The "Bear" (by Chuck Coryea)

You have heard the idiom, “Legend in their own time”. In pop culture, most everyone (of a certain age) recognizes Ali, Cher or Madonna. No full names are needed. In the early days of Reynolds wrestling, we had our own one-name icon. The “Bear”. That was all that was needed, and the entire community knew exactly who the Bear is.

Sadly, Raider Nation lost that legend on January 23 when Bob “Bear” Loveless unexpectedly passed away. A 1969 graduate, he was a great leader to us younger football players and wrestlers. Unlike some of his peers that liked to haze younger students, Bear was never a bully and respected all the team members.

And teammates held Bob in high regard too. Lon Dawes, a Raider star from the 1968 team, shared,

“Bear was Heavyweight on my senior year team, as you know all the stories. Being 1 year behind me I had a really close relationship with him. All through intramural (before junior high or JO) I would have to defend king of mat even against him. He would win of course. He made me better.”.

In football, he was a key lineman on the first Reynolds football team to win a county title in the fall of 1968. He never lost a dual match as a three-year starter and won sections twice and districts once, back in the one-and-done times.

His nick name came from his short and muscular stature, of course. His powerful legs were like oak trees. I can guarantee from firsthand experience that trying to blast-double leg him was a waste of energy. Single leg takedown attempts were just as futile.

A quiet, introspective person, Bear didn’t really like that spotlight. A lot of his reputation was thrust on him because of the events of the 1968 Greenville match when he had to pin his cousin --and close friend-- in the first period for Reynolds to win the match. All of Raider Nation from that time, can remember details of that moment just like people can tell you what they were doing for world events like the JFK assassination, Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon or the 9/11 attacks.

But while everyone else was celebrating, Bear was coming to terms with having to beat his cousin and the effect on both. Art Williams has posted a poignant article that Bear wrote several years later, reflecting the emotional impact he endured that night and after.

Please read that article at https://www.reynoldswrestling.com/Bear.pdf. You will understand there was a lot of depth to the man.

One anecdote I want to share is an example of both his humility and his athletic abilities.

The summer before my freshman year, about 30 of us Raiders went to the then popular Russ Houk Wrestling Camp near Bloomsburg. When Russ Houk introduced his staff the first day, he said one of the camp counselors was the best in the state, a big muscle-bound kid from Wyalusing.

The younger Reynolds kids took offense to that claim and tried to get Bear to challenge the guy to a match. He told us he would never do it. It just wasn’t his style. So, we changed tack and hounded the counselor until his anger and ego demanded that he challenge Bear.

Bob reluctantly accepted. The entire camp of 200 wrestlers showed up to watch. And Bear kicked his butt, 12-4 (the score still has a place in my memories). Bear, on the other hand, was upset with us younger kids for putting him in that situation. Five years later, that counselor, Floyd “Shorty” Hitchcock, won the NCAA’s and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler!

You younger Raiders and fans may not have heard of Bob because he lived far away and wrestled a long time ago, so his stories are rarely shared. And his records seem OK but not great when comparing it to current records. But records from the 60s are very deceiving due the nature of wrestling with a one-and-done post season setup, there was just one class of teams (no AA and AAA) and Mercer County was one of top counties in PA with many state finalists and qualifiers (which amplified the one and done dilemma).

Beyond wins and losses, his reputation motivated many kids to join the wrestling team so they could be like Bob. The Bear’s legacy and impact on Reynolds wrestling should alway be shared and celebrated.