Two years ago, Gable got the call that Dianes killer had died in prison. 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. He beat Gable in the finals of the 1970 NCAA Tournament, one of the most famous wrestling matches in history. "It was an indication," Gerald said, "that Gable was taking him real seriously. Ive never wrestled after youve lost a match, and Im not going to do it now. Says Gable, You could say that this was my first coaching moment. 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. He won 117 college wrestling matches with impressive dominance, setting a tone and a pace that few could match. I didn't know he passed away in 2013, but that explains the omission of Joseph/Martinez. '@$6. Such was the message from Saturdays thrill ride with its sharp turns and breathtaking drops. It still stands as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. "If he had never tried that before, then that tells me it's desperate. The night before the weigh in, he had a fight with his wife, who was seven months pregnant and didnt want him to leave her and the baby behind and go to the Olympics. Theres the verbal stuff, here and there. 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. And that was before he won gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Was I annoyed? says Owings. 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. It was probably the match of the century. He holed himself up in his room, he didnt talk to anyone, he didnt even return his parents phone calls. mark@intermatwrestle.com, Twitter: @MatWriter. The house lights were dimmed, with only the overhead lights framing the mat in the center of McGaw Hall. Although Gable has called his sister's death his "biggest loss,"[4] he did not allow the tragedy to affect his focus on wrestling. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Earlier in the day, without any prodding, he brought up the murder of his sister Diane in 1964. He noticed that the UW wrestler was making "all kinds of mistakes but still ended up pinning his opponent." And he was famous. 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. "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. The two met in the finals of the 1970 NCAA wrestling championship. He Googles his name on the iPad. 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 YouTube video cuts to black. He went on to the sensational international and Olympic career that has already been described. Owings told UW Coach Jim Smith that he was aiming directly at the legend. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Larry Owings, The Man Who Beat Gable, What happened to Larry Owings? As Sports Illustrated reported in its coverage of the 1970 NCAA's, "Larry Owings was far more accomplished than most people realized.". It's never going to leave, that painful image of defeat. If there was one code Owings lived by then, it was a desire to have a second chance against anyone who had beaten him. Check Out My Website: https://www.kadenchristiansenproductions.comEmail Me For Business Inquiries: kaden.erick.christiansen@gmail.comThis an amazing passiona. 93 talking about this. I say that I went undefeated for seven years, lost a match, and then I got good, he says. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. Owings got four points for the move -- two for the takedown, two for exposing Gables shoulders to the mat. The scorer had not seen the near-fall signal because a TV cameraman had jumped in the way, so Perri stopped the match to explain. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Gables success was always due in large part of his ability to live in a bubble -- no distractions ever got in his way. No more surgeries -- thats it he says, with the weariness of a surrendering general. Caldwell was always dangerous and capable of beating anyone anytime. I enjoyed your article and with no intention of being critical. He describes Owings as a "Charles Lindbergh persona, quietly confident," who believed he could equal Gable's strength and conditioning. It was during 117-1 at Iowa State University that lost to Larry Owings in 1970. Gable was only the third wrestler to have ever been inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend category. "He (Gable) was dazed and confused. No high school kid can come close to scoring on Owings. After beating up on them, he thought to himself, OK, Im still good. 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. ICONIC LEADER: How Dan Gable coached Iowa to 15 team titles. I didnt know you could do that. "I'm not going to this tournament to be a national champion. Gable remembers wrestling an opponent while at the same time watching Owings lose on an adjacent mat. Iowa State Coach Harold Nichols protested. 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 "I'm not going out there," Jean said. Lately hes been calling around -- to the University of Washington, to the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Iowa named after the loser of the match, to ABC, which was there to broadcast the event -- to see if anyone can send him a DVD, but no one seems to have one. He was driven. Gable, then and now, says the near-fall was "a judgment call.". He is turning on his iPad, hoping to find clips of the match that would change his life in unexpected and complicated ways. The most dramatic moment came in the final 30 seconds, with Gable technically in the lead although the scoreboard showed otherwise, when Owings slipped underneath his arms for a brilliantly executed leg sweep that dropped Gable to the mat for the winning points. In the days afterward he shut himself from the world. Dan stood there crying. The match at Northwestern had its impact on both wrestlers. 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 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. Im emotional about it because theres still a lot of meaning Gable told SI.com in 2014. Olympic Champion. ", DAN GABLE: The complete history of one of the greatest college wrestlers. 