By Don Kovalchik

Contributing Writer

Editor’s note: Today’s article on Joe Downey is part six in a seven-part series profiling the 2012 Norwich Sports Hall of Fame induction class. The final installment, the 1937 football team, will run in two parts – Thursday and Friday – next week.

Throughout Norwich’s successful wrestling history, certain family names recur over generations. Some prominent ones are the Franklins, Manleys, Ryans, and Downeys. In the 1990’s, “Downey” appeared so often in the Norwich lineups, a Binghamton sportswriter noted Norwich had more Downeys than the company had dryer sheets. Scott Ryan, memorable for his mat achievements, states that in wrestling “... there is a family dynamic like no other sport. . . [that] exists because of tradition set forth by many wrestlers before us.”