Dan Gable, considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, has just been presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor. From 1967 to 1970, Dan competed at Iowa State University where his career record was 117-1. He was a two-time NCAA national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. For 21 seasons, he was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa, where his teams won 21 Big Ten Conference Championships and 15 national NCAA titles. He produced 45 national champions and 12 Olympians. He also coached 3 Olympic teams and 6 world teams.
So why am I telling you this? Because I had the privilege of meeting Dan Gable at a summer wrestling camp in Stroudsburg, PA when I was in high school at the beginning of my career as a blind wrestler. I was standing on the mat listening to instruction when a teammate came up from behind and attempted to take me down. I spun on him and wound up on top of him. I guess it was a pretty good reaction because Coach Dan then asked if he could show me a special move. He spent the next 20 minutes with me, teaching me the arm lever, which in my senior year earned me 34 pins and a trip to the National Freestyle Wrestling Championships. Thanks, Dan. Years later I was honored again when Coach Gable introduced me at the ARETE Awards Dinner that was presenting national awards for courage.
So that’s my connection to Dan Gable, America’s greatest wrestler. What an honor to have crossed paths with him.
