Posted on 04/04/2015 11:10:51 AM PDT by iowamark
VINTON In between speaking to students and signing books for whoever wanted one, Olympic gold medalist and Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable was gracious enough to sit down with me and answer a few of my questions. To me, Dan Gable is not only a sports and human inspiration, but hes also the subject of one of my all-time favorite pieces of journalism.
I used this interview opportunity to ask him a couple of questions that have been on my mind for two years.
This is what transpired:
Blake Baxter: What exactly motivated you to write the book (A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable)?
Dan Gable: Oh, Ive had other books. I didnt really people are always trying to get me to do another biography of my life. When I was a coach, I never put out any wrestling books or tapes. Once I stopped, I got 15 out, but I focus on what I focus on. Theres a time in your life when you need to focus on some things that can be really not just keep your name going but actually affect other people. Ive affected other people while I was coaching, while I was wrestling, but this is just another way to help keep that focus to help people, because people need stuff like this.
BB: Being from Illinois and being a soccer player, and not being exposed to wrestling a great deal growing up, I didnt really become familiar with you and your career until you were fighting to save the Olympics (Olympic wrestling).
DG: I had to step back up again because most people in this whole sport worldwide respect me and Ive never really gotten away from it, but I needed to step up my ability to affect our leadership. And even though people always want me to be in these leadership roles, my best thing is coaching our leadership because Im not the type of guy that can actually be in these roles because Im too much of a family guy. I have to stay home.
BB: Which is ultimately why you retired (from coaching), right?
DG: Health and family. I was kind of beat up a little. I had to get back together.
BB: What was your ultimate takeaway from your fight to save Olympic wrestling?
DG: Its that we really needed a kick in the butt. We were not doing a very good job of promoting our sport and following other leaders directions, and we needed to really change a lot of things.
BB: Now, you mentioned a writer who was involved with you.
DG: Yep, Scott Schulte. He was at the Olympic trials and he just caught me in a moment when one of our wrestler athletes got beat and he asked me about wanting to do an article on my sister for an internet thing, so thats how we got hooked up. Otherwise this probably wouldnt have happened yet.
BB: I havent read it yet, but what Ive read is the ESPN.com article by Wright Thompson.
DG: Oh my gosh. That might be the best article ever written on me.
BB: Isnt it amazing? I read it when it came out and I read it again this weekend.
DG: Ill tell you why. He really liked me and he really liked my family. He liked me, but he really liked my family, so thats why the article is so good.
BB: Can you tell me how that came about? As a journalist, thats extremely interesting to me.
DG: Well, he just made contact and the people that actually oversee me for doing a lot of this stuff are my relatives and they knew of him, and they said you gotta do this. I get directed. I dont make all these decisions myself. I have a lot of people helping me and a lot of them are family people.
BB: So, did you initially have reservations and then they talked you into it?
DG: I probably wasnt even going to answer the email.
BB: In the article, something that was interesting to me, you talked about Title IX--
(The article explains that Gable has had pointed criticisms of Title IX in the past, because an unintended byproduct of the landmark federal law that required schools to add womens sports was the shrinking of college wrestling program budgets, while the scholarship-hogging football teams paid everyones bills and were untouchable.)
DG: I love Title IX, but I didnt our sport didnt take it on correctly. We kind of battled it. We should have joined it and realized that we would get along further if we put our efforts together. We werent very smart then. We were working hard, but not smart for Title IX. But I think we got it where we need to. Its still its always an issue, but its a good issue, as long as you dont get too carried away. See, theres extreme Title Ninests too, and those you got to kind of overlook and set them aside and see it goes this way and it needs to go this way, but you dont need to eliminate some people in the process. You got to figure out how to keep what you got going strong and add to it, and thats what Title IX is.
BB: Okay, my last question about the article: Youve had such a unique life and that article made it very clear. But it talked about how youre still evolving and changing. How would you say youve evolved and changed since that article was written two years ago?
DG: I would say that in the last month I have made more progress in my family than Ive made in a long time, just me and my wife, actually. Just working hard and smart, and making sure that things go really well.
I had actually prepared more questions to ask and Id wager that he had plenty more to say but books needed to be signed, conversation needed to be made and lives needed to be changed by the generosity of wrestling legend Dan Gable.
During his prep and college Wrestling careers, Dan Gable compiled a record of 181-1.
As the University of Iowas all-time winningest coach from 1976 to 1997, Gable won 15 NCAA National Wrestling Team Titles while compiling a career record of 355-21-5, He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 National Champions, 106 Big Ten Champions and 12 Olympians, including four gold, one silver and three bronze medalists. The Hawkeyes won 25 consecutive Big Ten championships, 21 under Gable as head coach and four while he was an assistant coach and administrator. He had a winning percentage of .932 and captured nine consecutive (1978-86) NCAA Championships. At the time that equaled the longest streak of national titles won by any school in any sport, and is also held by Yale golf (1905-13) and Southern Cal track (1935-43).
“The Losses of Dan Gable: Wrestling’s most famous winner is taking on one final battle: To save his sport and all he’s ever been” by Wright Thompson 8/21/13
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/Dan-Gable/the-losses-dan-gable
Who needs NATO when you have Dan Gable. One of the GOAT.
Dan Gable is a great guy. Met him years ago in a kids wrestling tournament. I was proud to wear my Asics Dan Gable shoes after that.
A great man and a great example.
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