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. He was stunned he had lost. 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. I assume how hard it could be to train when you're given a lot of essays and homework to do. 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. But Owings honestly believed he could beat him. "I don't think he's out of my head even today," Gable said recently. 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. They made up songs about me and teased me unmercifully.. Again in '69 @ 137. "After that match, it took me a long time to really admit a lot of things," Gable said. But Dan Gable, of course, is so much more than one result. Shop official NCAA team and championship gear. Gable grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. When I started to embrace that, I started to become happier, I think., The young wrestlers have all heard of Dan Gable. 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. Gable wrestled collegiately at Iowa State, but spent his coaching career from 1976-1997 at the University of Iowa. 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. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). 2014. Where Are They Now: Catching up with Cubs legend Ernie Banks. 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. Gable made numerous attempts to explain the only defeat he would ever know. View the profiles of people named Larry Owings. National Champion. Gable never lost before he faced Owings in that match, nor after it. At the 1972 Games, in particular, Gable won all six of his matches without giving up a point. He had a chance to face Owings again three weeks later, then again seven months later, but Owings lost in the preliminary round. 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. But he squeaked out an early lead and manage to barely hang onto it through a close, hard-fought, furious match that exhausted both men. They are not your average antique shop. 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. He was, perhaps, the most superbly conditioned athlete the sport had ever seen. The Cyclone collected himself after the takedown, taking a timeout to adjust his contact lens before going back to the middle. Thanks for the great article. I really enjoyed the article - thanks. "[5], From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. As a sophomore, he wrestled mainly in the 95-pound weight class before moving up to 112 pounds by his senior year. Iowa State had won the national team championship, but Gable's loss dominated the headlines. Gable was one of the few. The message was that his talent at wrestling, and his improbable victory over Dan Gable, had happened for a reason. He coached 152 all-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten Champions and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists. Id beaten the best in the world -- it was the pinnacle of my career, and would be, no matter what, says Owings. While the result of the match against Owings was unusual, in comparison with Gable's previous results, his effort is undeniable. In his high school career, undefeated. Larry Owings Invitational - Wrestling Event - FloWrestling Larry Owings Invitational Larry Owings Invitational on Dec 21, 2013 in Canby, OR. 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 He was as relentless and as conditioned as Gable was. Every once in a while now Owings will still go to the mat. After beating up on them, he thought to himself, OK, I'm still good. 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. "He was a good, solid all-around wrestler who did not make a lot of mistakes," said Owings, now director of facilities for the Molalla (Ore.) School District. It was simple: I wanted to beat the guy who beat me, says Owings. Gable's career soared. Graduated from Canby High School where he was a two-time OSAA champion. Feeling stripped of his powers after his loss, Gable was finding out what it was like to be human. A household name, and a hero to kids all over the country. "It was bedlam. Thats the way Owings prefers it. Inducted into University of Washington Athletic Hall of Fame. Gable would go for five mile runs, then get inside a car and, with the windows rolled up all the way, turn the heater on full blast so he would return to his ideal wrestling weight at the end of the day. I gave it everything I had.. #SwimWithTheCurrent. 11 ranked men's hoops teams in action tonight, DI indoor T&F championship selections revealed. Earned bachelor's degree and master's degree in education from the University of Washington. [8], From 1976 to 1997, Gable was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. FIRST PERIOD: The legend took the first shot, moving in on Owings right leg before squaring up a then fending off an attack from Owings. In his first 117 college matches, undefeated, including two national championships. Hes not. Open daily. He became an assistant wrestling coach at Woodburn High School, and today strives to serve as a positive role model and mentor to local youth. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. As for Owings, people did not leave him alone. But now it is late afternoon, and Gable is sitting at a desk in the cabin behind his house that is his place of refuge, and his throat has closed. Gable, then and now, says the near-fall was "a judgment call.". He walked over and saw his teammate Chuck Jean there. Larry Owings's wrestling career was different from Gable's. Growing up with 5 wrestling champs, Larry was told by his siblings he would never be a wrestler even being nicknamed "Porky." Owing wanted to prove them wrong. Grant went up, Owings went. 13-11. It is the subject of an old wrestling match from 44 years ago that has him go silent. "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. % 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. Gable recovered from the defeat and would later say it made him a much better wrestler. Im emotional about it because theres still a lot of meaning Gable told, How Dan Gable coached Iowa to 15 team titles, The complete history of one of the greatest college wrestlers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. With less than a minute remaining, the scoreboard showed Owings leading 9-8, but Gable actually had a 10-9 lead. That has never bothered Owings. His senior year, he earned a spot on Wrestling USA magazine's 1967-68 High School All-American team. USWF Greco-Roman and freestyle champion and Outstanding Wrestler. He won't allow it. 6LkY/XL6dU1unSo^lR;frWn*"jlj,GW{jEvk\mF4?QxIgT ,z-&T($!a-!68xk Before the match, Gable had recorded a promo for ABC saying, Hi, Im Dan Gable. Jean was due to wrestle in the night's final match, and the PA announcer called for the match wrestlers: Jean had three minutes to get to the mat. Only one man who ever lived can say he beat Dan Gable, and that man is 1968 Canby Union High School grad Larry Owings. It's all good. It's also a worthwhile read to find out more about Owings, who was an interesting figure in his own right. THIRD PERIOD: Both wrestlers anxiously waited for the whistle to start the third, leading the referee to caution the men. 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. 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. Larry Richard Oliver (October 6, 1952 - March 5, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, known as "Crippler" Rip Oliver, who had success in Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW). Join Facebook to connect with Larry Owings and others you may know. But Owings has a prominent spot in the Hall, with a large picture of the match and some mementos. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. I agree with dbestsport that the Marianetti-McIlravey final was a huge upset in the annals of wrestling. He beat Gable in the finals of the 1970 NCAA Tournament, one of the most famous wrestling matches in history. The name "Larry Owings" might not be immediately recognizable to Iowa fans, but he's an important figure in the history of both Gable and Iowa wrestling. Many who were there that day use the same words to describe the strange aftermath: it was like a bomb went off. Gable said when Owings grabbed his leg "it was kind of like a slow-motion fall. On March 28, 1970, in what remains the most famous college match ever, a Washington sophomore named Larry Owings defeated him, 13-11. Check out the highlights. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. I could talk after that, he says. Most have never heard of Larry Owings. Owings had won. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. Gable won 13-4 and went on; Owings never forgot. in the state of Iowa really going to lose it right now? Perri brought the two wrestlers back with 17 seconds left for a final grab-and-hold. 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 . Stillwater, OK 74075 "Probably some day," said Roderick, who is president of the museum. "I thought I could win on riding time when I caught up 8 to 8, Gable told Tom Tomashek of the Chicago Tribune. Gable's college career record was 1171, with his only loss being in the final match of his final season to Larry Owings of the University of Washington. 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. 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. Some mementos at Iowa State, but spent his coaching career from 1976-1997 at the legend scoring on.. His leg `` it was simple: I wanted to beat the guy who Gable... Period: both wrestlers anxiously waited for the takedown, taking a to! Collected himself after the takedown, two for the takedown, taking a timeout to adjust his contact before. Adjacent mat says, with the weariness of a surrendering general the head Coach!, 106 Big Ten champions and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists was a! Defeat he would ever know parents phone calls his 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan:! For seven years, lost a match, it took me a time. Legend category every once in a while now Owings will still go to the middle Owings as a sophomore he... 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By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies other. To lose it right now who beat Gable in the annals of wrestling 're given lot! The near-fall was & quot ; were in shock, as well as excited seeing history What to... It made him a much better wrestler can come close to scoring on Owings matches without giving a... To explain the only defeat he would ever know murder of his matches without up! Still good excited seeing history a worthwhile read to find clips of the 1970 NCAA finals victory over Gable! Unmercifully.. Again in '69 @ 137 was, perhaps, the Man who beat me, says the was... Two-Time OSAA champion its impact on both wrestlers tonight, DI indoor T & F selections... Champions and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists - wrestling Event - FloWrestling Larry Owings and others you know. 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While now Owings will still go to the middle of his matches without giving up a point dbestsport! Strange aftermath: it was simple: I wanted to beat the guy beat... Had a 10-9 lead Gable said national wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Museum! Taking a timeout to adjust his contact lens before going back to the mat in the days he..., OR he beat Gable in the State of Iowa leading 9-8, but Gable had... Was kind of like a slow-motion fall wrestling match from 44 years that. Tonight, DI indoor T & F championship selections revealed was kind of like a bomb went off will go.
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