Posted on 12/04/2020 5:10:00 PM PST by OKSooner
Just now was a quick feature on OAN that Dan Gable has been awarded the Medal of Freedom, upon recommendation of the "Congressional wrestling caucus", IOW Jim Jordan.
Others are close, but Gable was the greatest.
Real wrestling, not TV stuff.
Dan Gable (USA) v. Ruslan Ashraliev (USSR) - 1972 Olympic Gold Medal Final
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngxZVmtKCCo
Agreed 100%. I was from Larry Qwing’s neck of the woods in 1970 and I still pulled for Dan. Greatest ever!
Thanks.
I’ve got kinda the same deal, I grew up in Danny Hodge, John Smith, and Kenny Monday’s part of the world, if you know what I’m saying.
Gable was the greatest, though. Pretty cool of Jordan to lead the way on this...
Hawkeye here!😀
Same here.
If I recall, 10 NCAA wrestling National Championships @ Iowa!
It was a great era along with coach Fry’s football teams.
Congrats Dan Gable. He was my childhood hero.
JoMa
Air Force vet here too!
Had intra mural phys ed wrestling class when I was there in the late 50’s. Had legendary Dave McCuskey as instructor. Lost in the heavyweight final...I was 190 and he was 300 and New Mexico AAU heavyweight champion!🙃 Iowa has HUGE wrestling tradition.
Funny, the cryptogram in today’s paper was a quote by him.
An all round Good Guy! And the Father of all daughters. Think, for a minute or two, what it must have been like for the young men who dated those daughters.
“Dan Gable is the greatest American wrestler ever, period.”
For sure. I read an inspiration book about Dan Gable and learned how to triple one’s discipline. He is amazing.
Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable joins Trump onstage during a rally, calls the president ‘a champion’
Tony Leys
Des Moines Register
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/14/iowa-wrestling-dan-gable-presidential-medal-freedom-donald-trump-des-moines-rally/3660357001/
Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable joined President Donald Trump onstage at a Des Moines rally Wednesday evening, accepting the president’s praise and telling several thousand cheering fans that Trump is “a champion” who deserves re-election.
Trump announced to the crowd at his airport rally that he will award the former Iowa State University wrestler and University of Iowa coach the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In explaining his decision, which had become public earlier Wednesday, Trump called Gable “the pride of Iowa.”
Trump recounted how Gable amassed a 181-1 record in college at Iowa State, then won an Olympic gold medal in 1972.
“To do that, he had to wrestle against the six greatest wrestlers in that weight class in the world,” the president said. “And he did something never done before: He didn’t yield one point throughout the whole thing.”
The two men stood several feet apart most of the time they were together onstage. Trump, who recently was hospitalized for COVID-19, jokingly urged Gable to get closer to him.
Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable joins U.S. President Donald Trump on stage during a rally at the Des Moines International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
“Hey Dan, I’m immune and I can’t give it to you,” he said.
Gable, using a separate microphone, said he appreciated Trump’s decision to give him the award.
“That’s the highest honor. I’m used to winning, having to do it on the mat,” he said.
More:A son-in-law’s letter to a senator leads to president awarding wrestling icon Dan Gable the Medal of Freedom
The retired coach praised the president as a dedicated winner, like the wrestlers on his University of Iowa teams.
“This guy’s already a one-time champion,” Gable said of Trump. “But because he’s open for learning and he’s already very competent, he’s going to be a multi-champion president of the United States of America.”
The coach’s prediction drew applause from the crowd, and chants of “Four more years! Four more years!”
Trump recounted how Gable amassed a 181-1 record in college at Iowa State, then won an Olympic gold medal in 1972.
“To do that, he had to wrestle against the six greatest wrestlers in that weight class in the world,” the president said. “And he did something never done before: He didn’t yield one point throughout the whole thing.”
That poor Russian... wonder whatever became of him when he got back home.
That was exactly my thought.
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