL. But Woods, like in previous years, persevered.

Jim returned to WIU and was working as the assistant wrestling coach when he met Cathy Pratscher in the 1976 spring semester,who was finishing up her bachelor's degree and had returned to WIU to begin studying for her master's in political science.

"I saw him at a bar, and someone pointed out that he was a national wrestling champ, but that didn't mean much to me," Cathy laughed. "He was fascinating, and one of the smartest people I'd ever met. He was also really funny. It was an interesting time for inter-racial dating as it wasn't considered the norm, but I didn't let convention deter me."

"We were trying to decide where to move once she was done with school and I looked at about three or four police departments, but then we saw a commercial that the Davenport (IA) Fire Department (DFD) was hiring," Jim said. "I sent in my application, took the test and got hired in November 1977. Cathy was done with school in December that year, so we both headed to Davenport."

Cathy and Jim married in 1982 and have two daughters, Sarah and Cassie, who both live in Davenport.

And just as Jim Woods made a name for himself in the world of college wrestling, he also made a name for himself as the first Black firefighter in the Quad Cities – and he remained the only person of color within a Quad Cities fire department for many years. Woods later became the highest ranking Black firefighter in the state of Iowa.

"The first day on the job I found out I was the first Black firefighter in the Quad Cities. In fact, they had an article on the front page of the Quad City Times about me. It just never crossed my mind, and the Fire Chief told me some people might not want me here, but it all worked out," Woods recalled.

On his days off from the DFD, he worked as an emergency medical technician for Medic Ambulance in the Quad Cities. He also served as a football and wrestling official in his off-time.

In the early 90s, he competed in the Regional Firefighters Fitness/Combat Challenge in Davenport. He trained for a number of months and said this was one of the harder physical activities that he had attempted.

Woods retired as a lieutenant in 2002. After a few months, Woods went to work as a para-educator for a local school district. He also went back to school, first as a pre-nursing major at Scott Community College. However, it was his work with high school students that changed the course of his second career. Woods went back to school and earned his degree in Elementary Education/Special Education at the University of Northern Iowa in December of 2008 at the age of 56. He worked as a teacher for Family Resources in the Muscatine (IA) School District and then ran the Muscatine School District's alternative school from 2009-2014, until the school closed.

Today, Woods still works as a full time substitute teacher for Quad Cities-area schools as well as a Driver Education Instructor for the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency.

Cathy spent most of her career in human services with the Area Agency on Aging. Jim and Cathy both delivered holiday meals to seniors for many years. Cathy still works as a senior meal site manager. Jim and Cathy are active members of the Democratic party and their church, where Cathy serves as a deacon and member of the church choir, and Jim is an elder and groupie for the church choir tours. They enjoy renovating and decorating their home.

"I was an anomaly as a Davenport firefighter as I had some different interests and came from the south side of Chicago. While my co-workers were hunting on weekends, Cathy and I were at Crate & Barrel," he laughed. "Cathy also dragged me into politics, especially all the Iowa Caucus activities. We worked on numerous presidential campaigns from 1980 on and we were present at both President Clinton's and President Obama's inaugurations. I married a progressive woman."

When the pair was asked about their time at WIU and what they recalled, they both thought that Macomb was a world away from where they came from, Jim from the south suburbs of Chicago and Cathy from Hillside, a central suburb of Chicago right on the Eisenhower Expressway.

"I remember it was a very vibrant time at WIU. The Vietnam War was going on, the BSA (Black Student Association) was fervent on campus. There was just so much going on. I was excited about being around so many different people," Jim said.

Cathy added that while Western wasn't a "fancy" school, she loved Western as much as Jim did from the moment she got there. She added that she still gets Christmas letters from one of her favorite political science professors.

"We have such great memories of our time at WIU and in Macomb. It's where we started," Cathy said.

"From the inner city of Chicago to the corn fields of Western Illinois, it was amazing. I loved Macomb. I met my wife here, and I was the first in my family to graduate from high school and the first to go to college," Woods said. "I wouldn't have had this same success anywhere else. I loved WIU from my first day."

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Awards

WIU Athletics Hall of Fame – 1988
Illinois Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association Hall of Fame – 2003
Wrestling Hall of Fame Wall of Champs (in Stillwater, OK) – 1974

NAACP, Branch 4019, Outstanding Contribution to Our Community – 2000
Governor's Appointment to the Iowa Foster Care Review Board – 2002

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