Yeah, college basketball is ready for March. He Googles his name on the iPad. It was quite the pedigree, but no one expected the same from Larry, for one simple reason. Theyre waiting for you to lift your head. Gable did -- and the cheering finally stopped. That softie had been nowhere to be found earlier in on this day as he navigated his black pickup through Iowa City while downing cans of Mountain Dew and breathlessly telling rollicking old wrestling stories that crackle like firecrackers. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. "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. I really enjoyed the article - thanks. In 1966, he entered Iowa State, 110 miles away in Ames. He won 117 college wrestling matches with impressive dominance, setting a tone and a pace that few could match. 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. He respected his pinning ability.". This was where Owings wanted to be, on the mat in the middle of the action. Earned bachelor's degree and master's degree in education from the University of Washington. Gable was only the third wrestler to have ever been inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend category. . Dan Gable won 181 consecutive matches during high school and college before losing his final match at Iowa State. Then he would wrestle two hours a day. He growls, What I dont understand, and what still pisses me, off is that how, I did not get up properly for the biggest match of the year. They made up songs about me and teased me unmercifully.. Although Gable has called his sister's death his "biggest loss,"[4] he did not allow the tragedy to affect his focus on wrestling. Olympic Champion. There had never been a day like March 28, 1970 in the world of wrestling, and there has never been one since. The fans, said Roderick, "were in shock, as well as excited seeing history. Owings grew up in the Ninety-One School district, the youngest of five brothers who were all high school wrestling state champions. After college, Owings competed on the senior level circuit before retiring. Once the period began, it was Owings on top, temporarily, before Gable notched a reversal to tie the score at 8-8 with just over 1:45 to go in the third. It was the final moments of the third period that elevated the match into the realm of myth: 30 seconds remained, and Gable was ahead 10-9; if he could stall, if he could just bide his time, a third national title was his. With focus and determination Grant won 6-1in the match after Owings-Gable. That makes it worse now from my point of view. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon Graduated from Canby High School where he was a two-time OSAA champion. Working out from under Gable gave Owings momentum and confidence, and he translated that energy into a takedown of his own against his opponent to give Owings the lead 3-2 in the match and rode out Gable for the remainder of the first period to finish the first three minutes on top. 13-11. But in the final 30 seconds of a close, intense, exhausting match, Owings slipped underneath Gable's arms for a leg lift or sweep, putting the erstwhile invincible Gable on his back for the winning points. All people still wanted to talk about was that match, he says. The man who beat Dan Gable.. Now I read this and learn his win was the greatest upset in wrestling history at the time and still ranks in the top three. From 117-0 to 117-1. Well, thats not me, he says, as he reads about the retirement of Larry Owings of Brownwood, Texas. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Overall Gable had lost just four matchesall of them while wrestling under unfamiliar international freestyle rules and in competitions in which he, though a promising youngster, clearly had been in over his head. It happened March 28, 1970, at McGaw Hall, an 8,800-seat fieldhouse on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Ill. Gable was (and is) the god of the sport, a no-nonsense, punishing force who may have been the world's best-conditioned athlete. Wrestling was already fading in his life when he met Diane, the woman who would become his second wife. Facebook gives people the power to. Hes not. "It was bedlam. "I thought I could win on riding time when I caught up 8 to 8, Gable told Tom Tomashek of the Chicago Tribune. He was presented with the Man of the Year award during the championships, the media sought him out before and after every match, and he was struggling under the burden of a 181-match winning streak. From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. Darrell Keller, Oklahoma State DEC Larry Owings, Washington, 16-12 150 lbs Stan Dziedzic, Slippery Rock DEC Jay Arneson, Oklahoma . I'm coming here to beat Gable," he was quoted. I think Ill wrestle till Im at least 80, he said during a recent interview. In the days afterward he shut himself from the world. I seem to remember hearing or reading once that Owings wrestled all season at another weight class, but bumped down to 142 just for the Big Dance. Dan Gable won 13-4 in a match that would serve as the central motivation for Owings two years later. Mike Gerald, who now lives in Austin, Texas, wrote a book on Owings when the two became acquainted in Oregon. A natural introvert, he struggled for decades against his reputation as The Man Who Beat Dan Gable. He didnt want his whole life to be defined by something that transpired over a period of nine minutes when he was a teenager. I cant remember anything that happened in the last 40 seconds and when I looked up at the scoreboard and saw he led 13 to 9, I couldnt believe it.. No, with his movie star looks and charisma, and a physique that would make Chris Hemsworth jealous, he was legitimately world famous. zF\LxW"ve(1t^~W#ZxD!K(BTvA;h\5Ij _IAial&$prh~PZdm%6/LmJLU^+qLq) He attempted an arm-bar move, raising his arm over Owingss shoulder to lock him up and take him down. In his high school career, undefeated. Gable was given a four-minute standing ovation during his introduction as the ceremonies stopped. "If he had never tried that before, then that tells me it's desperate. Really? That's what I thought. The house lights were dimmed, with only the overhead lights framing the mat in the center of McGaw Hall. It has to be in the top five here. Email: dgmstaff@nwhof.org. We went at it tooth and nail.". 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. A sophomore had beaten the giant. He prefers to show them, firsthand. 