He also has a museum named for him in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, part of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. An escape from Owings gave the Washington wrestler the lead, even after Gable pushed his riding time up over a minute, symbolically tying the match with time to go, but Owings wasnt done. And thats something that still pisses me off , Owings and I, we have an interesting relationship, that I just have never lets just say weve never become close, he says. The Cyclone star did rack up his time in control and actively worked for the turn with an arm bar before resetting and continuing to ride. 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. Don't get caught in the cradle." They haven't talked to each other since. The basement in the Gable home in Iowa City is full of trophies and trinkets and framed photos in glass cases; Dan Gable calls this part of the house the museum, and every museum must be a complete representation of history. Finally, he says, Theres a barrier between us that Im not sure needs to ever go away., 2023 ABG-SI LLC. 2023 National Wrestling Hall Of Fame. He won national titles at 130 and 137 pounds in 1968 and 1969. After the defeat, Gable won gold medals at the 1971 world championships as well as the 1972 Olympics. He could't believe he was the one affected by his opponent's reputation. By the end of the second period, Owings had stretched the lead to 7-2 and the crowd was hysterical. However, Owings turned things around, becoming a two-time Oregon high school state champ, winning the 136-pound crown as a junior in 1967, and the 138 title in 1968 (pinning all his opponents at state). And then I got greedy. Gable had pinned an astonishing 70 percent of his opponents entering the final, and now he determined to pin Owings to close out his collegiate career. my Events OPC Video News Powered by During the weigh-in, an ABC reporter asked, Larry, why, particularly with such a successful sophomore season, would you drop a weight class that will be impossible to win because of Gables presence? Owings glared at the interviewer and said, Ill beat him.. Time heals nothing, not the memory, not the legend and not the gap between the two men, Iowa State's Dan Gable, the greatest wrestler of all time, and a confident University of Washington sophomore named Larry Owings. One day his mother finally showed up at his door and when she saw Dan, she slapped him across the face, walked away, and made the one and a half hour drive back to Waterloo. Gable remembers wrestling an opponent while at the same time watching Owings lose on an adjacent mat. [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]. 1971 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships; Tournament information; Sport: College wrestling: Location: Auburn, Alabama: Dates: March 25, 1971-March 27, 1971: Host(s) Auburn University: . "After that match, it took me a long time to really admit a lot of things," Gable said. While at Iowa State, Gable continued his winning ways by capturing three Big Eight Championships, earning All-American honors all three years. "I could talk after that," he says. Larry Owings, The Man Who Beat Gable, What happened to Larry Owings? 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. He prefers to show them, firsthand. He was a legend in his home state and across the country with his work ethic and drive to succeed in wrestling. As painful as the experience was, looking back, he believes it may have helped toughen him up. I had it, says Gable. Larry Owings As Sports Illustrated reported in its coverage of the 1970 NCAAs, "Owings was far more accomplished than most people realized. 2023 National Wrestling Hall Of Fame. Where Are They Now: Catching up with Cubs legend Ernie Banks. His teams won 21 Big Ten championships and 15 NCAA Division I titles. With a score of 8-6, Gable again worked for back points before a scramble ensued. Owings got four points for the move -- two for the takedown, two for exposing Gables shoulders to the mat. "If he had never tried that before, then that tells me it's desperate. 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. After defeating Gable, Owings left the crowd at Northwestern stunned having witnessed wrestling history. I gave it everything I had.. "It was an indication," Gerald said, "that Gable was taking him real seriously. I didn't know how the referee would score it.". Waterloo, Iowa 50701 He said he "coached some wrestling ". "He (Gable) was dazed and confused. At the 1972 Games, in particular, Gable won all six of his matches without giving up a point. [1][2] On December 8, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Gable with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[3]. Olympic Champion. Owings went to work on top, forcing Gable into a passive position and generating a stall call against the Cyclone for a point. 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). This was where Owings wanted to be, on the mat in the middle of the action. mark@intermatwrestle.com, Twitter: @MatWriter. Their epic match 30 years ago altered the lives of both in ways not anticipated and provided the sport with a story to pass down through generations on the scope of a Biblical parable. He lost only once, in the final match of his final season at Iowa State University. It's hard to win a third NCAA title. In his international career, undefeated. He beat Gable in the finals of the 1970 NCAA Tournament, one of the most famous wrestling matches in history. 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. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. Where do you go from there? Owings remained one of the top wrestlers in the country, but as disappointments mounted -- he finished second in the NCAA championships in 1971 and 72 -- Owings began to feel like his national championship win was a curse. If you need a little weekend reading, friends, you could do worse -- a lot worse -- thanthis compelling profile by Sports Illustrated's Albert Chen on Dan Gable and Larry Owings, two men whose histories are inextricably intertwined. zF\LxW"ve(1t^~W#ZxD!K(BTvA;h\5Ij _IAial&$prh~PZdm%6/LmJLU^+qLq) The Hawkeyes can still earn a double bye, but a lot hinges on the trip to Indiana. <> I cant remember anything that happened in the last 40 seconds and when I looked up at the scoreboard and saw he led 13 to 9, I couldnt believe it.. 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 . A Seattle Times article, Whatever happened to Larry Owings? comes up, as well as the Wikipedia entry for Dan Gable. "But I was distracted by Larry Owings. 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. Jean made it out just in time; he won the match, and the national title. Owings had one more thing Gable didn't have - implacability. The most comprehensive list of wrestling tournaments all in one place. Smith would rather have Owings wrestle at 150 pounds. "At that point, once I saw the score and only three seconds left, I knew he couldn't get two points," Owings said. Through the windows an orange sun is sinking just beyond the towering pines, and light glows his pale bald head. "I was a scrambling type of wrestler, and I think he was more of a controlled wrestler," Owings told the Associated Press 17 years after his win in an article headlined "Gable's rival, former bosses look back. It was one of the greatest upsets in American sports: an unknown sophomore from the University of Washington slaying the god from Iowa State and one of the most astonishing streaks in sports history. He holed himself up in his room, he didnt talk to anyone, he didnt even return his parents phone calls. My strategy was to throw everything I could at him, keep him so busy he wouldnt be able to get into a rhythm in the match, Owings later said. He may have been the only opponent Gable had faced in years who saw him as anything other than invincible. Im emotional about it because theres still a lot of meaning , Where Are They Now: Catching up with former Cavs guard Craig Ehlo, His voice trails off, and he lifts a hand to dry his eyes; something thats been buried deep is suddenly resurfacing. Inducted into University of Washington Athletic Hall of Fame. Im emotional about it. Drawing on personal accounts from former Maple Heights wrestlers, nationally known celebrities of the sport like Larry Owings and Bobby Douglas, and the four Milkovich brothers, Kalin draws a . It was around the time I turned 50, and maybe that has something to do with it: I realized that I had a talent, and whats the point of denying that I had that talent? The way Owings sees it, there was his life before the match and his life after: before 1970 he was a nobody hungry to make a name for himself in the sport, though also an introvert completely unequipped for the attention that would come. Gable remembers the moment the seed of doubt was planted entering the 1970 national championships at Northwestern Universitys McGaw Hall. Dan stood there crying. Once the period began, it was Owings on top, temporarily, before Gable notched a reversal to tie the score at 8-8 with just over 1:45 to go in the third. BURROWS Beverley. On March 28, 1970, in what remains the most famous college match ever, a Washington sophomore named Larry Owings defeated him, 13-11. f&6wZ> The house lights were dimmed, with only the overhead lights framing the mat in the center of McGaw Hall. And that was it, he says. View the profiles of people named Larry Owings. Is the hardest S.O.B. Owings thought to himself, Im not going to the Olympics, Why am I cutting weight? The match spawned a book, a documentary, countless magazine articles, and decades of reflection. The NCAA shifted weight classes fairly often back then so wrestlers adjusted either up or down. Let us know if you can support our efforts to expand our operations and keep all of our content paywall-free. 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 "It's the biggest upset ever in the sport, and it's a fascinating story. As lopsided as that score was, it was the only point allowed by Gable during the trials or the Olympics. In 1966, he entered Iowa State, 110 miles away in Ames. He won every college match, and the only match he dropped was his last match against Larry Owings in the 142-pound finals in 1970. NCAA Champion and Outstanding Wrestler. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon. I say that I went undefeated for seven years, lost a match, and then I got good, he says. A few years ago, at a wrestling banquet, Les Anderson, a former assistant coach at Iowa State, pulled his former protg aside, and said, Gable, I just want to apologize for that last match. Come watch me next week as I finish my career 182-0. Gable kept bungling the lines, and the take took half an hour; by the time he was finished, without having gone through his regular pregame warm-up, every seat in the area was already filled, and the match was about to start. % That's what I thought. In a corner of the room theres a photo of Gable on the podium after the Owings match, a close black and white shot of his face with tears in his eyes. Most have never heard of Larry Owings. It was during 117-1 at Iowa State University that lost to Larry Owings in 1970. "I was almost embarrassed to have won," he says. 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. It's an essential part of the origin story for Dan Gable-as-superhero. How Tall Is Dan Gable? Larry was tough. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. My nickname was Porky. Everyone called me that, even my teachers at school. Gable, then and now, says the near-fall was "a judgment call.". He was going for his third title at 142 pounds, and virtually everyone thought he was a lock. It is the subject of an old wrestling match from 44 years ago that has him go silent. He would mow the lawn of his parents home in Waterloo, on a 100-degree Iowa summer day with double layers of jogging pants to burn calories. Yes. Gable recovered from the defeat and would later say it made him a much better wrestler. His results were extraordinary. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, "Bio: Dan Gable 15 National Championships. He tried an arm-bar move, coming over Owings' shoulder in an attempt to lock him up and take him down. Owings strategy in the match was his strategy in all his others: to wear out the other guy; he was, in short, going to out Gable Gable. 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. There were some things I could have done We just thought you were invincible., Anderson was dying of cancer, and as Gable says, It was like he was unloading a lifelong burden., Where are They Now: Former UConn star Doron Sheffer. There is, however, still the open wound from 1970. Owings was an outstanding 29-1 for the season, Gable an astonishing 181-0 against high school and college competition. Im not going out there, Jean said. Gable, then and now, says the near-fall was "a judgment call.". Referee Pascal Perri described the noise as "comparable to Niagara Falls during the spring thaw.". However, because of NCAA. He was U.S. Olympic freestyle coach in 1980, 1984, and 2000. You can find youth folkstyle wrestling tournaments as well as Freestyle and Greco-Roman events. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. Larry Owens (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional basketball player. In his senior season at Iowa State, Gable lost the only match of his amateur wrestling career to Larry Owingsa sophomore from the University of Washingtonin the NCAA 142-pound national championship. 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. . 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. 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. . [6], From 1971 to 1973, Gable competed internationally in freestyle wrestling. The regular season winds downs on the final Sunday before conference tournaments. This is where Gable thought he had the match won. It's all good. To say Owings was the underdog would be, well, an understatement. He was stunned he had lost. The Cyclone collected himself after the takedown, taking a timeout to adjust his contact lens before going back to the middle. The only defeat that Gable suffered during his. SECOND PERIOD: Gable chose top to start the second period with the goal of looking for a turn against Owings for back points, but, instead, Owings, escapes and takes a shot for another two-point takedown, extending his lead to 6-2. WA Death Notices. In 1968, in Ames, Iowa, he stepped onto the mat to face the Iowa State sophomore who was already considered the best wrestler in the country. A Des Moines newspaper reporter once wore an Iowa hat to a Russian village during the Cold War, in the mountains near the Siberian. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. Gable wrestled collegiately at Iowa State, but spent his coaching career from 1976-1997 at the University of Iowa. In his final meeting, he sat face to face with Karl Rove, who made the mistake of saying something to the effect of, Youll do what we tell you to do. Pac-8 Champion and three-time NCAA finalist. Gable was more exhausted than hed ever been at the end of a match. Only 30 seconds remained in the match; and Gable, despite the fact that he could coast to a one-point win, continued to stand up and circle with Owings. Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. He would drop down two weight classes, from 158 to 142, just to have a shot at Gable at the NCAAs. Next, well bring you the story of the Canby cowboy who became the best bronc rider in the country at the age of 23. It's full of great details like this in the aftermath of Gable's loss to Owings: With none of his family members in attendance that day, Owings remembers staggering around, trying to process what just happened. 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. Larry Owings Documentary: https://youtu.be/AHuD161zOBU Full match vs Dan Gable: https://youtu.be/98HYl3c0L1c Any can be beaten, nothing is impossible! Facebook gives people the power to. Owings wore a black singlet with white trim, while Gable was in cardinal and gold. Of the century. "I'm not going out there," Jean said. He went 64-0 at Waterloo (Iowa) West High School and 117-0 in three years at Iowa State (freshmen could not compete then) with NCAA titles at 130 and 137 pounds. Gable said when Owings grabbed his leg "it was kind of like a slow-motion fall. "I've never wrestled after you've lost a match, and I'm not going to do it now." 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. They are not your average antique shop. Who wants to be known for just one thing? He thinks about what would have happened if he would have lost his match: maybe he wouldnt have entered a failed marriage in 1970 just months after the match (Maybe she wouldnt have married me if I wouldnt have been a winner, he says), maybe he would have pushed himself harder to become an Olympian. Expand our operations and keep all of our content paywall-free at Iowa,. Moment the seed of doubt was planted entering the 1970 NCAA finals victory over Gable. Finally, he entered Iowa State, but mostly he finds himself staring photos! After that, '' he says struggled for decades against his reputation as the Wikipedia entry Dan. Who wants to be defined by something that transpired over a period of nine minutes when was... 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