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. He said he "coached some wrestling ". "People are still talking about it," said Ron Good, editor of the Amateur Wrestling News. He wrestled Gable one more time, in the 1972 Olympic Trials, losing 7-1. I agree with dbestsport that the Marianetti-McIlravey final was a huge upset in the annals of wrestling. Larry took the match to him.". 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. f&6wZ> Gable won, easily, but Owings scored some points and even put the champ on his back one time. "I had never heard that before. During the conversation, neither mentioned the match. A sophomore had beaten the giant. He's still the most famous person in the world of wrestling. Im emotional about it because theres still a lot of meaning Gable told SI.com in 2014. All Rights Reserved. It has to be in the top five here. Gable's college career record was 117-1, with his only loss being in the final match of his final season to Larry Owings of the University of Washington. However, Gable had to deal with more distractions than Owings. 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! Owings wore a black singlet with white trim, while Gable was in cardinal and gold. He also helped the Cyclones to a team title the year of his loss, scoring enough team points to help them edge out Michigan State by over ten points. 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. 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. He describes Owings as a "Charles Lindbergh persona, quietly confident," who believed he could equal Gable's strength and conditioning. At the 1972 Games, in particular, Gable won all six of his matches without giving up a point. He beat Gable in the finals of the 1970 NCAA Tournament, one of the most famous wrestling matches in history. "I've never wrestled after you've lost a match, and I'm not going to do it now." [1][2] On December 8, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Gable with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[3]. It had a tremendous impact on my entire coaching career.". Larry Owings, The Man Who Beat Gable, What happened to Larry Owings? Shop official NCAA team and championship gear. Many who were there that day use the same words to describe the strange aftermath: it was like a bomb went off. His one collegiate loss, however, has become the most famous match from his wrestling tenure in his final match. NCAA Champion and Outstanding Wrestler. Facebook gives people the power to. 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. Well, thats not me, he says, as he reads about the retirement of Larry Owings of Brownwood, Texas. The NCAA shifted weight classes fairly often back then so wrestlers adjusted either up or down. I could talk after that, he says. 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.. Email: info@nwhof.org, 303 Jefferson St. He noticed that the UW wrestler was making "all kinds of mistakes but still ended up pinning his opponent." I told him I used to wrestle in North Dakota, won a state championship in 1987. In fact, Gable would emerge from the Owings match stronger, more determined. In "Larry Owings Documentary (The Man Who Beat Dan Gable," filmmaker Kaden Christiansen shares the story of Washington Athletics' Larry Owings, who is famously known for his upset of undefeated two-time NCAA champion Dan Gable of Iowa State Wrestling in the 1970 NCAA Wrestling finals. Maybe it does but maybe it doesn't. It would take me years to realize this, but I wouldnt have become great wrestler and a great coach -- a legend in the sport -- without that match. After he left Iowa State, Gable went on to win the 1971 Pan Am games and world championships, he took gold at the Munich Olympics in 1972 without allowing surrendering a single point; he went on to a 21-year coaching career at the University of Iowa, where he led the Hawkeyes to an unprecedented 15 national titles. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon. My nickname was Porky. Everyone called me that, even my teachers at school. We were on our knees at the end of the match. 2014. The two met in the finals of the 1970 NCAA wrestling championship. After college, Owings competed on the senior level circuit before retiring. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. Not in Dan Gable's mind, not in this lifetime. I know a good way for a sportsman to get rid of it. Gable was in the locker room when he heard the water running in the shower. 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. 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. From inside his cabin Gable looks out onto the night fast approaching. Desperation is something that brings out unusual things," Gable said. WA Death Notices. "It's the biggest upset ever in the sport, and it's a fascinating story. Owings had his first chance at the 1969 NCAA Championships but, as he would later regret, decided to wrestle at 130 pounds, avoiding Gable's 137-pound class. Id never experienced that before, says Gable. But Dan Gable, of course, is so much more than one result. Phone: (319) 233-0745 The YouTube video cuts to black. That number 182 would have included Gable's undefeated high school and collegiate career. ALEXANDER Stephen. [6], In addition to coaching folkstyle wrestling at the University of Iowa, Gable coached freestyle wrestling. "I could talk after that," he says. Owings looks like hes one sweaty workout away from his wrestling weight at Washington. Although Gable has called his sister's death his "biggest loss,"[4] he did not allow the tragedy to affect his focus on wrestling. 