He holed himself up in his room, he didnt talk to anyone, he didnt even return his parents phone calls. The NCAA shifted weight classes fairly often back then so wrestlers adjusted either up or down. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Larry Owings, on the other hand, returned to Oregon, and faded into obscurity, at least as far as the wrestling world was concerned. Owings was the first UW wrestler to win an NCAA title, but what mattered was that he had upset a man the Russians reverently called "The Machine," a man who had won 181 straight matches, 108 by pins. I had it, says Gable. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. Email: dgmstaff@nwhof.org. Gable didnt feel redemption or justice, only a heavy weight lifted: in an unexpected moment of clarity, he realized that all these years hes somehow been partly blaming himself for her death. Unbelievably, Mr. Flasche was my neighbor and customer at my pharmacy when he moved to our tiny, beautiful town of Troy, MT in the early 2000s. Gable asked Jean as he stood there under the water. The night before the finals he reluctantly attended a banquet honoring him as the sports Man of the Year. Even now, no one tells Dan Gable what to do. Conditioning was a big part of my preparation.". Shop official NCAA team and championship gear. He went on to the sensational international and Olympic career that has already been described. That softie had been nowhere to be found earlier in on this day as he navigated his black pickup through Iowa City while downing cans of Mountain Dew and breathlessly telling rollicking old wrestling stories that crackle like firecrackers. Both wrestlers advanced through the tournament by pinning each of their opponents. The night before the start of the tournament, a teammate asked if hed seen the front page of the Chicago Tribune sports section. Owings was very squirmy and hard to control., But Owings recollection, recorded immediately after his great victory, is probably still true to this day: When it was over, I looked at Dan, and he looked like he didnt know what had happened.. He now does university fund raising and works with the U.S. Olympic team. Gable finished the scramble on top and ended the second period in the opposite manner of the first, this time holding the momentum and the power and the clock reset with two more minutes on the clock for the final period. There had never been a day like March 28, 1970 in the world of wrestling, and there has never been one since. Many who were there that day use the same words to describe the strange aftermath: it was like a bomb went off. This is where Gable thought he had the match won. The regular season winds downs on the final Sunday before conference tournaments. Dan Gable height is 5 Feet 9 Inches. He's still the most famous person in the world of wrestling. In his high school career, undefeated. A few old black-and-white wrestling photos turn up in the image results, but mostly he finds himself staring at photos of strange faces. Imagine my surprise when I read of my neighbor/customer's accomplishments in his obituary after he and his wife's (along with others) deaths in a tragic car accident. Owings nearly escaped, but Gabled rolled him around and nearly put him on his back before Owings persistence paid off and he earned the escape point. Thanks for the great article. See, Larry Owings is the The Man Who Beat Dan Gable. Says Gable, "You could say that this was my first coaching moment. In the days afterward he shut himself from the world. f&6wZ> National Champion. Gable said a teammate showed him the article. Gable calls his loss to Larry Owings of Washington his greatest loss. I say that I went undefeated for seven years, lost a match, and then I got good, he says. This was the featured match of the tournament. He won 117 college wrestling matches with impressive dominance, setting a tone and a pace that few could match. Gable wrestled collegiately at Iowa State, but spent his coaching career from 1976-1997 at the University of Iowa. Dan had a lot of pressure on him. The line Gable had to recite was simple: Hi, Im Dan Gable. He has softened in his old age -- thats what nine grandchildren will do to you -- and lately he has been more reflective; a stack of papers on the desk is the memoir hes working on with a writer. It's hard to win a third NCAA title. It was Gable's first loss of his collegiate wrestl. Phone: (319) 233-0745 He won't allow it. That makes it worse now from my point of view. College career [ edit] Yavapai College (2001-2003) [ edit] Owens averaged 22.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Yavapai College. Leading 7-2, Owings continued to ride Gable before Gable notched a reversal and put himself back on track with a 7-4 score. Only one man who ever lived can say he beat Dan Gable, and that man is 1968 Canby Union High School grad Larry Owings. It was during 117-1 at Iowa State University that lost to Larry Owings in 1970. The teasing was merciless and nearly crushed him, but it also fueled him to drop the weight and spend extra hours in the gym, and by his senior year he was the best wrestler in the state, competing in national tournaments and Olympic trials. I told him I used to wrestle in North Dakota, won a state championship in 1987. Larry was tough. Larry Owings. His days now are spent talking -- talking on stages and in boardrooms across the country on the speaking circuit; talking to millionaires over dinners to raise money for a sport hes trying to save; talking to strangers who still worship him like a god -- here in Iowa there are, at latest count, three bronze statues of him in the state. mark@intermatwrestle.com, Twitter: @MatWriter. Dan Gable has not forgotten about that night in 1970. 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. I didn't know how the referee would score it.". 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Phone: (405) 377-5243 Email: info@nwhof.org He won every college match before dropping his last match in a stunning 13-11 loss to Washington's Larry Owings in the 142-pound finals in 1970. He was interviewed by a Chicago newspaper about his chances against the invincible one, and Owings didn't demur. "People are still talking about it," said Ron Good, editor of the Amateur Wrestling News. 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. 