Dan Gable

From Rofflehaus

Dan Gable (born October 25, 1948 in Waterloo, Iowa) didn't leave college with an unblemished record like fellow Cyclone Cael Sanderson, but he is arguably the most legendary wrestler in the annals of amateur wrestling. He is one of the few wrestlers who could teach and lead at the same elite level that he wrestled.

As a wrestler for Waterloo West High School, Gable was undefeated from 1963-1966. He went nearly undefeated in college as a Cyclone, winning two NCAA championships but losing his final match to an unheralded Larry Owings, in what is considered the greatest upset in collegiate wrestling history. Undeterred, Gable went on to win a gold medal in the 1972 Olympics without giving up a single point, despite having a knee injury.

His career record from high school to retirement in 1973 was: 299-6-3.

His greatest achievement, though, was as the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling coach, where he led the team to an unprecedented 9 straight NCAA titles, 15 in all over 21 years. His dual meet record is: 355-21-6. He had an uncanny knack of turning weak recruits into champions.

He is now the assistant to the athletic director at Iowa.

[edit] The legend

Gable offered to be the Cyclone head coach but was turned down. This major snafu in retrospect possibly led to Cael Sanderson being quickly hired out of college as an assitant coach.
He said that the rape and murder of his sister, in the Gable's very own living room, led to his singular passion for wrestling.
He semi-retired in 1997, having to get numerous hip, knee, and back surgeries. Even then, with artifical hips and in his 50s, Gable was able to dominate new recruits in the wrestling room.
There are no Gable sons to carry on the wrestling legend; he had five daughters, virtually all of them swimmers and volleyball.
He was known for his creatively masochistic training regimen. In high school, he tied weights to himself while he mowed the lawn.