Legends By The National Wrestling Hall Of Fame | Chronicling The History And Legacy Of Wrestling's All-time Greats

As a competitor and coach, Bill Zadick has forever written his name in the U.S. wrestling record book.He won a gold medal at the World Championships in Guangzhou, China in 2006. His younger brother, Mike, brought home a silver medal from the same tournament, making them the first set of brothers since Terry and Tom Brands in 1995 to both make the same World or Olympic team.For a 10-year period, he was one of the most competitive wrestlers on the U.S. national freestyle team. Beginning in 1999 with a runner-up finish in the U.S. World Team Trials, Zadick won back-to-back U.S. Open titles in 2001 and 2002 and finished seventh in the 2001 World Championship. He added second-place finishes in 2003, 2006 and 2008 national tournaments. He was runner-up at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2000 and 2008, as well as notching a runner-up finish in the U.S. World Team Trials in 2002.After a fifth-place finish in the 1995 NCAA Championships, Zadick earned an NCAA championship as a senior in 1996, helping the University of

In 1975, a few months after concluding his wrestling career at Grand Valley State University with a sixth-place finish at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament, Gary Chopp went skydiving. During the 3,000-foot jump, his main and reserve parachutes malfunctioned, causing him to fall freely during the last 300 feet. He crashed into the ground, fracturing his spine and shattering his pelvis. Surgeons removed his damaged kidney and spleen, but he suffered paralysis in one leg.  Chopp credits the physical, mental and emotional strength he gained as a wrestler for helping him not only to stay alive at the time of the accident but also to achieve inspired goals during the ensuing seven months in the hospital and throughout his life.  After recovering in the hospital where he lost 90 pounds as he fought to stay alive, he returned to school and changed his major. He eventually entered law school, sat on the school’s first law review, graduated in the top ten percent of his class in

Show Notes: LegendsSince 1988, Gary Abbott has served as the media face of USA Wrestling, traveling to major wrestling events in the United States and around the globe, including eight Olympic Games, dozens of senior and age-group World Championships and 38 straight NCAA Championships.Currently the Director of Communications and Special Projects, he is responsible for USA Wrestling communications, including publications and other media platforms, media relations, promotions, public relations and special projects. Abbott oversees USA Wrestling’s magazine USA Wrestler and handles the organization’s corporate communications program. In 2013, he was a prominent figure in wrestling’s fight to remain an Olympic sport, serving on the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling.For decades, Abbott has been a pioneer in building women’s wrestling, including creating a national girls’ high school wrestling poll and helping women’s wrestling receive emerging sport status from the NCAA. He has promoted the growth

Tim Shiels began officiating full-time in 1988, working the regional and state tournaments in his home state of Minnesota. He began focusing on college officiating in 1989 and has worked 12 NCAA Division I national championships, seven NCAA Division II national championships, 19 NCAA Division III national championships, five national junior college tournaments and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament.  He has worked five NCAA DI finals and was selected as a Top 5 Official by the NCAA Officials Association for four years straight from 2012-2015. He served as the head official at the NCAA DIII national tournament six times and has worked nine National Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Meet Championships and nine Big Ten Championships. Shiels was elected in 2013 to be the first active official to serve on the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee and has served as an evaluator of officials at the Minnesota state high school tournament since 2008. In 2015, he was named NCAA Wrestling’

The induction speeches for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Meritorious Service for Officials: Tim ShielsOrder of Merit: Gary AbbottMedal of Courage: Gary ChoppOutstanding American: Carl EschenbachDistinguished MembersBruce BurnettDremiel ByersMark LiebermanBill Zadick

An outstanding high school and collegiate wrestler, Rich Lorenzo became an icon in college wrestling as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1978 to 1992. His exemplary career has earned Lorenzo induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 2019 Distinguished Member. During his coaching career, he helped 53 Penn State wrestlers earn All-America honors, including two-time NCAA champion Jeff Prescott and national champions Carl DeStefanis, Scott Lynch and Jim Martin. He led the Nittany Lions to 11 Top 10 NCAA finishes, including six Top Five finishes. Penn State won 11 consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association team titles and two National Dual Meet championships. Lorenzo was named EIWA Coach of the Year six times and was named National Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1992. Prior to becoming head coach, he was an assistant coach for Penn State from 1968-74 and helped the Nittany Lions finish in the Top 10 at the NCAA tournament four times while winning two EIWA team titles

Successful at virtually every level of his storied career, Brandon Paulson is recognized for his wrestling prowess and coaching expertise by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 2019 Distinguished Member. The highlight of his wrestling career was winning the silver medal at 114.5 pounds in Greco-Roman competition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He also competed three times in Greco-Roman at the World Championships, winning a silver medal in 2001 and finishing eighth in 2002. A four-time U.S. Open champion,  Paulson excelled at every age-group level of USA Wrestling, winning Cadet, Junior, Espoir and University national titles and a silver medal at the Espoir World Championships in 1993. He was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and was a three-time Minnesota high school state champion for Anoka High School. He had a career high school record of 155-12-1 and was named Mr. Minnesota Wrestling in 1992. He was named Greco-Roman Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling in 2008 and received the honor aga

