Writing this was a real treat, it was so much fun researching all these legends of the sport. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Chris Taylor

Chris was a larger then life type of character, both literally and figuratively. At 6 feet 5 inches and weighing over 400 lbs. Chris is the largest wrestling competitor in Olympic history. What’s amazing about Chris is the fact that he didn’t begin wrestling until he was a junior in high school. That didn’t stop him from winning two state titles thou. His two year career as a Cyclone was nothing short of spectacular. Taylor won individual titles in 1972 and 1973, leading his team to NCAA tournament titles both seasons. The Gentle Giant pinned his way through the NCAA tournament in 1973, becoming only the second wrestler to pin his way through a 32-man bracket. Taylor’s overall career record at Iowa State was 87-0-1 with 70 pins. In the Olympic games he earned a Bronze medal in freestyle and didn’t place in Greco. Being a rare DOUBLE competitor at the Olympics.

Yojiro Uetake

Yojiro was the complete wrestler, blending speed, strength and unparalleled skills to dominate all areas of the sport, takedowns, control, escapes and falls. Seldom did any opponent score offensive points against him. He was a 3x NCAA Champion, and was twice voted the NCAA Most Outstanding Wrestler. At the completion of his sophomore year, he returned home to Japan and won a Gold Medal at the 1964 Toyko Olympics. He returned to Oklahoma State and won 2 more NCAA titles. During his college career he never suffered a defeat, finishing with a perfect 58-0 record. In 1968, he returned to the Olympics and won his second Gold Medal, this time in Mexico City. Yojiro is widely considered the best college wrestler of all-time. Being as how freshman weren’t allowed to compete at this time in college, Yojiro was denied his opportunity to become the first 4x NCAA champion. But as it was, he was never really challenged on the mat, during his time at OSU. So its really hard to say just how good he really was.

Gene Mills

In the world of wrestling, there are legends, and then there is Gene Mills. With Gene, I honestly don’t even know where to begin, his outstanding list of credentials is strong enough to be featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. First off he had a career record of 1356-46-1, with 886 victories by pinfall. In high school he was a New Jersey state champion, and high school national champion. In college he was Syracuse University’s 1st 4 time All American, as well as a 2x NCAA Champion. He was twice voted the NCAA’s most outstanding wrestler. His most outstanding college accomplishment is a record he set that will likely never be broken. He is the NCAA D1 record holder for career pins. His record stands at 107 pins. He was also a 3x World Cup Champion, in 1980 he won Gold at the World Championship and was voted the tournaments most outstanding wrestler.

Dan Hodge

The exploits of the great Dan Hodge, are so great they are almost unbelievable. His success was so great, that the greatest achievement in college wrestling is an award named the Hodge Trophy. Its an award of excellence given out to college wrestling’s greatest wrestler, regardless of weight class. Hodge was so great, that he is widely considered the greatest college wrestler of all time. Hodge’s level of dominance was so great in college, that it will never be equaled. Throughout his college career, he was never defeated, never taken down, and never surrendered an offensive point. He was a 3x NCAA Champion, and pinned his way through the national tournament all 3 years.  In addition to his dominance over the college wrestling world, Hodge also won 3 AAU Freestyle national titles, as well as a AAU national title in Greco. To date he is the only amateur wrestler to be featured on the cover of Sport Illustrated. Hodge also competed in the 1956 Olympic Games and won a silver medal, despite having very little Freestyle experience. When his wrestling career finally came to an end Hodge took up boxing and put together a 24-0 record with 15 wins by KO. (it is rumored he had 2 boxing losses, however his official record has no mention of this) As you can see Dan was a legend among his peers, and I highly doubt his accomplishments will ever be matched.

Ben Peterson

Ben is considered one of the best Iowa State wrestlers of all-time by his peers, and was also one of America’s best wrestlers of his time. He was a 3x all-american, and 2x NCAA champion while competing at 190 lbs. His collegiate record stands at 74-4 with 24 pins. At the world championships he won a bronze and Gold medal.  He also won a Gold Medal at the 1972 Olympic Games. At the 1976 Olympics he captured a silver medal. His brother John was also an Olympic Gold Medalist.

