The move was so fast that Perri stopped the match and walked to the scorers table to ensure that the proper points were awarded. No one had ever said something that, at least no one who could back it up. ", Owings and Gable, forever linked, met in the NCAA final for the 142-pound weight class. The next match featured Grant, like Gable a defending Champion from 1969. But that was my gig, too. Over the first two periods the match went back and forth, and when the match stretched into the third period the energy of the hall seemed to change -- from frenzy to palpable anxiety -- as the crowd seemed to realize that Gable was in a fight. "He was in excellent condition. Email: info@nwhof.org, 303 Jefferson St. "I really didn't want to see it or talk about it much. Find the cost, maps, directions, flyer and registration details all in one location. After beating up on them, he thought to himself, OK, Im still good. He has come to peace with things he never thought he would. And he was famous. He had two points in riding time that would be rewarded at the end by Perri. I got bumped down a seed at Nationals in 72 because the winner of the regionals 1 weight above me dropped down for Nationals. 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. 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. v%NoBPXw
This was where Owings wanted to be, on the mat in the middle of the action. It was close throughout the three-period match, and the constant crowd noise was deafening. I assume how hard it could be to train when you're given a lot of essays and homework to do. 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. I have to agree with the other poster - Vincenzo Joseph over Imar has to be in the top 3. There was no reason to think that Gable would not cruise through this final match at 142 pounds and end his career with a 118-0 record. It was a good match, wasnt it? he says. With focus and determination Grant won 6-1in the match after Owings-Gable. Gable, who admitted he was uncharacteristically worn down as the match dragged on, remembered telling himself, "Don't get caught in the cradle. Through the windows an orange sun is sinking just beyond the towering pines, and light glows his pale bald head. Larry Owings Fall 6:12 Leandro Torres 4-3 Bruce Burnett 11-7 Paul Brodmerkel 6-2 Bob Bergen 15-6 Rob Brown 6-4 Larry Owings Fall 1:36 Leandro Torres 4-3 Bob Bergen 3-2 Larry Owings 17-2 Leandro Torres 4-1 Darrell Keller 16-12 142 Weight Class Larry Owings 5-2 Clay Jester, Massachusetts James Guizzotti, Ashland [7] Doug Moses, Iowa State Bye Gable said when Owings grabbed his leg "it was kind of like a slow-motion fall. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, "Bio: Dan Gable 15 National Championships. Gable's career soared. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. "I was almost embarrassed to have won," he says. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. After retiring as the virtually undisputed greatest wrestler in the history of the sport, he decided to go ahead and become its greatest coach. "I knew who he was," Owings said, somewhat disingenuously. But I have to admit to this day that match made my career, not only the next two years. I know that the match affected my entire life. "Where are they Now: Catching up with Dan Gable and Larry Owings," Sports Illustrated (July 11, 2014), This page was last edited on 20 January 2023, at 03:38. Email: dgmstaff@nwhof.org. Really?. 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. 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 . Not, like he-was-on-a-Wheaties-box-one-time famous (though he was). After his Olympic title, he coached the Iowa Hawkeyes to 21 consecutive Big Ten titles and 15 national championships in his 21 years as head coach, going 355-21-5. Larry Owings - Washington (1969 - 1972) 1-time NCAA Champion High School: Canby, Oregon Stillwater, OK 74075 Gable loves telling the story of how he once had a freshman wrestler on his team who faded at the end of matches; to build up the wrestlers mental toughness, Gable drove would drive the wrestler 10 miles out of town a several times a week after practices, and had the freshman run all the way back to campus as Gable followed him in his car. Michael Jordan is the Dan Gable of basketball, a sportswriter once said. It was the final moments of the third period that elevated the match into the realm of myth: 30 seconds remained, and Gable was ahead 10-9; if he could stall, if he could just bide his time, a third national title was his. Owings wore a black singlet with white trim, while Gable was in cardinal and gold. But in ink? Larry Owings Invitational detail view. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. And if he could use them to help somebody else, he should. LARRY OWINGS AND DANGABLE, Kris Murray and Tony Perkins lead Iowa to its best road win of the year, The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Big Ten Tournament. He was intrigued -- Dan and Kathy went to Washington to have a series of meetings at the White House. 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. "(But) I got greedy.". Canby Coach Larry Wright encouraged Owings to continue his wrestling at the highest level. 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. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. Washington's Larry Owings knocked off Iowa State's Dan Gable for the 1970 NCAA championship at 142 pounds. Although Gable has called his sister's death his "biggest loss,"[4] he did not allow the tragedy to affect his focus on wrestling. Gable was inducted into the USA Wrestling Hall . They made up songs about me and teased me unmercifully.. Phone: (405) 377-5243 I had it, says Gable. Here is Larry Owings: sitting at his dining room table in his modest house in the Oregon countryside, 30 miles outside of Portland, on a May afternoon. Desperation is something that brings out unusual things," Gable said. Highlights of his career include gold medals at the 1971 Tbilisi Tournament, the 1971 world championships, and the 1972 Olympic Games. 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. Darrell Keller, Oklahoma State DEC Larry Owings, Washington, 16-12 150 lbs Stan Dziedzic, Slippery Rock DEC Jay Arneson, Oklahoma . It's all good. \DP,uaO@LtT H]v[?Nr)|cXB!>Br$<4y3gz 1oZu, FO]+#3* u_i!c+pIf'iwC+)p\G He lost 20 pounds, while simultaneously growing several inches, and all of a sudden no one was saying hed never be a wrestler anymore. Canby Then is brought to you by Retro Revival. Larry Owings, on the other hand, returned to Oregon, and faded into obscurity, at least as far as the wrestling world was concerned. He said he "coached some wrestling ". He may have been the only opponent Gable had faced in years who saw him as anything other than invincible. How about Andy Daniels beating John Azevedo or Gary Barton winning the tournament in1972. Waterloo, Iowa 50701 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. Gable is 65 now, still works out every day on the elliptical and lifting his old high school weights, but lately hes been feeling his body crumbling; he walks with a limp, the result of eight knee surgeries and four hip replacements. One competitor already knows hes going to win, and the other knows hes going to lose before either steps onto the mat, Gable likes to say. Email: info@nwhof.org, 303 Jefferson St. 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 . When he was 15 years old, a teenager from his neighborhood raped and murdered Gable's 19-year-old sister. Larry Owings won the Pac 12 at 157 and went to 142 for Nationals. The match at Northwestern had its impact on both wrestlers. He coached 152 all-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten Champions and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists. That makes it worse now from my point of view. "I could talk after that," he says. The two met in the finals of the 1970 NCAA wrestling championship. They are not your average antique shop. All Rights Reserved. And that was it, he says. But he was right. Perri brought the two wrestlers back with 17 seconds left for a final grab-and-hold. Then he would wrestle two hours a day. What bothered him was how he was always introduced to the room, but now, it almost makes him proud, the words, Larry Owings. I agree with dbestsport that the Marianetti-McIlravey final was a huge upset in the annals of wrestling. The night before the start of the tournament, a teammate asked if hed seen the front page of the Chicago Tribune sports section. 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. Just a thought. Now, it was like a burden was lifted. Gable wrestled collegiately at Iowa State, but spent his coaching career from 1976-1997 at the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes can still earn a double bye, but a lot hinges on the trip to Indiana. The night before the finals he reluctantly attended a banquet honoring him as the sports Man of the Year. 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. Thanks for the great article. Dan had a lot of pressure on him. [6], In addition to coaching folkstyle wrestling at the University of Iowa, Gable coached freestyle wrestling. From 1976 to 1997, Gable was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa, where his teams compiled a dual meet record of 355215 and won 15 NCAA Division I titles. 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. He would drop down two weight classes, from 158 to 142, just to have a shot at Gable at the NCAAs. 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.. After beating up on them, he thought to himself, OK, I'm still good. Owings had a not-so-successful start; nicknamed Porky, Owings lost all eight of his matches in his first year in junior varsity competition at Canby High, wrestling for coach Larry Wright. 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. Grant went up, Owings went. He had a chance to face Owings again three weeks later, then again seven months later, but Owings lost in the preliminary round. Larry Owings Documentary: https://youtu.be/AHuD161zOBU Full match vs Dan Gable: https://youtu.be/98HYl3c0L1c Any can be beaten, nothing is impossible! Even now, no one tells Dan Gable what to do. Gable won 13-4 and went on; Owings never forgot. Larry was tough. They were on their first date when Owings asked if she was into sports. Join Facebook to connect with Larry Owings and others you may know. At the 1972 Games, in particular, Gable won all six of his matches without giving up a point. But Owings has a prominent spot in the Hall, with a large picture of the match and some mementos. Really? But it will have to wait till next time, on Canby Then. They haven't talked to each other since. Find them on the corner of NW Third and Grant in downtown Canby. Michael Jordan is the Dan Gable of basketball. Gable did escape, looking for points of his own, but the momentum had shifted. Now I read this and learn his win was the greatest upset in wrestling history at the time and still ranks in the top three. