Francis Bentley's curiosity led to a coaching career worthy of the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Michigan Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He came to Northern High in 1956 as a science teacher who was new to Flint and seeking an after-school diversion. He found it in the basement of Garfield School where the Vikings new wrestling team had created a makeshift home near the boiler room.

That was the start of a 41-year career in Flint athletics for Bentley, 71, who retired in 1997 as Northern's athletic director.

He lives in Saginaw near his adopted son, William Waters, and remains an avid wrestling spectator.

Bentley spent all except four years at Northern. He coached wrestling for 17 years in two segments, which were interrupted by a four-year stay as assistant athletic director at Northern.

He helped found the U.S. Wrestling Federation chapter in Michigan and was elected to the MWA's Hall of Fame, as well as the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Bentley is a native of St. Louis and a graduate of Southeast Missouri State. He earned a master's degree at Indiana University.

While there, he was job seeking and learned of an opening in Flint.

"I came to Northern because the money was the best I could find," he said.

He came during the school-building rush in Flint and the early days of the community school program.

"Those were great days," he said.

His room at Northern was adjacent to that of Ron Hauglie, who was building the Vikings wrestling room from scratch. Hauglie invited Bentley to observe practice and soon had him performing the duties of an assistant coach.

"The room was so small we secured a bunch of used mattresses from Peerless and hooked them to the walls so the wrestlers wouldn't bump into concrete," Bentley said. "It was a learning experience for everyone."

He was thrust into the head coaching job when Hauglie became ill and died in 1959.

Four years later came a Class A state championship with four of his 17 individual state titlists heading the way. His teams won six regional championships, seven Saginaw Valley Conference championships and 20 city crowns.

He also was coordinator of the then-huge summer wrestling program for 25 years and had a perfect record against Hamilton, Ontario in the annual CAN/USA Games.

The state championship was part of a great school year because Bentley was an assistant coach in charge of field events when Norbert Badar's track team also won the state title in 1963.

Bentley was wrestling coach until 1970 then returned for another 10 years, 1976-85.

He also was athletic director for 15 years during that period but the requirements of both jobs proved to be too great so he retired from wrestling.

His greatest pupil is John Fisher, a four-time All-American at the University of Michigan.

Now that he's completely retired he can sit in the stands and enjoy.