Doug Blubaugh

Doug was a 2x AAU National Champion and a 1x NCAA Champion. In 1959 he was the Nations Most Outstanding wrestler, and he also won a Pan American Gold Medal. In 1960 he made the United States Olympic Team, where he defeated 3x World Champion and former Olympic Gold medalist Emam-Ali Habibi to win the Gold Medal. Following this win he was named the Worlds Most Outstanding Wrestler regardless of weight, by the Olympic committee.

Chris Campbell

The big thing I remember about Chris Campbell, is that Dan Gable told me that Chris is the greatest wrestler he has ever coached, and looking at his stats its easy to see why. At the University Of Iowa, Chris was a 3x all-american, and 2x NCAA Champion, with an incredible record of 122-6. Which is even more incredible when you consider the fact that he only wrestled for 3 years in college. In 1981, Chris won a Gold Medal at the World Championships. After a long layoff Chris returned in 1990, and won a Silver Medal at the 1990 World Championship. He followed that up in 1992 by becoming the oldest United States wrestler to win an Olympic medal when he captured Silver in Barcelona.

Bruce Baumgartner

Baumgartner is among the greatest American wrestlers of all time. His five international titles places him second behind John Smith, Jordan Burroughs, and Adeline Gray. Between 1983 and 1996, Baumgartner won an incredible13 World or Olympic medals. In addition to his 3 World, and 2 Olympic titles, he had 3 Pan American titles, 17 National titles, 8 World Cup Gold Medals, and an NCAA title. During his college career he was a 3x NCAA finalist, and had a record of 134-12 with 73 pins. Baumgartner ranked as one of the top super-heavyweight freestyle wrestlers for more than a decade. Placing in the world championships from 1983-1996. He is without a doubt the most accomplished heavyweight wrestler in American history.

Leroy Kemp

Leroy Kemp is a wrestler who achieved unparalleled success at the high school, collegiate, and international levels. Kemp took to the wrestling mats like a fish to water. He didn’t begin his exceptional career until the 9th grade, and by the time he had graduated he had completed 2 undefeated seasons and was a 2x Ohio state champion. Lee also won the prestigious Junior National Freestyle Tournament in July of his senior year defeating a future 3-time NCAA Champion in the finals. In college he wrestled for the University of Wisconsin where he was a 4x NCAA finalist and 3x Champion. Kemp only lost 3 matches his entire college career, and was a perfect 110-0 his final 3 years. During his sophomore year, when he was still just 18. He scored a career defining win over the legendary Dan Gable. Kemp was America’s first three-time World Champion, winning his first title in 1978 at age 21, establishing him as the youngest American world champion ever, a distinction he held for 30 years. Lee was a four-time World Cup Champion, 7-time United States Freestyle National Champion and was a heavy favorite for gold earning a berth on the 1980 United States Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team, but was unable to compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Olympics.

Earl McCready

Earl grew up in Western Canada, before moving to the United States to wrestle for Oklahoma State University. During his 3 seasons wrestling varsity for OSU, Earl never lost a match and was rarely scored upon. Incredibly he had an 88% pin rate throughout college. Numerous facts really stand out in his college wrestling career. First off, he was the first ever 3x NCAA champion. He was also the first foreign-born NCAA wrestling champ. He is one of only two collegiate wrestlers with three NCAA titles to win all three of his finals matches by pin-fall. (the other being Dan Hodge) McCready still owns the record for fastest fall in an NCAA final, pinning Ralph Freese of the University of Kansas in just nineteen seconds at the very first NCAA wrestling championship in 1928. Following the conclusion of his college career, he won the Gold Medal at the 1930, British Empire Games. Known now as the Commonwealth Games.

To See Iowa State’s Wrestling Top 10 All Time List, Click Here.