In those intervening decades, the native of northern Pennsylvania became the winningest active Division I coach and was named to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Drexel's program grew strong and consistent even as the collegiate sport shriveled, those two concurrent developments combining to create a remarkable demand for the job he will soon vacate.
"We've had over 35 applicants for my position here," Childs said Friday from a cramped office in the school's Daskalakis Center. "We've lost more than 100 college wrestling programs over the years and the head coach jobs that open up are few and far between."
Drexel's job will open up after the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia end in mid-March. That March 17 to 19 event, for which Childs will serve as a head-table official and hopes to qualify a Drexel wrestler or two, should provide a fitting farewell to a man who entered the sport by accident 48 years ago.
His pending departure has glazed Drexel's 2010-11 season with nostalgia, so much so that Childs' wrestlers insist their famously intense coach has mellowed.
"He's taking more things in," said senior captain Justin Wieller. "He's trying to enjoy his last year here. He's kind of sitting back and watching more. You get the sense he knows it's nearing the end."
That sentimental-journey aspect should deepen on Wednesday. In a Colonial Athletic Association dual-meet at Drexel, Childs will be matched up with one of his closest friends, Rider's Gary Taylor. With 367 career victories, Taylor's total is second only to Childs' 421 among active Division I coaches.
"We're not that good," Childs joked. "We've just outlasted everybody else."
Headlock over heels
Childs was a 235-pound football lineman at Ithaca College in 1963 when the wrestling coach asked to see him. The freshman team's heavyweight had been expelled from school.
