Joe Klune will be remembered at a special memorial scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.
Any mention of Klune leads right into the sport of wrestling. Klune was a protégé of coach John Hancock, who is known for his work in starting the state high school wrestling tournament while he coached at what is now the University of Northern Colorado.
Klune’s prominence began at Denver North High School and he followed his time at UNC by entering the coaching ranks in the Denver Prep League.
Klune, 91, died Sept. 9, after suffering a broken arm in a fall at his home.
Brothers Joe and Bob Klune put a family stamp on wrestling in the early days of the sport. They competed on a combined five state championship teams, Joe Klune from 1940-42 and Bob Klune from 1944-46. Bob Klune didn’t lose a match in high school competitions. He died July 10.
“I remember brothers Klune,” said Rob Conklin, who competed for Denver South several years after the Klunes finished at North. “Everybody still talked about them when I was in high school.”
From his days in coaching and in administration, Conklin saw Joe Klune as a coach.
“Joe was a heck of a coach,” Conklin said. “Wrestling was his life. He was totally into the match when he had a wrestler on the mat.”
Both brothers served in the military and Joe Klune continued his presence in wrestling when his service time ended.
He joined the coaching staff at Denver North in 1952 and became wresting coach in 1954. His teams won four city titles.
When Abraham Lincoln High School opened in 1960, Klune became its wrestling coach and he was there until 1981, winning nine more city titles.
His notable wrestlers included Dean Lahr of Denver North and Bob Justice of Lincoln, both of whom won NCAA titles while at the University of Colorado. Tom Beeson of Lincoln won a small college NCAA title and coached Pomona High School to a state championship in 1999. Wesley Gasner of Lincoln gained All-America status in college at 152 pounds.
A highlight to Klune’s coaching career came in 1972 when he coached an all-star high school wrestling team from Colorado that toured Japan.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or @irvmoss
