By Cody Stavenhagen
Sports Writer
Tulsa World
Last weekend in North Carolina, Tulsa native Kenny Monday, who was inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2001, and his family did what families and friends tend to do when they get together: They talked about the past, before the medals and the fame, back when they were all just growing up in north Tulsa.

Monday’s father and two brothers were in town to watch Monday’s youngest son wrestle for his third high school state title. Monday is coaching the Tar Heel Wrestling Club in Chapel Hill, the latest in a life full of adventures, including an Olympic gold medal from the 1988 games in Seoul.

As the Mondays ate a spaghetti dinner, they all thought back to their own starts in wrestling.

Former Oklahoma State wrestler Ricky Reed was there, too, and had brought over a stack of old newspapers from the group’s days in Tulsa and beyond. The memories started flooding back.

“It’s amazing,” Monday said in a phone interview this week, reflecting on his journey as a man and wrestler.

Monday’s career got its start on Tulsa’s north side, in the same house where his father still lives, at the YMCA that now honors Monday with a street sign bearing his name.

Those early days in Tulsa sparked Monday’s undefeated high school career. He won state titles in four weight classes and went 140-0-1 in four years at Booker T. Washington.

This weekend, Sand Springs wrestler Daton Fix has a chance to be the first Tulsa-area high schooler since Monday to win four state titles and go undefeated in his varsity career. Monday is well aware of Fix’s achievements and says he’s the real deal.

So Monday will follow the Oklahoma state tournament from afar because reminders of that record and his Tulsa roots are never far away.

Walk into Fred Monday’s home today, and you’ll have a hard time telling it’s the same house where an eventual Olympic gold medalist rolled around on the floor with his brothers.

There isn’t much memorabilia on display at the Monday house. In the back, Fred has two old blown-up photos of his champion son from his high school days. He also has a collage featuring photos from Monday’s Olympic career.

But it’s still easy to trace the roots of Monday’s now-legendary wrestling career. Just look into the front room. For years, the Mondays didn’t keep any furniture there. It made prime training ground for three boys.

The Monday family lived a normal life like that. Fred and his wife, Elizabeth, both worked, and they wanted to be sure their children stayed busy. The kids went to the YMCA after school, and the wrestling program was a natural draw.

Kenny Monday had spent his early years watching his brothers, Mike and Jim, and taking his own beatings against them at home. Monday’s brothers were both prominent wrestlers at McLain, so he had strong examples to look up to.

But it also just seemed there was something about Kenny, the focused and stoic kid with long arms and broad shoulders. Fred said his youngest son never had trouble motivating himself or pulling his own weight. Champions often seem to be that way by nature.

In those days, there was a vibrant and thriving wrestling community in north Tulsa. Monday said he’s not even sure he was the most talented wrestler at the YMCA. To compete, you had to keep getting better.

“I recognized early on that for me to win, I had to work hard, be disciplined and do all those things necessary to be a champion,” Monday said. “I kind of learned the values and intangibles that would make you a champion wrestler, a champion at anything, really.”

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