Defending The Title: 1962: Those Who Did and Those Who Did Not Defend Their Title

 The legendary Gray Simons won his third NCAA title along with this fourth NAIA title, ending his career with 7 national titles.  Bob Johnson of Oklahoma State won his second NCAA title. 

1962 Champion 123
Masaaki Hatta of Oklahoma State 

Son of Ichiro Hatta, who is credited for the rise of wrestling's popularity in Japan, Hatta had a standout career for the Cowboys.  Finishing as the NCAA runner-up in 1960 & 1961, he would be crowned champion in his final tournament of 1962.  Along with these outstanding accomplishments, he was also a two time Midlands champion. His brother Tadaaki was also a standout wrestler in his own right. 

1962 Champion 130 
Mickey Martin of Oklahoma 

A state champion of Tulsa Central high school, Martin finished 3rd at the 1961 NCAA championships as a sophomore. He won his first of two NCAA titles in 1962, capturing a second in 1963.  Post college he coached at both the high school and collegiate level.  This included a stint at South Dakota State, then coaching various high school teams in Oklahoma where accumulatively his teams won three state titles and six runner-up finishes.  Individually he coached 31 state champions. Among those  he taught, are the Smith family, who credit him for teaching them riding and turning techniques from the top position. 

1962 Champion 137 
Bill Carter of Oklahoma

Carter was a senior when he captured the NCAA title for the Sooners. 

1962 Champion 147
Mike Natvig of Army 

A native of Osage, Iowa, add Natvig to your list of NCAA champions who never won a state title.  He finished twice runner-up at the Iowa high school state championships.  Competing for the Black Knights, Natvig won back to back NCAA titles in 1962 and 1963.  What may be most impressive in his 1962 title is in the fact that he had faced finals opponent Kirk Pendleton of Lehigh in the EIWA finals only weeks prior.  Pendleton handed him an 11-4 loss.  This time Natvig would be the winner, claiming a 5-4 victory.  Post his collegiate career, he ran a Wagoner Equipment in Colorado, selling Caterpillar skid loaders. 

1962 Champion 157
Jack Flasche of Northern Colorado 

A three time Rocky Mountain Conference champion, Flasche was a sophomore when he captured the NCAA title for the bears.  He'd return to the NCAA championships in 1964, where he made it to the quarter-finals. 

1962 Champion 167
Ronnie Clinton of Oklahoma State 

Clinton was a senior when he captured the NCAA title for the Cowboys.  He went on to coach at Eastern Illinois, where he lead the Panthers to two NCAA runner-up and two third place finishes at the NCAA Division II tournament.  He coached 45 All Americans and 6 NCAA DII champions. 

1962 Champion 191
Wayne Baughman of Oklahoma 

Folkstyle, Greco-Roman, Free-style, Sambo, with as successful as he was at wrestling winning titles at all levels in all styles, it's hard to believe that Baughman only went out for wrestling because he had to.  Truth was, Baughman's interest was football, that's where he wanted to shine.  Fortunately for the wrestling community, his football coach required that his players be out for a winter sport. Baughman chose wrestling over basketball.  After finishing third in the state championships, Baughman considered a collegiate football career at Baylor.  Only he thought he might want to wrestle too, and Baylor didn't have a wrestling program.  Therefore he went to Oklahoma to play football and once again found himself in a situation where he was wanted more on the mat than he was on the gridiron.  

Finishing as the NCAA runner-up as a sophomore in 1961, Baughman won the NCAA title as a junior in 1962. He finished as runner-up again in 1963 as a senior.  Post his own decorated career, he then turned to coaching where he took over the reigns at Air Force. There he coached his team to 183 dual victories, crowning 16 Western Athletic Champions and 6 Western Regional champions. 

1962 Champion UNL
Sherwyn Thorson 

Considering he wrestled at the 138 lbs weight class as a sophomore, it's hard to believe that two years later Sherwyn Thorson took second place honors at HWT for Fort Dodge at the Iowa high school state tournament.  Competing for the Hawkeyes, Thorson made the NCAA finals as a sophomore in 1960. He'd return to the NCAA championships in 1962, this time to claim the title.   Also an All American in football, Thorson went on to a career in the CFL where he played offensive guard and linebacker for Winnipeg. 

