Cauliflower ears show time spent in wrestling, combat sports

According to Wikipedia, the “cauliflower ear has undoubtedly developed a unique cultural significance within the grappling community. For some, it’s a badge of honor, a visible mark of dedication and experience in the sport. To them, it symbolizes resilience, toughness, and commitment to training.”

It is even known as wrestler’s ear in some circles. Caused by some form of forced trauma, it describes a swelling of the ear. The condition is the result of blood pooling — known as a hematoma — in an athlete’s ear after it has been struck in a certain manner. Almost anyone who has been around the sport of wrestling for any amount of time has seen these ears – they are hard to miss. And there are many stories about them.

Here are three of my favorites, from very different angles.

First, my grandson Alex was a standout football player and wrestler in high school at Fort Collins, Colo., and he came home one night his junior year with an ear starting to bloom into a cauliflower shape. He showed it to his girlfriend the next day and she gasped: “Is it contagious – can I catch it?” She wanted to know. It is a legitimate question from someone without much background in the sport.

Secondly, I remember reading in a book about Oklahoma State wrestling that claimed there was a time in the late 1950s and early ’60s that a physician for the Oklahoma State athletic teams said there were some young men on the Stillwater campus who weren’t even athletes but who wanted to develop a cauliflower ear. The reasoning was, he said, to make them look and feel “tough”.

Thirdly, there is the appearance of the condition in a very unlikely place – a popular 2010 movie called “The Expendables”. Starring Sylvester Stallone, it boasted a cast of tough guy actors and the legendary Randy Couture had a memorable role as a warrior named Toll Booth.

A two-time All-American at Oklahoma State and top-rated Greco-Roman wrestler, Randy was a huge star in MMA, winning numerous titles and becoming a UFC hall of famer. At one point in the film, the team of fighters that Stallone has assembled is talking …and the subject of Randy’s ear pops up.

“You’re an unusual guy,” says Stallone to Toll Booth.

“You’re talking about my ear,” says Toll Booth with a grimace.

“Don’t start with that ear again,” says Stallone, shaking his head.

Randy responds with a touch of anger and says, “We all know I wrestled in college and a common injury in that sport is trauma to the ear; a clot, which if left untreated, causes a contraction in the cartilage and forms cauliflower ears.”

Also on Wikipedia is a list called “The Worst Cauliflower Ears in MMA/UFC History” and Randy is ranked seventh. Also on the list are Frankie Edgar, who wrestled at Clarion University, and Japanese star Kasuski Sakuraba, who has a long wrestling background.

So, for any of you wondering what to do about a possible or current cauliflower ear, you might want to think long and hard about the various possibilities.

Oh, and as a matter of full disclosure, I had one while wrestling in the Navy in 1962. I had it drained immediately and have no trace of one any more…darn it anyway!

Finally – and yes, he does have a cauliflower right year from his high school wrestling day — I want to salute Mike Finn, who has been the editor of WIN for 21 years. I have been in the journalism profession for 45 years (my wife Bev and I even created WIN many years ago), and Mike is one of the very best editors I have ever worked with. I will miss his great skills, easy-going nature and great sense of humor very much … but I plan to stay in close contact with him in the years ahead. Bev and I wish you smooth sailing, Mike Finn!