He devoted a lifetime to the sport of wrestling. But in more than 60 years as an athlete, coach and teacher, Charlie Speidel contributed far more to the lives of others than ever can be recorded in the statistics of achievement. He was a pioneer for wrestling and helped it gain stature as a major sport in the high schools and colleges of Pennsylvania and across the eastern states. He traveled extensively, often with arch rival Billy Sheridan, to present clinics and introduce the sport. The record shows that "Doc" Speidel coached 38 years at Penn State University. His teams won 191 dual meets and lost only 53. Seven of them were undefeated. They won eight Eastern Intercollegiate team championships and 56 individual titles. Six of his wrestlers were National Collegiate champions. And in 1953, his Nittany Lions became the only eastern squad ever to win the NCAA team championship. He was an author of wrestling books and articles for such publications as the Encyclopedia Brittanica. During World War II he serve

His interest in wrestling surfaced in 1922 from deep in the waters of San Francisco Bay. After more than half a century of service to the sport, Dr. Albert deFerrari's impact on wrestling had spanned the globe. His first exposure to the sport followed a shipwreck near the Golden Gate. The ship's cargo of cotton was declared free to any takers. Already a champion swimmer and diver, deFerrari retrieved a truckload. The mothers of his neighborhood then remade the wrestling mats of the area, stuffing in the free cotton and sewing the canvas covers with heavy thread. Such interest attracted the attention of the young San Francisco dentist. Soon he would become involved in promoting wrestling in the storied Olympic Club, and would nurture the sport until the club became of national renown on the mats. Dr. Al never lost his innovative approach. While serving more than two decades on the U. S. Olympic Committee and the International Wrestling Federation, he brought about this country's first exchange series with J

He packed more wrestling success into five years than most athletes manage in a lifetime of competition. Keith Young spent the next three decades returning those rewards to the sport with full interest. His Algona High School team didn't offer wrestling until his senior year, and when he joined the University of Northern Iowa you'd hardly expect a youngster of such limited experience to fill the shoes of one of wrestling's all-time greats, Bill Koll. But fill them he did, winning six national championships in three seasons. Undefeated in collegiate competition, he was NCAA champion at 145 pounds in 1949, '50 and '51, leading the Panthers of coach Dave McCuskey to the team title during his junior year. Young's three collegiate crowns matched Koll's total as Northern Iowa reigned supreme in the welterweight division six years in a row. The same three years, Young was National AAU champ -outstanding wrestler in '50 -and each year the Panthers captured the AAU team trophy. Rather than pursue post-graduate com

As a tall, skinny college freshman, Frank Lewis was "a little tired" after six years of wrestling and planned to give full attention to his studies at Oklahoma State University. But he needed a physical education credit and a wrestling class would provide an easy grade. Members of the class were required to compete in the all-college intramurals and when he failed to win the championship his pride was stung. He decided to concentrate on wrestling again. Frank Lewis concentrated so well that he became a national champion and the gold medalist in the 1936 Olympic Games at Berlin. A state high school champ and four-time medalist from 100 to 155 pounds, he possessed the raw talent from which coach Edward C. Gallagher could mold a winner. But because of his rapid growth, the youngster didn't have the stamina to wrestle the longer college matches. And because of a minor heart condition, his coach had to devise a special training routine to build stamina without putting a strain on his health. Despite these diff

In the shadowed ruins of Rome's ancient Basilica, Doug Blubaugh battled the world champion from Iran for the Olympic gold medal. Emamali Habibi had never known defeat. Three times the Persian attacked, each time throwing the young American into danger. Then a swift counterattack from Blubaugh hurled his opponent to his back ... suddenly the struggle was ended. Thus did an Oklahoma farm boy reach the apex of a brilliant athletic career, earning the 1960 Olympic gold medal at 160.5 pounds, and with it recognition as the outstanding wrestler in the world. Doug Blubaugh was no stranger to the role of champion. He won NCAA honors for Oklahoma State in 1957 and National AAU Freestyle titles in 1957, when he was named outstanding wrestler, and 1959. A year before his Olympic conquest, he won a gold medal in the 1959 Pan American Games at Chicago, matching the 1955 achievement of his brother, Jack. They were the first brothers to capture Pan Am titles. Blubaugh is remembered, too, for his epic struggles with a f

In another unearthed tape from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the introduction video for the Class of 1978 Distinguished Members has been released as a special episode of Hall of Fame Legends. This episode previews the inductions of the third induction class which featured true legends Glen Brand, Ross Flood, Stanley Henson, Harold Nichols, Robin Reed, Gray Simons and Bill Smith. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you.