===

Simons and Johnson already mentioned

Flasche and Baughman did not repeat 

Martin and Natvig repeated

Hatta, Martin, Clinton and Thorson were all seniors 

 

Kansas: Either Reinstate Wrestling or Stay Out Of The BIG 10

 The current talk and speculation, revolves around plausible changes to the BIG 12 conference. Some of the current members and affiliates, possibly leaving to join other conferences. 

One of those teams is the University of Kansas. In discussing where they might go, there has been consideration for the BIG 10. 

I guess to the rest of the world this may not pose a problem but it does to me I'll tell you why. 

In the entire world of Collegiate sports in the United States, there is and has been only one conference where every single team has and always has had a wrestling program. 

I don't mean only NCAA DI. I mean all of college. DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA, and those other divisions that are rarely talked about. 

Now some may point to the fact that the American Rivers Conference not only has that every school has a wrestling program, they also require it. That is true, but if you look at the entirety of the history of the conference, as in what it was before it became the ARC, you'll note teams that did but no longer have Wrestling. 

As of today in NCAA DI, we have seven conferences for wrestling. 

ACC 

BIG 10 

BIG 12

MAC 

PAC 12

SOCON 

EIWA 

Then we also have five conferences that used to sponsor wrestling that no longer do. 

SEC 

BIG SKY 

CAA 

MEAC 

WAC 

The BIG 10 the only conference where every team has wrestling and has always had wrestling. 

Every other conference has teams that have either never had wrestling in their entirety or teams that had wrestling at one point and then discontinued it. 

So my final analysis is, Kansas Jayhawks either reinstate your wrestling program or stay out of the BIG 10. 

Reinstating would be a phenomenal choice. The state of Kansas produces a fair number of NCAA D1 talent, and it would be nice to see these kids have a place at home to wrestle. Although Kansas State has the better tradition, the Jayhawks did have success in wrestling as well. 5 BIG 12 champions and one NCAA runner-up.  

If Kansas joins the BIG 10 and does not reinstate wrestling, then a history of 125 years comes to an end. 

I guess I may be the only person on planet Earth that actually cares, but I feel like something needs to be said about this. So, I said it. 

Defending the Title: 1961:Those who did & those who didn't defend the title

 1961 saw Lock Haven's Gray Simons win NCAA title #2 of what would eventually be 3. Larry Hayes of Iowa State won his third title and Dale Lewis of Oklahoma won his second. 

1961 Champion 123
DuWayne Miller of Oklahoma 

Miller was a senior when he captured the NCAA title for the Sooners in 1961. 

1961 Champion 130 
Larry Lauchle of Pittsburgh 

A graduate of Muncy High, Lauchle finished 2nd-1st-3rd in his last three years of high school.  Attending Pittsburgh, he was twice NCAA runner-up in 1959 and 1960, before capturing the NCAA title his senior season of 1961.  Along with being an Olympian in 1960, Lauchle went on to coach at both Pennsylvania and the United States Marines Corps. 

1961 Champion 137 
Norm Young of Michigan State 

Norm Young played basketball his freshman and sophomore seasons at Lansing Sexton high school but didn't have much success. He decided to try wrestling instead his junior season and ended the year as a state champion. He repeated as champion again as a senior, getting a scholarship to Michigan State. Winning the NCAA title as a senior in 1961, Young would later coach wrestling at Lakewood High School.  Later in life, he became a senior division national champion in handball. 

1961 Champion 157 
Phil Kinyon of Oklahoma State 

A two time state champion out of Stillwater High school, Kinyon was also a member of the Glee Club, along with being vice president of his class.  Attending Oklahoma State, Kinyon was a sophomore when he won the NCAA title in 1961.  The next two seasons of 1962 and 1963, Kinyon would settle for NCAA runner-up honors, two of only three losses he suffered during his career.  He battled Doug Blubaugh for a spot on the Olympic team, but ultimately lost out.  He then dedicated himself to helping Shelby Wilson, who eventually won gold, train for the Olympics. 