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. Phone: (405) 377-5243 Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon. Smith, a man not quite 5 feet tall, ran over and bear-hugged and hoisted his champion. The wrestler would go on to win a national championship. Our Mission: To honor the sport of wrestling by preserving its history, recognizing extraordinary individual achievements, and inspiring future generations, 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Email: info@nwhof.org, 303 Jefferson St. Feeling stripped of his powers after his loss, Gable was finding out what it was like to be human. "It was a move," Owings said, "I had never done before or since.". No, with his movie star looks and charisma, and a physique that would make Chris Hemsworth jealous, he was legitimately world famous. I told him he had to get out there." Finally, Gable says in a quiet, raspy voice, I know that the match affected my entire life. Larry Richard Oliver (October 6, 1952 - March 5, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, known as "Crippler" Rip Oliver, who had success in Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW). Gable won @ 130 in '68. Gables success was always due in large part of his ability to live in a bubble -- no distractions ever got in his way. Gable's teams compiled a dual meet record of 355215. "But I was distracted by Larry Owings. The match at Northwestern had its impact on both wrestlers. I think Ill wrestle till Im at least 80, he said during a recent interview. The night before the weigh in, he had a fight with his wife, who was seven months pregnant and didnt want him to leave her and the baby behind and go to the Olympics. If there was one code Owings lived by then, it was a desire to have a second chance against anyone who had beaten him. This was where Owings wanted to be, on the mat in the middle of the action. WA Death Notices. I enjoyed your article and with no intention of being critical. They haven't talked to each other since. His gig was always that he was going to out condition people, says Owings. Although Gable has called his sister's death his "biggest loss,"[4] he did not allow the tragedy to affect his focus on wrestling. "He was a good, solid all-around wrestler who did not make a lot of mistakes," said Owings, now director of facilities for the Molalla (Ore.) School District. Looking at the photo now, Gable says, I felt -- I feel -- like I let everyone down. After Gable received his second place trophy, there was a loud ovation in the hall that stretched on for minutes, until one of Gables teammates approached him and said, Gable, lift up your head. Gable was inducted into the USA Wrestling Hall . Phone: (405) 377-5243 "Owings was very squirmy and hard to control.. Wow! Gable's college career record was 1171, with his only loss being in the final match of his final season to Larry Owings of the University of Washington. With none of his family members in attendance that day, Owings remembers staggering around, trying to process what just happened. All Rights Reserved. The crowd edged forward. Stillwater, OK 74075 He had pinned everyone in the 1970s national tournament before this match, and he was considered to be the unquestionable favorite against a wrestler he beat two years prior at the Olympic Trials. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. Caldwell was always dangerous and capable of beating anyone anytime. NCAA Champion and Outstanding Wrestler. Indeed, from a family of state champion wrestlers, Larry wound up as the best of the bunch, winning the 136-pound crown in 1967 and 141 in 1968. My nickname was Porky. Everyone called me that, even my teachers at school. Jean was due to wrestle in the nights final match, and the PA announcer called for the match wrestlers: Jean had three minutes to get to the mat. 2023 National Wrestling Hall Of Fame. This was Owings' opportunity, the fateful moment when his never-used leg sweep caught Gable by surprise. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? "When I got to the tournament, I still felt fine - that I could win and do everything I thought I could do," Gable said. Facebook gives people the power to. It's also a worthwhile read to find out more about Owings, who was an interesting figure in his own right. Michael Jordan is the Dan Gable of basketball, a sportswriter once said. He was driven. He wasn't stalling on top, but he wasn't earning any additional points either. When his teammates passed him in the tunnels they never expected a hello. Gable was in the locker room when he heard the water running in the shower. 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. With focus and determination Grant won 6-1in the match after Owings-Gable. \DP,uaO@LtT H]v[?Nr)|cXB!>Br$<4y3gz 1oZu, FO]+#3* u_i!c+pIf'iwC+)p\G In that stadium full of 9,000 screaming fans, the only one who thought Owings had a shot at taking down Gable might have been Owings himself (and, as he would later admit, probably his brother, and maybe his coach). Gable was one of the few. Lyle Ballew, a teammate of Owings', reported back to Owings that during the Iowa State practices, Gable would work with teammates on every possible countermove to the cradle. Iowa Wrestling Lands Commitments From Spencer Lee and Gavin Teasdale, TONY RAMOS TO LEAVE IOWA FOR NORTH CAROLINA, FORMER IOWA HEAVYWEIGHT TERRANCE JEAN-JACQUES SIGNS DEAL WITH WWE, TONY RAMOS FEELS "BETRAYED" BY IOWA, LEAVING IOWA PROGRAM, DAN DENNIS BEATS TONY RAMOS, WILL WRESTLE IN THE OLYMPICS IN RIO. He has one VHS cassette of the broadcast but the tape is the only copy of the match hes ever owned, so worn that hes afraid that if he runs it in the VCR one more time the tape will be ruined forever. The tributes to Dan Gable on the Internet are endless, but time, it seems, has forgotten the one man who beat him. The atmosphere was electric, though what everyone had expected -- what ABC had come for -- was a coronation, not a competition. "I thought it would be a contest. His intensity only grew when he became coach at Iowa in 1976; Gable was legendary for going to extreme limits to solve a problem. Now hes fighting for it to be reinstated beyond 2020. Find the cost, maps, directions, flyer and registration details all in one location. Licensed Building Contractor. He had won more than 200 matches in high school." In his first 117 college matches, undefeated, including two national championships. The promo never ran. His physical makeup was legendary, his results extraordinary. Minn. Owings was wrestling best at 136.5 . But in the final 30 seconds of a close, intense, exhausting match, Owings slipped underneath Gable's arms for a leg lift or sweep, putting the erstwhile invincible Gable on his back for the winning points. He would sprint from class to class on the campus at Ames, clutching course books and wearing weights tied to his ankles. A natural introvert, he struggled for decades against his reputation as The Man Who Beat Dan Gable. He didnt want his whole life to be defined by something that transpired over a period of nine minutes when he was a teenager. 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