A real-life profile of courage, Thomas Irving Green truly personifies the word. As the all-time wins leader at Weedsport High School in New York, Green wrestled collegiately at Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York, and at SUNY Cortland. After college, he turned his attention to officiating and was moving up the ranks, including serving as an assistant mat official at the Division III NCAA Championships in 1996. Just a few weeks after the end of the 1997 wrestling season, his life changed forever. On May 15, 1997, a container filled with a caustic chemical burst and sprayed Green’s face. Blinded and his face badly burned, Green underwent a series of long surgeries. He needed a procedure to increase the size of his mouth, which had healed so small that even his thumb wouldn’t fit inside. He underwent a cornea transplant, as well as another surgery that used tissue donated from his brother, which helped him regain some of his sight. He has had stem cells put in his eyes, reconstructive retinal surgery

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Outstanding American Dom Gorie. Beginning his wrestling career in junior high school, Dominic (Pudwill) Gorie always set his sights high. As a wrestler at Palmetto High School in Miami, he forged a standout career record of 41-9-1. He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1975 and wrestled four years for legendary coach Ed Peery, who was inducted as Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980. Gorie received a Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering from the Naval Academy in 1979 and his master’s in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee in 1990. He was designated as a naval aviator and piloted fighter jets aboard the USS America, the USS Coral Sea and USS Roosevelt from 1981 to 1992, where he accumulated more than 600 carrier landings. Gorie also flew 38 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. Gorie was ordered to United States Space Command in 1992 a

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Distinguished Member and two-time NCAA champion Andre Metzger. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Play Music | Android | RSS For those historians who refer to the 1980s as the “Golden Age“ of American wrestling, Michigan native Andre Metzger shines bright as one of its stars. Starting with a 27-second win by fall in his first match in the ninth grade, Metzger wrestled an estimated 2,000 matches in freestyle, collegiate and Greco-Roman. His 1,870 victories equate to an amazing .935 winning percentage. Ending with comeback attempts to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team and 2014 U.S. World team, his storied career spanned an incredible five decades. Following a stellar high school career that included a state championship, Metzger wrestled in the 1979 World Championships in San Diego. He won the bronze medal and became the youngest American to medal in the World Champion

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Distinguished Member and NCAA champion Chuck Yagla. Raised in the wrestling hotbed of Waterloo, Iowa, Chuck Yagla turned a talent for wrestling into a lifelong passion. He began his wrestling journey at Waterloo’s Columbus High School, where he served as a senior team captain and was runner-up in the 1972 Class 3A state tournament. At the University of Iowa, Yagla won an NCAA championship at 150 pounds in 1975 as a junior. His win came via a 4-4, 1-1 split referee’s decision over future three-time NCAA champion and World champion, Lee Kemp. He repeated the feat in 1976, when he was also named Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA tournament. Wrestling in international competition from 1972 to 1980, Yagla won freestyle events around the world. He was a United States Wrestling Federation Junior National Champion in 1972 and Grand Champion (Ring Series) in 1975. In addition, he won a USWF National Greco-Roman title in 1978. He

When the conversation among Pennsylvania wrestling fans turns to “the best ever,” Jefferson Morgan High School alumnus Cary Kolat’s name is always in the mix. Kolat compiled a 137-0 high school record with four Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championships, and he was named Outstanding Wrestler at the PIAA tournament each year he competed, an honor no other wrestler has achieved even twice. As a freshman at Penn State, Kolat won a Big Ten title and placed second in the NCAA Championships at 134 pounds. As a sophomore, he was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and finished third in the NCAA Tournament. Kolat sat out a year to transfer to Lock Haven University, but he came back better than ever, winning back-to-back NCAA titles at 142 pounds in 1996 and 1997 with a two-year record of 50-1. Kolat won two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles and back-to-back Eastern Wrestling League championships. He was named Outstanding Wrestler both years and finished his college career with a 111

Episode 11 of the Hall of Fame Legends podcast unearths a gem of audio from the late 1970s. It's not confirmed when this was recorded, but noted wrestling historian Don Sayenga serves as a moderator for a special Olympians Breakfast that included wrestlers from all the way back in the 1920s. This recording has problems with sound quality, but some of the conversations between the group of Olympians, had only been heard that one time. Listen in amazement as names from the past resurface in their own voices to tell the stories of their respective Olympic Games. There are numerous "bangs" midway through this recording, which is approximately 90 minutes. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- s

Episode 10 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features the introduction speeches and acceptance speech from 1979 inductee Joe McDaniel. McDaniel passed away in 2011, but archives unearthed at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame have given us his voice from that Honors Weekend. He was destined to be an Olympic champion, but the Games of the XII Olympiad were engulfed in the holocaust of World War II. So Joe McDaniel had to settle merely for recognition as the outstanding wrestler of the world. Three times he was a National Collegiate winner for Oklahoma State University, each year leading the Cowboys of coach Edward C. Gallagher to the team trophy. As a 118-pound junior, he was voted outstanding wrestler of the 1938 tournament, an honor won a year earlier by his roommate, Stanley Henson. Three times he reigned as National AAU champion, twice as a collegian when the Cowboys also won team honors, and again in 1941, two years after graduation. McDaniel's only serious exposure to internat