1961 Champion 167 
Don Conway of Oregon State 

In front of the hometown crowd at Oregon State, Conway, a three time PAC-12 champion, won the NCAA title as a senior.  He later coached at UCLA. 

1961 Champion 177
Bob Johnson of Oklahoma State 

Considering that private high school wrestling was not yet in Texas and that public high school wrestling wouldn't be sanctioned until 1999, I'm going to guess that either Bob Johnson went to high school in Oklahoma, or he's one of those rare NCAA champions that never wrestled in high school. Nevertheless Bob Johnson is from Amarillo, Texas.  He won his first NCAA title as a junior in 1961, repeating in 1962. 

1961 Champion 191
Len Lordino of Northern Colorado 

A two time state champion out of Arvada High School, Lordino won four Rocky Mountain Conference titles for the Bears along with winning the NCAA title as a junior in 1961.  He did not participate in the 1962 NCAA championships. 


===

Simons, Hayes and Lewis Previous mentioned. 

Kinyon finishing runner-up twice the next two seasons and Lordino not participating in 1962, neither repeated. 

Miller, Lauchle, Young and Conway all seniors 

Johnson repeating again in 1962 

Defending The Title: 1960: Those Who Did and Those Who Didn't Defend Their Title

 Dave Auble of Cornell, Stan Abel of Oklahoma, and Larry Hayes and Les Anderson both of Iowa State all won title #2. 

1960 Champion 115
Gray Simons of Lock Haven 

The legendary Gray Simons competed mainly in the NAIA, but during a time when NAIA champions could compete in the NCAA championships.  As a result he won four NAIA titles in 1959 (the first year of the NAIA championships was 1958) 1960, 1961 and 1962, adding three NCAA titles in 1960, 1961 and 1962.  That's a total of 7 national titles he won, with a record of 91-2.  Along with his phenomenal collegiate career he also made Olympic teams in both 1960 and 1961.  Turning his attention to coaching, he coached at Lock Haven leading the team to two NAIA team titles, then at Indiana State, Tennessee and Old Dominion.  Accumulatively he won 324 duals. 

1960 Champion 157
Art Kraft of Northwestern 

Can you imagine being coached by your younger brother?  Well that's the case of Art Kraft.  By the time he returned from military service, his younger brother Ken had already gone through college and was now the coach for the Wildcats.  Art found himself an All American in 1959, placing fourth as he won the NCAA title in 1960.  Getting the coaching bug himself, Art coached at both Niles East and Wheeling High School as well as Triton College. 

1960 Champion 167
Dick Ballinger of Wyoming 

A three time Skyline Conference champion, Ballinger was the NCAA runner-up in 1958, followed by a fourth place finish in 1959.  In his final NCAA tournament as a senior in 1960, he captured the NCAA title. Later in life, Sports Illustrated conducted a list of the greatest athletes to ever come from the state of Wyoming. Ballinger was listed as 39th. 

1960 Champion 177
Roy Conrad Northern Illinois

Another wrestler who like Simons, wrestled mainly in the NAIA but was allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament due to outstanding performances at the NAIA championships.  In the NAIA Conrad took two runner-up finishes, before winning the NAIA title in 1960.  He also added both a Midlands title and the NCAA title in 1960 as well.  Post his collegiate career Conrad was very instrumental in getting youth wrestling programs started throughout the state of Illinois. 

1960 Champion 191
George Goodner of Oklahoma 

Not 100% positive, but believe Goodner was a senior when he won the NCAA title in 1960.  He later served in the Marines before opening up his own roofing business. 

1960 Champion UNL
Dale Lewis of Oklahoma 

Some people are just plain phenomenal athletes and Dale Lewis was one of them. A standout football and basketball player in high school, Lewis found wrestling while serving in the Marines.  He walked onto the mat and six months later he represented the United States at the 1956 Olympic games.  Enrolling at Oklahoma, his sophomore season of 1959 he won gold at the Pan-American championships.  He'd go on to win back to back NCAA titles in 1960 and 1961.  Post his collegiate career he had a successful career in professional wrestling spending a majority of his career working for the AWA.  

