The son of a woodcarver, Louis Andrews was born in Tripoli, the capital city of Arcadia, Greece. In 1912, at the age of 13, he moved to the United States. As a wrestler, Andrews won the national Young Men's Christian Association 135-pound championships four times and, in 1920, he captured the New England Amateur Athletic Union crown.

It was as a wrestling coach, however, that Louis Andrews made his most profound impact on the lives of others. In 1926, Martin Souders asked Louis to come to Milton Academy to coach wrestling, boxing, and basketball. "I do not know how to coach boxing," Andrews explained, "but I am studying it and I learn it quickly. As for basketball, I don't coach that. I am a muscle boy. I never play basketball." When Milton built a new hockey rink, there was concern that the lure of the new ice facility might draw aspirants away from wrestling. "I am not worrying about that," said Andrews. "Right now that new rink is a novelty. A couple of years from now, any boys I am asking will be coming back to the mat. Boys love wrestling." And the boys loved wrestling for Louis Andrews too; they felt he understood them. That year, a whopping 63 boys chose wrestling as their winter sport at Milton.

Through his role as a teacher and an athletic trainer, Louis Andrews touched the lives of many students beyond the mat. He founded Milton Academy's Physical Education program and taught countless students the benefits of a sound mind and a sound body. Andrews motivated not only the wrestling champion but also the average student, leading them to believe that they could do anything.

At 5 feet, 6 inches and 140 pounds, Andrews looked every inch the wrestler, possessing a powerful physique and two cauliflower ears. In fact, he posed for many professional artists and art students as a model. He was used as a model for Cyrus Dalin's "The Last Arrow," John Singer Sargent's huge murals on the dome of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the impressive Fisherman Memorial statue that is viewed by thousands of tourists at Gloucester Bay each year on Boston's North Shore.

The trophy for the Most Falls in the Least Amount of Time at the Graves Kelsey Wrestling Tournament is named in honor of Louis Andrews. The description for this award reads, "Louis Andrews, Milton wrestling coach from 1934 to 1965, with a career record of 165-57-4. He built boys who had everything into champions. He took the boy with almost nothing and gave him something. Always, he added to the individual, not only to his body but also to his character."

(Adapted from the New York Times article, "Milton Academy's Wrestling Coach Knows His Sport-Sculpture, Painting, Too," written by Michael Strauss on 11-29-1954.)