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. On March 28, 1970, in what remains the most famous college match ever, a Washington sophomore named Larry Owings defeated him, 13-11. 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. Wow! He walked over and saw his teammate Chuck Jean there. 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. That loss is a key part of the creation story for the Dan Gable myth. Iowa State Coach Harold Nichols protested. 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. Owings watches the video as Perri lifts his arm and Gable staggers away. "I thought it would be a contest. Phone: (319) 233-0745 Don't get caught in the cradle." Maybe it does but maybe it doesn't. Let's take a look into the NCAA vault and recap the sequence of events that led to this final collegiate dual and the battle between the Cyclone star and his opponent, Washington's Larry Owings, in 1970. I don't know if he planned it or not, but he got inside my head.". A household name, and a hero to kids all over the country. He was a legend in his home state and across the country with his work ethic and drive to succeed in wrestling. He will show up at a practice at a high school just a few miles from where he lives now, and he will stand in front of the teenagers and say, If you can score on me, you can win the state title. Some of the wrestlers will think hes joking. He was U.S. Olympic freestyle coach in 1980, 1984, and 2000. All people still wanted to talk about was that match, he says. 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. "There was probably not 10 people in that crowd of 9,000 or so who would have bet on Owings," Oklahoma State Coach Myron Roderick said. After college, Owings competed on the senior level circuit before retiring. That number 182 would have included Gable's undefeated high school and collegiate career. [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]. 971K views, 7.2K likes, 334 loves, 948 comments, 4.9K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from NCAA Wrestling: Only one man stopped Dan Gable in his college career: Larry Owings. "I'm not going to this tournament to be a national champion. A Des Moines newspaper reporter once wore an Iowa hat to a Russian village during the Cold War, in the mountains near the Siberian. "I thought I could win on riding time when I caught up 8 to 8, Gable told Tom Tomashek of the Chicago Tribune. 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. As painful as the experience was, looking back, he believes it may have helped toughen him up. 13-11. While wrestling still consumes Gables life, it now occupies such a small corner of Owings -- a retired school administrator, his life revolves around his wife and his 15-year-old daughter Sami, his work with his church and maintaining his properties in the small town of Aurora, Ore. -- that even some of those closest to him are unaware of his wrestling past. Gable had an undefeated high school wrestling career. He prefers to show them, firsthand. 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Phone: (405) 377-5243 Email: info@nwhof.org [8], From 1976 to 1997, Gable was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. 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. It's also a worthwhile read to find out more about Owings, who was an interesting figure in his own right. After the defeat, Gable won gold medals at the 1971 world championships as well as the 1972 Olympics. _n*RgX`E^FkZoe%Y*poZ)XK+i.8p58Pu?MC%m j(Xq/|V\zl,ebRB9z}#m0/gmUH2.;9gtGix#91Nz2Oe&+"W5G`ota WBuHS{,$)/pxWu
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oZ_/:~[ZWn7E8FX:oKAU( Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. It doesn't matter that it's been 30 years. After a slow start, "He had won more than 200 matches in high school.". His physical makeup was legendary, his results extraordinary. Gable was in the locker room when he heard the water running in the shower. Gable's teams compiled a dual meet record of 355215. Owings got four points for the move -- two for the takedown, two for exposing Gables shoulders to the mat. Gable won @ 130 in '68. Gable asked Jean as he stood there under the water. Two years ago, Gable got the call that Dianes killer had died in prison. Earlier in the day, without any prodding, he brought up the murder of his sister Diane in 1964. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. Owings had one more thing Gable didn't have - implacability. 4 0 obj Then, one night about 10 years ago, he had an epiphany, which he believes came from God. Was I annoyed? says Owings. Smith, a man not quite 5 feet tall, ran over and bear-hugged and hoisted his champion. He grew up the youngest of five Owings brothers, all of them wrestlers; Larry, overweight growing up, was always the least likely of the Owings brothers to go one to become a great in the sport. 