====

Auble, Able, Anderson and Hayes previously mentioned. 

Simons and Lewis would both repeat

Kraft, Ballinger, Conrad and I believe Goodner all seniors 

Defending the Title: 1959: Those Who Did and Those Who Didn't Defend The Title

 Ron Gray of Iowa State and Dick Beattie of Oklahoma State both won their second NCAA titles. 

1959 Champion 115 
Andy Fitch of Yale 

Interestingly enough Fitch was never able to capture an EIWA title during his collegiate career, finishing third in 1958 and runner-up in 1959.  Despite settling for silver in the conference, he would garner gold in the nation winning the NCAA title here as a senior.  Wrestling internationally he earned Pan-American gold in 1963.  He later tried to start a league of folkstyle professional wrestling. 

1959 Champion 123 
Dave Auble of Cornell 

A graduate of Ithaca High School, Auble won three EIWA titles for the Big Red, winning NCAA titles in 1959 and in 1960. He lost only once during his illustrious career, getting upset at the NCAA's in 1958, going 51-1 overall.  Competing internationally he finished one match shy of a medal at both the Olympic games and the World championships.  Post his own wrestling career he had a colorful coaching career having stints at UCLA, Campbell, Cornell, Michigan State, Indiana, Stanford and North Carolina State. 

1959 Champion 130 
Stan Able of Oklahoma 

More so known for his time as a coach, Stan Able was still an outstanding wrestler in his own right capturing NCAA titles for the Sooners in both 1959 and 1960.  As a coach of the Sooners, he led the crimson and cream to three BIG 12 titles and the 1974 NCAA team title.  This included winning 279 duals, producing 14 NCAA champions and 71 All Americans. 

1959 Champion 137
Larry Hayes of Iowa State 

A state champion out of Des Moines Lincoln, Hayes won three NCAA titles for the Cyclones in 1959, 1960 and 1961.  A U.S. Marine, he later coached at both Jesup and Des Moines Lincoln. 

1959 Champion 167
Ed Hamer of Lehigh 

Also a member of the Lehigh golf team, Hamer won the NCAA title as a senior.  He later coached both wrestling and golf for the mountain hawks, also the owner of a furniture store. 

1959 Champion 177 
Jim Craig of Iowa 

A state champion out of Britt, Craig won the NCAA title as a senior after finishing third at the NCAA's as a junior in 1958.  Post college he coached at Oak Lawn high school in Illinois where in his final season, he led his team to a runner-up finish at the state championships.  He later officiated. 

1959 Champion 191 
Art Baker of Syracuse

Art Baker to this day holds a record that will probably never be broken. He is the only athlete in the history of NCAA Division I to ever win NCAA titles in both football and wrestling in the same season.  He later played professional football in both the CFL and the NFL

1959 Champion UNL 
Ted Ellis of Oklahoma State 

A two time state champion out of Blackwell high school, Ellis won the NCAA title for the Cowboys as a junior, taking runner-up honors in 1961 as a senior.  He later coached football at Blackwell, while working various factory jobs in the area. 

=== 

Gray and Beattie previously mentioned 

Ellis did not repeat as champion 

Auble, Abel, and Hayes went on to win more titles 

Fitch, Hamer, Craig and Baker all four seniors 

Defending the Title: 1958: Those Who Did and Those who Didn't Defend The Title

 Dick Delgado of Oklahoma and Bob Norman of Illinois both won title #2 to end their collegiate careers. 

1958 champion 123 
Paul Powell of Pittsburgh 

Thankfully the rules of yesteryear are different than the rules of today or we might not have gotten to see Paul Powell win the NCAA title.  You see he missed the EIWA championships due to the flu.  A junior in 1958, Powell had to injury default to a fourth place finish at the EIWA's in 1959, missing the NCAA's as senior. 

1958 Champion 130 
Les Anderson of Iowa State  

Competing for Dale Brand, Anderson won a state title for Clarion high school before coming to Iowa State. Winning the NCAA title as a sophomore in 1958, Anderson would settle for runner-up honors in 1959, winning his second NCAA title in 1960.  He then coached wrestling at both the high school and collegiate level.  He led Blue Earth to top finishes of third and fourth at the Minnesota state championships, coaching at both Washington and Iowa State later on.  Anderson is credited as one of the brains behind the idea of running wrestling camps at Universities and colleges. 

