The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
The museum was awarded to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1972 by a decision of the United States Wrestling Federation, which chose Stillwater over a competing bid from Waterloo, Iowa. [1] The museum opened in 1976.
In 2010, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame absorbed the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, previously operated by the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. [2] The Dan Gable Museum had opened in 1998 in Newton, Iowa, and would later move to Waterloo in 2006. [3]
In May 2016, the NWHOF voted to revoke all honors given to Dennis Hastert after his conviction, the first time the Hall of Fame has ever revoked honors and punished a now-former inductee.
The museum operates by private donations and state funding. Six people from Oklahoma formed the Hall of Fame corporation: Myron Roderick, Dr. Melvin D. Jones, Ralph Ball, Robert L. McCormick, Bill Aufleger, and Veldo Brewer. Oklahoma State University, through its then-president, Dr. Robert B. Kamm, provided land – at no cost – with a 99-year renewable lease.[ citation needed ]
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma includes the John T. Vaughan Hall of Honors, the Paul K. Scott Museum of Wrestling History, the Cliff Keen Theater, and the William S. Hein Library. The museum covers around 15,000 square feet, featuring multiple interactive exhibits and digital kiosks, as well as the ability to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to the present day. The John T. Vaughan Hall of Honors is where the greatest names in wrestling are recognized, with Distinguished Members being honored and showcased through granite plaques. The Paul K. Scott Museum of History showcases a portion of the world's largest collection of wrestling artifacts and memorabilia, including most collegiate and Olympic uniforms. [4] [5]
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame also operates the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa which includes the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa, [6] the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, which honors professional wrestlers with a strong background in amateur wrestling, and the Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions. It also features the Dan Gable Teaching Center and its wrestling room, providing opportunities for area youth to train. [7]
The Board of Governors of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum established the State Chapter program in 1993. The purpose is to pay tribute to the coaches, officials, and contributors who represent the best qualities of what the sport of wrestling has to offer and who share those characteristics with young people every day. The Hall of Fame and Museum currently has state chapters in 36 states. [8]
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater also contains the UWW Hall of Fame, which honors some of the sport's greatest international wrestlers and coaches. [9] [10] [11]
Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 48,394. The Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 78,399 according to the 2012 census estimate. Stillwater was part of the first Oklahoma Land Run held on April 22, 1889, when the Unassigned Lands were opened for settlement and became the core of the new Oklahoma Territory. The city charter was adopted on August 24, 1889, and operates under a council-manager government system.
Danny Mack Gable is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. Gable was only the third wrestler to be inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend category. In 2014, Gable was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame and on December 8, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Gable with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Edward Clark Gallagher was an American wrestling coach. He coached at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College—now known as Oklahoma State University–Stillwater—from 1916 to 1940. With his knowledge of physical principles like leverage and stress, along with anatomy, he all but invented the modern style of folkstyle wrestling. He remains one of the most successful coaches in NCAA athletics history. Overall in his wrestling coaching career at Oklahoma A&M, his teams went 136–5–4, including 19 undefeated seasons and 11 NCAA titles.
The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.
United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the World Championships and Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman, Freestyle, Grappling, and others. The flagship event of UWW is the World Wrestling Championships.
Tommy Chesbro was an Oklahoma State University all-star wrestler and coach. In his 15 years as OSU’s coach, he earned a national reputation as a matchless technician, whose teams won 227 dual meets with only 26 defeats, a 90 per cent winning record. During those years, he coached 20 individual NCAA champions and 20 National AAU and USA Wrestling winners. In 1995, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He only won one national championship in Stillwater, in part because his tenure coincided with Iowa dominating the sport under Dan Gable.
The University of Iowa men's wrestling program is one of the most successful NCAA Division I athletic programs. The Hawkeyes are 37 time Big Ten Conference champions and second in NCAA history with 24 National Championships.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team is the most successful NCAA Division I program of all time in any sport. As of 2021–2022, Oklahoma State wrestling has won 34 team national championships, 143 individual NCAA championships, and 485 All-American honors.
Leslie Lyle Gutches is an American former wrestler and coach. His accomplishments include becoming a World Champion in freestyle wrestling at the 1997 World Wrestling Championships, the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's best college wrestler in 1996, becoming the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 177 lb. weight division in both 1995 and 1996, earning All-American status in 1994, 1995 & 1996, becoming a member of the 1996 United States Olympics freestyle wrestling team and winning numerous other tournaments and honors.
USA Wrestling is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. USA Wrestling is also the official representative to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and to United World Wrestling (UWW) and is considered the national governing body of the sport at the competitive level. Their mission statement is, "USA Wrestling, guided by the Olympic Spirit, provides quality opportunities for its members to achieve their full human and athletic potential."
The history of collegiate wrestling can be traced to the many indigenous styles of folk wrestling found in Europe, particularly in Great Britain. Those folk wrestling styles soon gained popularity in what would become the United States, and by the mid-to-late 19th century those styles, especially freestyle wrestling, emerged in gymnasiums and athletic clubs throughout the country. From then on, tournaments were sponsored and a professional circuit of wrestlers helped promote wrestling in the United States and throughout the world.
Yojiro Uetake is a Japanese wrestler and two-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling. He went undefeated for the entirety of his college career, winning three consecutive NCAA Championships. Uetake was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma as a Distinguished Member in 1980. In 2005, he was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
Glen Brand was an American wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling. Brand competed in freestyle wrestling at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he received a gold medal in the middleweight class.
LeRoy Gardner III was an American amateur wrestler.
The Iowa State Cyclones wrestling team represents Iowa State University (ISU) and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The Cyclones are 8 time National Champions, 17 time National Runners-Up, and have 45 Top 4 "Trophy" Finishes. The team is coached by Kevin Dresser. The Cyclones host their home meets at Hilton Coliseum on Iowa State's campus. Iowa State became the second collegiate wrestling program to reach 1,100 dual wins on January 23, 2022.
Established in 1999, both Schalles awards, one for the best collegiate pinner in America and the other, for the best scholastic pinner, are annually presented by WIN Magazine, Cliff Keen Athletics and the NWCA. The award is named after Wade Schalles, one of American wrestling's most storied pinners and a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. During his collegiate career (1970-1974) Schalles set the NCAA record at 109 pins.
Leroy (Lee) P. Kemp, Jr. is a former American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. Kemp would achieve success at the high school, collegiate, and international levels.
William Michael Zadick is an American amateur wrestler. He won an NCAA college wrestling championship while competing with the University of Iowa and a gold medal at the 2006 World Wrestling Championships in freestyle wrestling.
Tricia Saunders is an American amateur wrestler and pioneer in the sport of women's freestyle wrestling. She earned a total of five FILA Wrestling World Championships medals, four gold and one silver. Throughout her career she never lost to an American opponent, and collected eleven national titles.
The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (TNTHOF) is a professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dan Gable Museum. The hall of fame honors professional wrestlers with a strong amateur wrestling or shootfighting background who have made an impact on professional wrestling. It is named after Lou Thesz, who helped create it, and his trainer George Tragos.
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