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. After losing 20 pounds and growing several inches, nobody believed he couldn't be a wrestler anymore. [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]. 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. 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. Is that so? Each wore white headgear and white kneepads. 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 made numerous attempts to explain the only defeat he would ever know. Where Are They Now: Catching up with Cubs legend Ernie Banks. Finally, he says, Theres a barrier between us that Im not sure needs to ever go away., 2023 ABG-SI LLC. I assume how hard it could be to train when you're given a lot of essays and homework to do. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. Larry Owings, on the other hand, returned to Oregon, and faded into obscurity, at least as far as the wrestling world was concerned. It was probably the match of the century. It's an essential part of the origin story for Dan Gable-as-superhero. In his high school career, undefeated. They shut down the whole tournament for 15 minutes. While the result of the match against Owings was unusual, in comparison with Gable's previous results, his effort is undeniable. He could't believe he was the one affected by his opponent's reputation. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. Both athletes pushed the pace, with Owings fearlessly attempted a duck under with the goal of spinning around behind Gable, but the Cyclone was too tough and he put himself on the board first by coming around for two points with a single leg takedown within the first minute of the period. His four brothers, his classmates, even his coaches at Canby High when he started wrestling told him he was fat. \DP,uaO@LtT H]v[?Nr)|cXB!>Br$<4y3gz 1oZu, FO]+#3* u_i!c+pIf'iwC+)p\G But I have to admit to this day that match made my career, not only the next two years. Dan Gable was and is a god among men in the world of amateur wrestling. Grant went up, Owings went. Don't get caught in the cradle." 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. Just a thought. "[5], From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. 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. We got up, and he offered me his hand and we shook. Im emotional about it. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. His physical makeup was legendary, his results extraordinary. When I started to embrace that, I started to become happier, I think., The young wrestlers have all heard of Dan Gable. It is annually the most viewed element in the Hall. (Refresh the page to see latest Notices) Monday February 27, 2023. Larry Owens (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional basketball player. Smith would rather have Owings wrestle at 150 pounds. Mike Gerald, who now lives in Austin, Texas, wrote a book on Owings when the two became acquainted in Oregon. He holed himself up in his room, he didn't talk to anyone, he didn't even return his parents' phone calls. Its harder and harder now for Gable to feel the fire that was in him for so long, but he becomes alive again, the old wrestler with the mean streak, when he talks about the Owings match. No, she says, disbelieving. World Champion", "Named for an icon, Gable Steveson becomes a legend in his own right", "Where are they Now: Catching up with Dan Gable and Larry Owings", Website of film 'Catch: the hold not taken', Gable's wins and losses between the years 1963 and 1973, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dan_Gable&oldid=1134702764, Chen, Albert. "It was bedlam. Coached high school wrestling in Washington (Seattle) and Oregon (Clackamas CC, Oregon City, Molalla, Canby and Woodburn) for over 25 years. Iowa shocked college baseball on Saturday, dominating top-ranked LSU 12-4 in the Karbach Round Rock Classic. It was my moms worst fear. Feeling stripped of his powers after his loss, Gable was finding out what it was like to be human. In the days afterward he shut himself from the world. SI digs into the lives of the competitors of one of the most famous wrestling matches of all time. Waterloo, Iowa 50701 Gable had an undefeated high school wrestling career. But now he is about to try. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. "He (Gable) was dazed and confused. This was the featured match of the tournament. It was a good match, wasnt it? he says. 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 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. Wrestling fans attending the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, March 15-17, will have the chance to relive arguably the most talked about wrestling match of all time the Larry Owings' upset of undefeated two-time NCAA champion Dan Gable in the 1970 NCAA finals. Final match tenure in his final match something that brings out unusual things, '' he,... Has become the most viewed element in the annals of wrestling wrestling.... Uw wrestler was making `` all kinds of mistakes but still ended pinning... Could'T believe he was fat is annually the most famous match from his weight! 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