1958 Champion 137
Paul Aubrey of Oklahoma 

After finishing 4th at the NCAA's in 1957 as a sophomore, Aubrey won the NCAA title as a junior in 1958. He'd finish in third place for the Sooners as a senior in 1959.  Post college, Aubrey became a Marine flying A4-Skyhawks during the Vietnam war. Retiring from the military, he later flew for UPS. 

1958 Champion 147 
Ron Gray of Iowa State 

A three time State Champion out of Eagle Grove, Gray won his first NCAA title for the Cyclones in 1958. He'd repeat again in 1959.  He later coached at Franklin and Marshall as well as Kent State, where he led the Golden Flashes to 6 Mid American Conference titles. 

1958 Champion 157 
Dick Beattie of Oklahoma State 

Already an Olympian in 1956, Beattie won the NCAA title in 1958, repeating again his senior season in 1959. 

1958 Champion 167 
Duane Murty of Oklahoma State 

Winning the NCAA title as a junior, Murty finished third at the NCAA's in 1959. 

1958 Champion 177
Gary Kurdelmeier of Iowa 

A two time state champion of Cresco High school, Kurdelmeier won the NCAA title for the Hawkeyes as a senior in 1958.  He later coached at both Iowa Falls and Cedar Rapids Jefferson before taking over at Iowa where he led the Hawkeyes to three BIG 10 titles and 2 NCAA titles going 51-7 in duals.  As much as Kurdelmeier achieved as both a wrestler and as a coach, perhaps his greatest contribution to the sport of wrestling was being the main culprit responsible for bringing Dan Gable to Iowa.  It should also be noted the Kurdelmeier was instrumental in trying to grow collegiate wrestling in the south, having started and coached at Georgia State. 

1958 Champion 191 
Ken Maidlow of Michigan State 

A state champion for nearby Lansing Sexton high school, Maidlow was a senior when he won the NCAA title for the Spartans.  His son Steve would later play football for the Spartans, being named All BIG 10 in his final two seasons. He later played in the NFL for both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. 

=== 

Delgado and Norman previously mentioned 

Anderson would not repeat in 1959 but would repeat in 1960.  

Gray and Beattie repeated in 1959. 

Powell, Aubrey and Murty did not repeat as champions 

Kurdelmeier and Maidlow were both seniors 

Defending the Title: 1957: Those Who Did and Those Who Didn't Defend the Title

 1957 quite a remarkable year as we crowned one of our most celebrated wrestlers in Danny Hodge winning his third and final title for Oklahoma.  Perhaps as should be, but isn't as celebrated, Ed Peery winning his third and final title for Pittsburgh.  Also noted, the NCAA tournament was held at Pittsburgh.

1957 Champion 115
Dick Delgado of Oklahoma 

Serving in the United States Navy before coming to college, Delgado came to Oklahoma from California.  As a sophomore in 1956 he finished third at the NCAA's, making the Olympic team later that summer.  Winning the NCAA title in 1957, he repeated again as champion in 1958. He later coached high school wrestling in both Kansas and California. 

1957 Champion 130
Johnny Johnston of Penn State 

Johnston was a junior when he captured the NCAA title for the Nittany Lions.  He would finish 3rd at the NCAA's as a senior.  He later coached at Princeton where he led the Tigers to their first EIWA title, winning 382 duals. 

1957 Champion 137 
Joe Gratto of Lehigh 

Gratto was a junior when he won the 1957 NCAA title, the next season of 1958 he finished one match shy of earning All American honors.  Keep in mind in these days, only the top four received a medal compared to the top eight today.  Gratto then served in the Marines during Vietnam, where he reached the rank of both Lieutenant and Colonel. 

1957 Champion 147
Simon Roberts of Iowa 

Competing for Davenport High School, Simon Robertts became the first black state champion in Iowa in 1954.  He then became the first black NCAA champion when he won the 1957 NCAA title as a junior.  He did not place at the 1958 NCAA's.  Later in life he became head coach of Alleman High School in Rock Island, Illinois, devoting a majority of his life to helping the community against drug and alcohol abuse. 

