Defending The TItle: 1930: Who Did and Who Didn't Defend Their Title

 1930 was a year of repeats for NCAA wrestling as five of the champions crowned had also won titles in 1929.  Joe Sapora of Illinois & Laurence Mantooth of Oklahoma both won their second and final titles.  Earl McCready of Oklahoma State won his third.  Jack Van Bebber and Conrad Caldwell of Oklahoma State won their second of what would be eventual three titles.  

Let's take a look at the other three champions crowned in 1930. 

1930 Champion 135
Hugh Linn of Iowa State 

Linn was a senior the year he won his NCAA title for the Cyclones. 

1930 Champion 145
Hardie Lewis of Oklahoma 

Unfortunately I was unable to obtain a photo of Lewis who was a sophomore at the time of his first NCAA title.  Now what I don't know is if he didn't wrestle at the 1931 championships or if he wrestled in them but failed to place.  What I can tell you is that he came back in 1932 and won a second title.  

1930 Champion 155
Otto Kelly of Michigan 

Seventy years later another Wolverine grappler with the nickname of Otto would make a name for himself as a multiple time BIG 10 champion and three time All American.  Yet before Otto Olson, there was Otto Kelly.  Kelly had made the NCAA finals in 1929 as a junior and in 1930 as a senior he traded in his silver for gold, being crowned champion. 


Five of the champions accounted for in previous post, with two of the champions being seniors.

That leaves Hardie Lewis who did not repeat as champion in 1931 but who did come back in 1932 to win a second title. 

Defending the Title: 1929: Who Did and Didn't Defend their titles

 As discussed in the article concerning the 1928 champions, only one of the seven crowned in Ames, Iowa that day would go on to win another title.  Canadian Earl McCready of Oklahoma State was only a sophomore at the time. He'd go on to win two more titles in 1929 & 1930 before becoming a superstar in professional wrestling. 

1929 Champion 115
Joe Sapora of Illinois 

Sapora who was a junior at the time would repeat as champion again in 1930. 

1929 Champion 125
Laurence Mantooth of Oklahoma 

Like Sapora, Mantooth was a junior and would repeat as champion in 1930. 

1929 Champion 135
George Minot of Illinois 

Minot who was a senior at the time of his NCAA title first began wrestling at the University of Illinois as his high school did not have a wrestling program. 

1929 Champion 145
George Bancroft of Oklahoma State 

Not 100% positive but believe that Bancroft was a senior when he won the NCAA title. 

1929 Champion 155
Jack Van Bebber of Oklahoma State 

One of the first products of the legendary Perry, Oklahoma team Van Bebber was destined for greatness from the start. 1929 marked his first NCAA title as a sophomore.  He'd go on to win two more in 1930 and 1931. 

1929 Champion 165
Conrad Caldwell of Oklahoma State 

Ed Gallagher was such a good wrestling coach that he could take a kid that had only wrestled two matches in his entire life, enter him in the NCAA tournament and see him walk out as champion. 1929 would be the first of Caldwell's titles, as he went on to win two more in 1930 and 1931. 

1929 Champion 175
Glen Stafford of Cornell 

Seeing East coast schools win NCAA titles is a year in an year out event in the modern era. With schools like Penn State, they often win more than one weight class.  It wasn't always like that. In fact, it wasn't until Glen Stafford of Cornell won the NCAA title that a east coast school crowned it's first champion.  A two time EIWA champion, who had also placed at the EIWA championships in 1927 before the first NCAA tournament in 1928, Stafford was a senior at the time of his NCAA title. 


Previously mentioned in the article regarding 1928, Earl McCready was our champion at the UNL weight class. 


1929's stats? 

Of the 8 champions...

5 went on to recapture more NCAA titles 
3 Were Seniors 



 

Defending the Title: 1928 Champions: Who Did and Who Didn't Defend Their Title

 One of the toughest things to do in collegiate sports is win an NCAA Division I wrestling title. It's something many attain to and few ever reach. For even fewer, they get to know the feeling of being the very best at their weight class more than once.  

Of course if you win your first NCAA DI title as a senior, you don't get a chance to repeat as champion. For all others, freshmen, sophomores and juniors you get a chance to be crowned champion for a second, third or even fourth time.   

We start this exploration in the late 1920's through the 1930's.  Looking at all of the NCAA Division Champions from 1928 through 1939.  When studying the history of collegiate wrestling it is important to keep two things in mind.  First and foremost, what is probably already known is that freshmen were ineligible at this time.  What might not be as apparent, is that over 90 years ago the NCAA tournament was not seen as the end all prestigious event that it is now. Today it not only resides as the most important tournament of the season, to some it is the ONLY tournament of the season.  In the late 1920's and 30's, while still important, it didn't hold the same stakes. It was essentially treated as another competition.  To NCAA DI wrestling fans now, it seems asinine but during these times for one reason or another someone might decide not to participate in the NCAA tournament. Even if they had won it previously.  

1928 Champion 115 
Harold DeMarsh of Oklahoma State 

We're still going to count this as a one time NCAA champion as 1928 was the first official NCAA tournament, but DeMarsh could count as a honorary defender of a title.  Before 1928, collegiate wrestlers competed primarily for the AAU titles.  He won a AAU title in 1925, placing second in 1926 and third in 1927 before winning the first NCAA title in 1928.  Again, treating this as a one time champion, winning as a senior.  

1928 Champion 125
Ralph Lupton of Northwestern 

Lupton was a junior in 1928 the year he became the Wildcats first NCAA DI Champion. That year he also won the BIG 10 title.  He would repeat as the BIG 10 champion in 1929.  It is unknown whether he failed to place at the NCAA tournament in 1929 or if he simply chose not to compete. Either way, he didn't win a second NCAA title.  

1928 Champion 135
Arthur Holding of Iowa State 

Like Lupton, Holding was a junior at the time of winning his NCAA title.  Also like Lupton, Holding won conference titles (his were Missouri Valley Conference) in both 1928 and in 1929. He also won a MVC title in 1927.  What might explain why Holding did not defend his title in 1929, was that the NCAA tournament was held in Ames in 1928.  In 1929 it was held in Columbus, Ohio.  It's strange to think of now, as transportation is a luxury we take for granted, but during this time getting from Ames to Columbus may have posed an issue. It could explain why he wasn't there to defend in 1929. 

1928 Champion 145
Melvin Clodfelter of Oklahoma State 

Clodfelter was a senior when he won his title in 1928. 

1928 Champion 158
Leslie Beers of Iowa 

Like Clodfelter, Beers was a senior when he captured the NCAA crown. 

1928 Champion 175
George Rule of Oklahoma State

Not 100% positive, but I believe that Rule was a senior when he captured the NCAA title. 

1928 champion UNL
Earl McCready of Oklahoma State 

Leave it up to a Canadian to be the first wrestler in NCAA DI wrestling history to defend his title.  Not only did McCready defend his title in 1929, he turned around and defended it again in 1930, becoming our sport's first time three time champion.  Post his collegiate career McCready made a name for himself in professional wrestling, primarily helping the success of Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

So that's it for 1928.   Out of our seven champions here's what we have. 

SENIORS: 4 
DID NOT DEFEND: 2
DID DEFEND: 1