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. It was simple: I wanted to beat the guy who beat me, says Owings. LARRY OWINGS AND DANGABLE, Kris Murray and Tony Perkins lead Iowa to its best road win of the year, The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Big Ten Tournament. He walked over and saw his teammate Chuck Jean there. 2023 NCAA | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Dan Gable vs. Larry Owings: FULL 1970 NCAA title match at 142 pounds, I know that the match affected my entire life. He was going for his third title at 142 pounds, and virtually everyone thought he was a lock. But now he is about to try. Most have never heard of Larry Owings. Gable says that the loss was "like a death in the family." His conditioning was so legendary that the Russians whom he would face in an international career that included two world championships and a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich nicknamed him The Machine.. Larry was tough. He tired me out more than I thought he would, he said. It's also a worthwhile read to find out more about Owings, who was an interesting figure in his own right. The teasing was merciless and nearly crushed him, but it also fueled him to drop the weight and spend extra hours in the gym, and by his senior year he was the best wrestler in the state, competing in national tournaments and Olympic trials. I got bumped down a seed at Nationals in 72 because the winner of the regionals 1 weight above me dropped down for Nationals. He could't believe he was the one affected by his opponent's reputation. "It's the biggest upset ever in the sport, and it's a fascinating story. In that way, he and I were similar. "The Sophomore From Washington" is a documentary feature about Larry Owings, the University of Washington wrestler who defeated Iowa State's Dan Gable at the 1970 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Shop official NCAA team and championship gear. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The match changed my life, he says, but then he suddenly adds, but there was a time, a long time, when I wished it never happened.. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon. To understand the legend of Larry Owings, you must first understand the legend of Dan Gable. Stillwater, OK 74075 He had a chance to face Owings again three weeks later, then again seven months later, but Owings lost in the preliminary round. It is the subject of an old wrestling match from 44 years ago that has him go silent. He went 64-0 at Waterloo (Iowa) West High School and 117-0 in three years at Iowa State (freshmen could not compete then) with NCAA titles at 130 and 137 pounds. I didn't know he passed away in 2013, but that explains the omission of Joseph/Martinez. Perri had given Owings two points for the takedown and two for a near-fall, as Gable's shoulders were briefly exposed to the mat. 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). 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. Grant went up, Owings went. 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. Gable was told Owings' comment and said he didn't realize the infamous leg sweep was not a practiced move. 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. Open daily. "I thought it would be a contest. Dan Gable was and is a god among men in the world of amateur wrestling. 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. 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). In fact, Gable would emerge from the Owings match stronger, more determined. All Rights Reserved. It's never going to leave, that painful image of defeat. He wasn't scared and had nothing to lose. 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. 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Phone: (405) 377-5243 Email: info@nwhof.org The OFFICIAL Facebook site of Western Australia's premiere Pro Wrestling organisation - EPW Perth. From inside his cabin Gable looks out onto the night fast approaching. I told him he had to get out there." Thanks for the great article. One day his mother finally showed up at his door and when she saw Dan, she slapped him across the face, walked away, and made the one and a half hour drive back to Waterloo. This was Owings' opportunity, the fateful moment when his never-used leg sweep caught Gable by surprise. Join Facebook to connect with Larry Owings and others you may know. 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. That has never bothered Owings. "I was a scrambling type of wrestler, and I think he was more of a controlled wrestler," Owings told the Associated Press 17 years after his win in an article headlined "Gable's rival, former bosses look back. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. The crowd edged forward. It's an essential part of the origin story for Dan Gable-as-superhero. Gable didnt feel redemption or justice, only a heavy weight lifted: in an unexpected moment of clarity, he realized that all these years hes somehow been partly blaming himself for her death. Larry Owings won the Pac 12 at 157 and went to 142 for Nationals. Finally, he says, Theres a barrier between us that Im not sure needs to ever go away., 2023 ABG-SI LLC. His four brothers, his classmates, even his coaches at Canby High when he started wrestling told him he was fat. 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. 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. It was probably the match of the century. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Many who were there that day use the same words to describe the strange aftermath: it was like a bomb went off. f&6wZ> mark@intermatwrestle.com, Twitter: @MatWriter. Gable got his rematch against Larry Owings, who handed Gable his only defeat at Iowa State, when he defeated Owings in the 1972 Olympic Trials. He took notice of the young Husky, perhaps more than appropriately. I don't know if he planned it or not, but he got inside my head.". When he was 15 years old, a teenager from his neighborhood raped and murdered Gable's 19-year-old sister. In the days afterward he shut himself from the world. From 1976 to 1997, Gable was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa, where his teams compiled a dual meet record of 355215 and won 15 NCAA Division I titles. I have to agree with the other poster - Vincenzo Joseph over Imar has to be in the top 3. He lost 20 pounds, while simultaneously growing several inches, and all of a sudden no one was saying hed never be a wrestler anymore. Gable recovered from the defeat and would later say it made him a much better wrestler. 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