"The Summer of Love" they call it. One of the most studied and reminisced upon years in our country's history, 1969 certainly produced its fair share of characters. I said earlier that I think Portland State's Rick Sanders is the most eccentric individual our sport has ever seen. I stand by that statement, but there are others who may be able to give him a run for his money. Ironically enough, two of them are featured in this piece.
1967 Champion David McGuire of Oklahoma returned after finishing runner-up in 1968 to claim his second title.
Legend Dan Gable of Iowa State claimed his second crown.
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| 1969 Champion 115 John Miller of Oregon |
Claiming 5th place All American honors in 1968 and 4th place All American honors in 1970, Miller's NCAA title came in his junior season of 1969. The honor student went 78-12 during his career as a Duck.
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| 1969 Champion 123 Wayne Boyd of Temple |
One of our most colorful figures in amateur wrestling, Wayne Boyd won three Virginia state titles for Norview High School before coming to Temple. He was a senior when he won the NCAA title. Later in life he co-founded Titan Mercury Club.
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| 1969 Champion 145 Mike Grant of Oklahoma |
After finishing as the NCAA runner-up in 1968, Grant would win back to back NCAA titles in 1969 and 1970
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| 1969 Champion 152 Gobel Kline of Maryland |
A three time ACC champion for the Terrapins, Kline finished 4th at the 1968 NCAA championships as a junior. He'd cap off his career with an NCAA title and an overall record of 56-4.
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| 1969 Champion 160 Cleo McGlory of Oklahoma |
A state champion for Stillwater High School, McGlory decided to leave Stillwater and compete for the Sooners in Norman. He was twice NCAA runner-up in his sophomore and junior seasons of 1967 and 1968, finally winning the NCAA title in 1969.
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| 1969 Champion 167 Jason Smith of Iowa State |
A state champion for Ankeny high school, Smith took 3rd place All American honors in 1968. He'd close out his career with back to back NCAA titles in 1969 and 1970. He later became a doctor in Chicago.
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| 1969 Champion 177 Chuck Jean of Iowa State |
We've discussed Rick Sanders and we've discussed Wayne Boyd. Now we get to discuss the legend that is Chuck Jean. A Minnesota state champion out of Albert Lea, many believe that had it not been for a bizarre incident in between his sophomore and junior years of college, Jean would have been our first four time NCAA Division I champion. Winning NCAA titles for the Cyclones in 1969 and 1970, Jean looked poised to make history. Then one night he found himself taking a dare. A deer by the name of Old Sammy, as the story goes a 300 lbs buck, was kept in a fenced in area. Jean said that he could kill that deer only using a knife. He did and the incident got him thrown out of Iowa State. He popped up a short time later at Adams State where he won back to back NAIA titles in 1972 and 1973. It's said by some that in order to be successful in wrestling you have to have a killer instinct. Jean's certainly testimony to that.
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| 1969 Champion 191 Tom Kline of Cal Poly |
Said to have a deceptively strong bench press for his size, Kline won back to back NCAA Division II titles for the Mustangs in 1968 and 1969. An NCAA DI finalist in 1968, he'd win NCAA DI gold in 1969. He later operated a Boys and Girls Club, along with running his own insurance agency.
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| 1969 Champion UNL Jess Lewis of Oregon State |
Another of our star athletes who also excelled in football, Lewis saw a variety of success on both the gridiron and on the mat. A three time PAC-12 champion, he was selected All-Pac-12 twice in football. Making the NCAA finals in 1968, he'd win back to back NCAA titles in 1969 and 1970. He later had a short career in the NFL playing for the Houston Oilers.
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McGuire and Gable previously mentioned
Miller would not repeat in 1970. Jean did repeat in 1970 & whether to count him as did or didn't in 1971 and 1972 is a bit of a debate. The focus here is NCAA Division I, so even though he won two more titles in NAIA, I think most would conclude him as a did not. It really depends on what your question is and what you're trying to answer.
Grant, Smith and Lewis all went on to win another title in 1970
Boyd, G Kline, McGlory and T Kline were all seniors.
Ironically enough even with the same spelling, I'm pretty sure that Gobel and Tom were not related
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