Finally, Gable says in a quiet, raspy voice, I know that the match affected my entire life. To say Owings was the underdog would be, well, an understatement. Here's what you may have missed. He had won more than 200 matches in high school." Gable was in the locker room when he heard the water running in the shower. Despite leading Iowa to 15 team championships and cementing his legacy as one of the best leaders in the sport, he still thinks about Larry Owings. Im emotional about it. He attempted an arm-bar move, raising his arm over Owingss shoulder to lock him up and take him down. "It was an indication," Gerald said, "that Gable was taking him real seriously. Owings thought to himself, Im not going to the Olympics, Why am I cutting weight? Don't get caught in the cradle." They are not your average antique shop. See, Larry Owings is the The Man Who Beat Dan Gable. All Rights Reserved. Gable began scouting Owings' matches. 93 talking about this. 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Phone: (405) 377-5243 Email: info@nwhof.org 2023 National Wrestling Hall Of Fame. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, "Bio: Dan Gable 15 National Championships. It was Gable's first loss of his collegiate wrestl. [10], Gable has been written about in many magazines and numerous books, including Two Guys Named Dan (1976), From Gotch to Gable: A History of Wrestling in Iowa (1981), The Toughest Men in Sports (1984) and Legends of the Mat (2006), all by wrestling historian Mike Chapman.[11]. He walked over and saw his teammate Chuck Jean there. When I was a high school student I turned to. Where Are They Now: Catching up with Cubs legend Ernie Banks. NCAA Champion and Outstanding Wrestler. Gable was inducted into the USA Wrestling Hall . "Stunned was the word," Owings said of his first moments as the giant-killer. Graduated from Canby High School where he was a two-time OSAA champion. He's an icon, a champion and the face of the sport. "You can't put someone in because of one match. I don't know if he planned it or not, but he got inside my head.". And then, having found a nine-minute YouTube clip titled Gable-Owings, Larry Owings taps the play button, and, with a strange mix of fascination and unease, he leans back in his chair. Gables success was always due in large part of his ability to live in a bubble -- no distractions ever got in his way. Iowa State's Dan Gable had one of the most legendary careers in college wrestling, pinning 76 of his 118 opponents during his three years as a starter for the Cyclones and amassing a nearly flawless record on his way to two NCAA titles. While Gable's record that season was 31-0, with five straight pins in the 1970 NCAA tourney, Owings was 32-1, and had four pins entering . He was as relentless and as conditioned as Gable was. Gable is in the U.S. Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. Owings, despite a national title and an 87-4 record at Washington (52-1 in dual meets), is not. Canby Then is brought to you by Retro Revival. The message was that his talent at wrestling, and his improbable victory over Dan Gable, had happened for a reason. "GABLE FALLS!" screamed the banner headline in the next day's Des Moines Register. Dan stood there crying. I told him he had to get out there." No, she says, disbelieving. Jean made it out just in time; he won the match, and the national title. Gable was in the locker room when he heard the water running in the shower. The Hawkeyes can still earn a double bye, but a lot hinges on the trip to Indiana. He was taking time out to do countless interviews, up until the very moment of his match: ABCs Wide World of Sports requested that he tape a spot for them on the mat just minutes before the final. As lopsided as that score was, it was the only point allowed by Gable during the trials or the Olympics. His career had been one of perfection -- he was 64-0 as a high schooler, a three-time state champion, and 117-0, with two national championships, entering the final collegiate match of his career -- and there was no reason for Gable to be anything other than supremely confident when he arrived with his teammates in Evanston. [6], In addition to coaching folkstyle wrestling at the University of Iowa, Gable coached freestyle wrestling. my Events OPC Video News Powered by National Champion. His four brothers, his classmates, even his coaches at Canby High when he started wrestling told him he was fat. His one collegiate loss, however, has become the most famous match from his wrestling tenure in his final match. Wrestling is just two people out there -- anyone can be beat, anything can happen. Owings had dropped two weight classes to wrestle in Gables class at 142 pounds. Larry Owings of Washington breaks hold and flips Dan Gable of Iowa State during the final match in the 142-pound class of the NCAA Wrestling. He took notice of the young Husky, perhaps more than appropriately. Gable remembers the moment the seed of doubt was planted entering the 1970 national championships at Northwestern Universitys McGaw Hall. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. Within the first 30 seconds, Gable got up 2-0 with a takedown, but Owings came back on a takedown and escape to lead, 3-2. WATCH "Larry Owings Documentary (The Man Who Beat Dan . 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Phone: (405) 377-5243 Email: info@nwhof.org He lost 20 pounds, while simultaneously growing several inches, and all of a sudden no one was saying hed never be a wrestler anymore. USWF Greco-Roman and freestyle champion and Outstanding Wrestler. Dan had a lot of pressure on him. Owings shows up at local wrestling practices and events more, and when people ask him about the Gable match, he no longer tightens up. Caldwell was always dangerous and capable of beating anyone anytime. Was I annoyed? says Owings. But Dan Gable, of course, is so much more than one result. 2014. There is, however, still the open wound from 1970. Owings was a sophomore at the University of Washington, who had dropped two weight classes (from 158 to 142) just to get a shot at the legend. His teams won 21 Big Ten championships and 15 NCAA Division I titles. Iowa shocked college baseball on Saturday, dominating top-ranked LSU 12-4 in the Karbach Round Rock Classic. He prefers to show them, firsthand. Is that so? Gable says that the loss was "like a death in the family." Dan Gable won 13-4 in a match that would serve as the central motivation for Owings two years later. It is the match that Dan Gable will say turned him into a great wrestler -- and yet he still has trouble bringing himself to talk about it. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. Mike Gerald, who now lives in Austin, Texas, wrote a book on Owings when the two became acquainted in Oregon. Working out from under Gable gave Owings momentum and confidence, and he translated that energy into a takedown of his own against his opponent to give Owings the lead 3-2 in the match and rode out Gable for the remainder of the first period to finish the first three minutes on top. Owings got four points for the move -- two for the takedown, two for exposing Gables shoulders to the mat. You can find youth folkstyle wrestling tournaments as well as Freestyle and Greco-Roman events. Owings watches the video as Perri lifts his arm and Gable staggers away. Wrestling never came up until they went on a date later in their relationship and two strangers walked up to them and asked for Owings autograph. "I don't think he's out of my head even today," Gable said recently. Wow! He would sprint from class to class on the campus at Ames, clutching course books and wearing weights tied to his ankles. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Canby Coach Larry Wright encouraged Owings to continue his wrestling at the highest level. He also became the greatest coach in U.S. college wrestling, winning 17 NCAA titles, and 21 Big Ten Championships. The man who beat Dan Gable.. In Chicago, though, the bubble burst. [6], From 1971 to 1973, Gable competed internationally in freestyle wrestling. Yeah, college basketball is ready for March. Given that Gable -- by his own admission in the piece -- still isn't truly over that loss and that it still lights a fire in him well, I'm gonna say that that loss was perhaps the best thing that ever could have happened to Gable -- and, by extension, Iowa wrestling. Owings will forever be in the history books because of this match, and the lesson from this moment is that anything can happen in the NCAA finals. Every sport except boxing and wrestling, she said. The article didn't mention the fact that Caldwell had pinned Metcalf the previous season. Gable made numerous attempts to explain the only defeat he would ever know. I really enjoyed the article - thanks. Again in '69 @ 137. Owings had his first chance at the 1969 NCAA Championships but, as he would later regret, decided to wrestle at 130 pounds, avoiding Gable's 137-pound class. He was presented with the Man of the Year award during the championships, the media sought him out before and after every match, and he was struggling under the burden of a 181-match winning streak. Gable asked Jean as he stood there under the water. Owings ran three miles every morning around the Husky Stadium track, averaging six minutes a mile and sprinting the final quarter-mile in less than a minute. When I started to embrace that, I started to become happier, I think., The young wrestlers have all heard of Dan Gable. It was a good match, wasnt it? he says. He is turning on his iPad, hoping to find clips of the match that would change his life in unexpected and complicated ways. When his teammates passed him in the tunnels they never expected a hello. 11 ranked men's hoops teams in action tonight, DI indoor T&F championship selections revealed. "[5], From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. See, Larry Owings is the The Man Who Beat Dan Gable. Come watch me next week as I finish my career 182-0." Earlier in the day, without any prodding, he brought up the murder of his sister Diane in 1964. He went in for Gables leg and picked up a clutch third-period takedown, almost catching the Cyclone off guard as time ticked down. And he was famous. After losing 20 pounds and growing several inches, nobody believed he couldn't be a wrestler anymore. Instead, he thought of it as a reason to train with even more determination: "The more you can settle into focusing on what you have and what you would like to do and where you want to go a positive point of view the quicker things turn around and positive things start to happen. Im emotional about it because theres still a lot of meaning Gable told, How Dan Gable coached Iowa to 15 team titles, The complete history of one of the greatest college wrestlers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. Now why on earth would they want that? Diane asked. He growls, What I dont understand, and what still pisses me, off is that how, I did not get up properly for the biggest match of the year. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. "I knew who he was," Owings said, somewhat disingenuously. No high school kid can come close to scoring on Owings. It had a tremendous impact on my entire coaching career.". He even had the honor of facing Dan Gable, then a sophomore at Iowa State and already a national champion. World Champion", "Trump honors legendary Iowa wrestler Gable at White House", "Dan Gable among speakers discussing victims' rights", "Himself the victim of a violent tragedy, Gable says loss can result in some good", "Bio: Dan Gable 15 National Championships. It's famous in part because of the outcome -- it was the only match Gable lost in college -- and in part because of what it led to: an even more focused and determined Gable, who won gold at the World Championships and Olympics in the years that follow and who then coached Iowa to 15 national championships in 21 seasons, a staggering and unprecedented accomplishment. "But I was distracted by Larry Owings. Larry Owings won the Pac 12 at 157 and went to 142 for Nationals. Im not going out there, Jean said. How about a nod to the wrestler Owings so very wisely avoided. However, because of NCAA. "I had two minutes more riding time, so I was pretty much in control of the match," Gable said. I was like, Who would say that?, Where are they now: Catching up with Chamique Holdsclaw, The wrestler was an unknown coming off a 30-1 season at Washington, a reserved 19-year-old who didnt appreciate anyone who suggested that any result on the mat was a foregone conclusion. 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