Part XXXX
I have been looking into the history of the wrestling singlet, in part in search of information as to whether or not there was a particular company that introduced the idea of a snug-fitting one-piece suit, in the same way that Speedo was important to the idea of a swim brief. I did not come up with a specific name, but here are three links I read.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling_singlet
https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/17094
and
https://www.ciscoathletic.com/blog/e...tling-uniform/
The closest I have been to coming up with a name is Russell Athletic, but that gets complicated as well, as does the history of Russell. Into the 90s, Russell was by far the largest supplier of major league baseball uniforms as well as uniforms for a variety of other professional and college sports, but more recently they have been overrun by the big names Nike®, Adidas®, and even under Armor®. Russell was bought out by Fruit-of-the-Loom, which itself became part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, and now appears to be largely out of the business of making team uniforms at least beyond the high school level.
What I learned from my reading is that the idea of a one-piece singlet dates only back to the 1960s when the NCAA made those required wear in college wrestling matches. A basic rule in wrestling is that grabbing an opponent’s uniform during a match is not allowed and, even if accidental could result in disqualification. The one –piece snug-fitting singlet made that more difficult. But wrestlers over history have often engaged in the sport bare-chested, wearing only a jammer-type of short, and that there are also two-piece uniforms called doublets which consist either of a compression tee or sleeveless A-shirt and compression-like shorts.
The debate going on currently is by high school coaches who believe that for potential young wrestlers the idea of wearing a snug-fitting singlet deters participation if only something else would be allowed for attire. Whenever I hear about guys being scared to wear something, I keep thinking back to the uneasy relationship a lot of potential male swimmers have with the idea of wearing a swim brief. That the briefs are “too revealing” is a way of communicating the idea that the potential swimmer is scared (terrified) of getting a hard-on while getting into a brief in the gym locker room or worse, showing that he is hard out in public and therefore if this ids the required costume for swimmers the only way out is to not participate at all.
So too, probably with wrestling singlets. Even though a singlet covers a lot more of the body than a swim brief, the fit is skin-tight, and the “unfortunate”condition of the engorged penis under the singlet is not easily hidden. This is complicated by the fact that there is no specific rule regarding what is worn in the groin area under the singlet. A traditional athletic supporter? That has its own set of issues. A pair of underwear briefs such as tighty whiteys? Or maybe nothing at all! So guys who might make good wrestlers opt out because of a similar fear that some male swimmers have of wearing a swim brief in competition.
I own several wrestling singlets. They make, well, an interesting choice of uniform when I engage in stationary rowing. Many competitive rowers wear something very similar. Wrestling singlets come in a lot of different sizes from XXXS to XXXL, so that no matter what the wrestler’s weight class is, the fit will always be very snug to the body. So it behooves the wrestler to get the size right.
Getting in and out of a singlet can be tricky. The especially tricky part is getting the shoulder straps in place. Generally the shoulder straps seem short. In an effort to get the shoulder straps in place given this, one must tug the suit up into the crotch. This ends up being an interesting experience for me, as this involves tugging the suit into the groin area. If this is, well, interesting to try to do, I can’t imagine the complicated problem that a beginning male wrestler might suddenly be facing. Well, I guess I can. And therein is the dilemma. Of course, a larger size could be chosen, but that will mean that the wrestling “fit” is lost.
My other singlets are Asics® and they go on without too much difficulty, but I do have one Russell® branded singlet that is labeled M rather than SM. The shoulder straps on that one are all but impossible to get into without some major tugging and pulling. Quite an adventure, to say the least.
The other problem with a singlet is that if a guy discovers he needs to use the rest room after he is in the singlet, getting out may be even more difficult than getting in. It appears to me that high school and maybe even college wrestling is about to move away from the requirement of wearing a one piece suit in order to participate, but right now this is by no means universal. Amazon and other on line retailers are filled with firms willing to make custom wrestling singlets with designs specific to a particular school or team. I do not see this going away any time soon.
To be continued…