National Wrestling Hall of Fame

1920: Charles Ackerly defeated American teammate and former collegiate rival Sam Gerson in the finals at 132 pounds to win the gold. 19 20 CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN TO PORTLAND, ORE. NATIVE ROBIN REED talk about his long journey from the New York Athletic Club to Olympic gold at the 1924 Paris Games. 1924: Russell Vis defeated two Finns in the last round to win the gold at 145 pounds. 19 24 1920 OLYMPIC TEAM motto, and the United States won four of seven available gold medals in the freestyle competition. Considered by many to be the 1924: Robin Reed from Portland, Ore., pinned every opponent he faced to earn the gold medal at 134 pounds. greatest pre-World War II American wrestler, Robin Reed from Portland, Ore., pinned every opponent he faced to earn the gold medal at 134 pounds. Reed, who was undefeated throughout his high school, collegiate and international career, was said to be able to pin anyone he faced, including U.S. heavyweight Steele, whom he reportedly flattened five times in 15 minutes, just to win a bet. Another Oregon native, Russell Vis, who learned to wrestle from the same coach as Reed, won the gold at 145 pounds, defeating two Finns in the last round. The two Oregonians were joined as gold medalists by John Spellman at 192 pounds, who forfeited his chance to graduate from Brown University in order to attend the Olympic Trials, and Harry Steele. Steele, raised on a farm, was very strong but had never had any real coaching. Reed took him under his wing, taught him some new moves, and those skills combined with his natural strength earned him the title of heavyweight Olympic champion. teammate Harry 1928 The Olympic Flame burned for the first time over the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, were the first to bear the name "Summer Holland. Olympic Games" and the first The sole champion for the United States at these Games was 134-pounder Allie Morrison, a native of Marshalltown, was that state's first Olympic gold medalist in any sport, and the first state high school wrestling champion in the United States to progress to an Olympic gold. At the University of Illinois, he was undefeated for three years and won half his matches by fall. Iowa. Morrison 1932 Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations and athletes were unable to afford the trip to Los Angeles— fewer than half the participants of the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam returned to compete in 1932. in which countries were limited to entering only one wrestler per weight classification. Allie Morrison was the sole champion for the United States at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games. 19 28 These Games Although he was upset in the collegiate finals as a senior for Oklahoma A&M, Bobby Pearce responded with the ultimate triumph, winning the gold medal at 123 pounds in the 1932 Olympic Games, the first ever gold medal for an Oklahoma wrestler. His college teammate, Jack VanBebber, won gold at 158 pounds. VanBebber was undefeated as a collegiate wrestler for Oklahoma A&M. At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, while relaxing at the Olympic Village, awaiting his final bout for the gold medal, VanBebber was alerted that the schedule had changed. The match he thought was set for 6 p.m. had been moved to 3, and he was due on the mat within the hour, six miles away. No transportation was provided or available. Dressed in his Olympic shirt and beret, he set out afoot. Fortunately, a teammate from the Los Angeles Athletic Club recognized him and offered him a ride. He arrived at the arena with moments to spare. Once at the scene, however, his opponent proved no more effective than his earlier victims. In front of 5,000 fans, "Blackjack" VanBebber became champion of the world with an upset decision over Eino Leino of Finland, a four-time Olympian who already owned gold, silver and bronze medals. The other Olympic champion from these Games for the U.S. about wrestling from a mail-order correspondence course while living in learned THE GOLD STANDARD NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM | 5 HARRY STEELE 134 LBS

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