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

Episode 5 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 2015 Distinguished Member Joe Gonzales. The goal of wrestling is to take an opponent off his feet and place him on the mat. Perhaps no wrestler in collegiate wrestling has done it better—or more often—than Joe Gonzales. Gonzales perfected the takedown during his time as a 118-pound wrestler at California State-Bakersfield. His 1980 wrestling season ranks among the finest in collegiate wrestling history. Gonzales’ 55-0 record is the national record for the most wins in a single season with no defeats and no ties. He notched 448 takedowns that year too, also a national record. During his career, CSU Bakersfield was a Division II program, so Gonzales had a unique opportunity to win championships in two different divisions. He won the Division II NCAA tournament on March 1, 1980, with a 28-11 win in the championship finals. Then, just two weeks later, he won the Division I NCAA tourney, scoring 16 points or more in four of the six matc