It’s not surprising that Darrel Hafling still can recite most of the details of his career in the sport of wrestling.
While his thoughts in general have become clouded by the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease, Hafling holds on tight to memories of his association with wrestling as a competitor, a coach and a historian that go back to Denver West High School in the early 1940s.
He traces the path that took him from high school to the Navy, where he was a pilot off an aircraft carrier; to the University of Colorado; to Golden High School, where he coached wrestling for 30 years; to a book he compiled that tells the story of the Colorado State High School Wrestling Tournament and its champions.
There are some pauses in the recital, but Hafling won’t let go. In his case, it’s a sport giving back to someone who gave so much to it.
“I’ve been interested in wrestling as long as I can remember,” Hafling said. “I actually started wrestling when I was in junior high school.”
Maybe it was the individual competition of the sport that fit what Hafling believed life was all about. He faced growing up in Byers Home as an orphan. His mother died when he was 2. He entered the orphanage when he was 8 because his father couldn’t care for Darrel and his brother, Elmer.
The change in lifestyle was difficult to comprehend for a youngster who came to Byers Home from a farm outside of Loveland.
As a teacher and coach, Hafling drew the admiration of his coaching peers and his athletes alike.
“Darrel spent almost every waking hour doing something for young people, with 100 percent dedication to wrestling and the classroom as well,” said Dave Skene, the football coach at Golden during Hafling’s time at the high school. “If any young person showed the slightest interest in wrestling, he took them under his wing. There always was room for one more.”
Dave Sauer, the current wrestling coach at Golden and a wrestler for Haf- ling, copied his former coach’s style.
“I still call him ‘Coach’ to this day,” Sauer said. “With him, there was no such thing as can’t.”
Joe Klune, a coaching contemporary at Lincoln High School, believes memories of his wrestling program keep Hafling going.
“I know it does,” Klune said. “Darrel spent most of his adult life as a coach and helping young people stay involved in beneficial activities.”
John Archuleta, a state tournament place-winner on Hafling’s 1956 and 1957 teams, called his coach one of the most influential people in his life.
After graduation from Golden, Archuleta went to the University of Colorado and joined the wrestling team. Early in his collegiate career, he suffered an injury that took him out of the sport. He lost interest in school and dropped out. Soon, his telephone rang. It was Hafling.
“He said for me to get back into school,” Archuleta said. “Darrel had helped me get a scholarship to CU and even a job as a dishwasher in a dorm. He did everything to encourage his students. He cared for you almost as a parent does.”
Archuleta returned to school and became an engineer.
Hafling’s coaching tour began as an assistant coach at Boulder High School in 1949. He moved to Las Animas High School in 1950 and started a wrestling program. It was on to Golden in 1953, where he stayed until retiring in 1984. Two years after retiring, Hafling introduced a book titled “Faded Glory,” which chronicles the history of the state wrestling tournament. He hasn’t missed a state tournament in 41 years.
Maybe the highlight of it all occurred in 1965, when Hafling was co-coach for a Colorado high school wrestling team that toured Japan.
Kent Hafling knows his dad as a rock. Darrel Hafling has dealt with tragedies that could shake a weaker faith.
The loss and separation from his parents before he really knew them was hurtful. His first wife, Helen, who was at his side throughout his coaching career, died in 1987. His daughter, Terry, was murdered in Tucson in 1988. And now his home is a room in an assisted living facility.
His wife, Karen, helps with details when his memory falters. A day is filled by a visit from former coaches Glenn Scheele (West), Tom Nicholls (Arvada) and Klune. Their topic of conversation quickly turns to wrestling.
“I think so,” Hafling answered when asked if he’s all right with his new surroundings. “There’s not much you can argue about.”
Hafling bio
Born: Feb. 21, 1923, in Loveland
High school: Denver West
College: University of Colorado
Family: Wife Karen, daughter Terry (deceased), sons Kent and Kirk
Hobbies: Traveling, surviving