2014. But the scars from 1970 would never go away, and not just for Gable. Its been 17 years since he coached his last match, but his life still revolves around wrestling and fixing problems within in the sport, both small and big, from the new freshman at the university who needs a kick in the butt to the sports very survival -- last year, after the International Olympic Committee dropped wrestling as one of its core sports in February 2013, Gable made it a personal crusade to have it reinstated. Wrestling was already fading in his life when he met Diane, the woman who would become his second wife. Open daily. Then, just an hour before the match, ABC-TV convinced him to do a short promo advancing the telecast, which would be shown a week later, by having him tell the viewer to watch him finish his career 182-0. Overall Gable had lost just four matchesall of them while wrestling under unfamiliar international freestyle rules and in competitions in which he, though a promising youngster, clearly had been in over his head. He was intrigued by Owings' swagger. 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. The man who beat Dan Gable.. A Seattle Times article, Whatever happened to Larry Owings? comes up, as well as the Wikipedia entry for Dan Gable. Now nearly 70 but still strong as an ox, Owings is not one to use a blackboard to teach his wrestlers how to do a takedown. It was the final bout of Gable's storied career; prior to meeting Owings, he had never lost in scholastic competition. He beat Gable in the finals of the 1970 NCAA Tournament, one of the most famous wrestling matches in history. 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. An inspiring legend in his home state and as well as the country due to his work ethic and drive to succeed in wrestling, Gable won national titles in 1968 and 1969 at 130 and 137 pounds. 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. It meant that when they met, it would be for the national title - Gable's final college match. Gable got his rematch against Larry Owings, who handed Gable his only defeat at Iowa State, when he defeated Owings in the 1972 Olympic Trials. In this conversation, we talk about Owings' childhood, high school career, and the match with Gable. He could't believe he was the one affected by his opponent's reputation. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Yes, Dan Gable -- the most famous wrestler and most decorated coach in the history of the sport, the volcanic legend who was so combustible as a coach at Iowa that after losses hed return home and punch holes into his young daughters bedroom doors -- has admitted that he has become more emotional these last few years, someone who finds himself now tearing up at the end of old movies. Larry, what are you doing here? the neighbor said, then looked up and saw the banner that read LARRY OWINGS INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT. The regular season winds downs on the final Sunday before conference tournaments. We got up, and he offered me his hand and we shook. We went at it tooth and nail.". He faced Gable on the mat one more time, at the 1972 Olympic trials in Anoka, Minn. Owings was wrestling best at 136.5 that year, but he struggled to keep his weight under 138. In his high school career, undefeated. Larry Owings Fall 5:19 Bryan McGann 6-3 David McGuire 4-0 Shane Foley 8-5 Mike Riley 9-0 Reid Lamphere 15-11 Larry Owings 13-2 David McGuire 8-4 Mike Riley 2-1 Reid Lamphere 14-12 David McGuire 3-3, 1-0 David McGuire Fall 4:32 130 Weight Class David McGuire 4-2 Len Groom, Northern Colorado [2] Mike Milkovich, Kent State Everette Barnard, Indiana 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. With a score of 8-6, Gable again worked for back points before a scramble ensued. Owings told UW Coach Jim Smith that he was aiming directly at the legend. For the first time in history, the two living [] Gable says that the loss was like a death in the family. It just about killed my parents, he says. [7] After competing sporadically from 1974 to 1975, Gable retired and became a full-time coach. He even had the honor of facing Dan Gable, then a sophomore at Iowa State and already a national champion. 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. The match spawned a book, a documentary, countless magazine articles, and decades of reflection. But Dan Gable, of course, is so much more than one result. #SwimWithTheCurrent. 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. "Probably some day," said Roderick, who is president of the museum. 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. He wrestled Gable one more time, in the 1972 Olympic Trials, losing 7-1. 93 talking about this. x][w~3sV% $f'$qRUzV[%JVwr|rnNk{-66Y6'{.oO\n.OyR$.`XISdf$fy&!=y67eiPl>M4?~sH^dYyd@oZn.N^~6hPW~nkz9^4Y\,2E
/uVMo]BP6wi&$P,s5Gsxp*.&J4X~BHwf=Sx7p&,\/bi,b%_%eR?UM4]AB! But Owings honestly believed he could beat him. Owings at that moment pulled off a move that hed never done in a match: a leg sweep that caught Gable by surprise and dropped him down to the mat -- as Gable fell, he felt like he was going down in slow motion. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. 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. NCAA Indivdual Champions. In 1966, he entered Iowa State, 110 miles away in Ames. He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten champions, and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists. He lost only once, in the final match of his final season at Iowa State University. "The American people like the underdog, but at the same time there was sadness. Hes not. After returning to Ames the next day, the first thing he did was ask teammates to wrestle him. He was going for his third title at 142 pounds, and virtually everyone thought he was a lock. No, with his movie star looks and charisma, and a physique that would make Chris Hemsworth jealous, he was legitimately world famous.