1957 Champion 157 
Doug Blubaugh of Oklahoma State 

A native of Ponca City, Blubaugh settled for 3rd place in 1955 and 2nd place in 1956 before winning the NCAA title in 1957.  He later took his skills to international wrestling, earning gold medals at both the 1959 Pan American Championships and the 1960 Olympics.  He later coached at both Indiana and Michigan State. As the story goes, Bobby Knight once shouted at Blubaugh and a few moments later found himself in agreement that he would never shout at Blubaugh again. 

1957 Champion 167 
Tom Alberts of Pittsburgh 

A two time state champion out of Waynesburg high school, Alberts was senior when he captured the NCAA title for the Panthers.  He later became an assistant coach at Trinity high school while running his own dental practice. 

1957 Champion 191 
Ron Schirf of Pittsburgh 

In the year his high school started their wrestling program, Schirf went out for the team and by the end of the season he had wrestled quite a few matches and managed to win one.  It was a rough start for the future NCAA champion as he arrived at Pittsburgh finding himself the worst wrestler on the team.  Not only could he not beat anyone in the room, he couldn't do anything at all.  Couldn't score a takedown, couldn't ride anyone, he couldn't even manage to get an escape.  Sticking with it, by the time he was a senior in 1957, he found himself on top of the award stand at the NCAA's. 

1957 Champion UNL 
Bob Norman of Illinois 

Norman came to Illinois to play football for the Illini, not to wrestle. Yet after an injury in his sophomore season, he switched over to wrestling.  Winning his first NCAA title in 1957, he won his second in 1958.  Going 21-0, 14 of his victories were by fall.  His son Tim played football for the Illini and his grandson Jake wrestled for the Illini. 

=== 

Peery and Hodge previously mentioned won their third titles 

Delgado and Norman would go on to win titles in 1958 

Johnston, Gratto, Roberts did not 

Alberts, Blubaugh and Schirf seniors 















  

Defending the Title: 1956: Those Who Did and Those Who Didn't Defend The Title

Quite an eventful tournament held in Stillwater, Oklahoma.   Myron Roderick was crowned champion for the third time in front of a hometown crowd.  Terry McCann of Iowa, Ed Peery of Pittsburgh, Eddie Eichelberger, and Danny Hodge all won title #2.  

1956 Champion 137 
Jim Sinadinos of Michigan State 

A two time State champion out of Lansing Eastern High School, Sinadinos would take third place All American honors in both 1954 and 1955, before capping off his Spartan career with a NCAA title. His son, also named Jim, wrestled for both Michigan State and Arizona State, where he took third place at the PAC-12 tournament. 

1956 Champion 157
Larry TenPas of Illinois 

A two time State champion out of Waukegan high school, TenPas would finish third at the NCAA's as a sophomore in 1954, taking runner up honors in 1955.  He won the NCAA title as a senior in 1956. He later coached at Waukegan. 

1956 Champion 167 
Eddie DeWitt of Pittsburgh 

After finishing third in 1955 as a sophomore, DeWitt went on to win two NCAA titles both 1956 and 1957.  He later made the Olympic team in 1960. 

1956 Champion 191 
Ken Leuer of Iowa 

A Minnesota native, Leuer finishing second in the NCAA's as a junior in 1955, before winning the NCAA title as a senior in 1956.  He then served 32 years in the United States Army, earning the rank of Major General. 

1956 Champion UNL
Gordon "Goose" Roesler of Oklahoma 

Roesler didn't even start wrestling until his senior year of high school at Perry, but he caught on quick enough to finish third at the state tournament.  Winning the NCAA title here as a sophomore, he would finish third in 1957 and cap off his career as an NCAA runner-up in 1958.   He then spent his life between running a bulldozing operation and farming. 


=== 

McCann, Peery, Roderick, Eichelberger and Hodge previously mentioned. 

Sinadinos, TenPas and Leuer all seniors in 1956

DeWitt repeated

Roesler did not