National Wrestling Hall of Fame

Kansas. Pete Mehringer lessons so well that six years later he won an Olympic gold medal at 192 pounds. learned his 1936 To outdo the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, the Nazis in Berlin built a brand new 100,000-seat track and field stadium, six gymnasiums, and many other smaller arenas. They also installed an array of high- tech broadcast equipment. By allowing only members of the "Aryan race" to compete for Germany, Hitler promoted his ideological belief of racial supremacy. At the same time, the party removed signs stating "Jews not wanted" and similar slogans from the 19 32 1932: Bobby Pearce won the first ever gold medal for an Oklahoma wrestler at 123 pounds. city's main tourist attractions. A total of 49 nations attended the Berlin Olympics which were the first to have live television coverage. The United States considered boycotting the Games to avoid appearing supportive of the Nazi regime and its anti-Semitic policies. Eventually, the United States decided that the Olympic Games should not reflect political views, but rather be strictly a contest of the greatest athletes. The sole gold medalist for the United States at the 1936 Games was former Oklahoma A&M wrestler Frank Lewis at 158.5 pounds. During the competition, he scored a fall the first day, and another the second day. He wrestled three times the third day with two more falls, which under the rules, offset a loss by fall to Ture Andersson of Sweden making Frank Lewis the only American to win a championship. 1948 1932: In front of 5,000 fans, "Blackjack" VanBebber became champion of the world with an upset decision over Eino Leino of Finland. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, the 1948 Summer Olympics returned to London where they came to be known as the Austerity Games due to the economic climate and post-war rationing. A record 59 nations were represented by 4,104 athletes, 3,714 men and 390 women. The United States won the most total medals, 84, and the most gold medals, 38. New Yorker Henry Wittenberg never wrestled in high school and he needed a couple of years of college to reach national prominence. But once he learned the sport, his was a story of unparalleled success. In over 400 matches, he only lost four Glen Brand won the gold medal at 174 pounds in the 1948 London Olympic Games. times. In 1948, he won the gold medal at 191.5 pounds, then retired from active competition. But in 1952, he returned to the mat to lead the U. S. team to the Olympics at Helsinki, Finland where he captured the silver medal and became the first From the day Glen Brand started wrestling as a sixth grader in Clarion, Iowa, his goal was to be a champion. He not only became a national champion, but attained his ultimate goal in 1948 when he won the gold medal at 174 pounds in the London Olympic Games. wrestler since 1908 to win two Olympic medals. American 1952 Helsinki, Finland was the site of the 1952 Summer Olympics. Officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, these Games were famous for being the Olympics at which the most number of world records were broken, a record that remained until the 2008 Olympics. Sixty-nine nations participated in these Games, among them for the first time, a team from the Soviet Union. As a team, the Soviets captured the most medals in Greco-Roman and freestyle competition, beginning a string of dominance at every subsequent Olympics, with the exception of their 1984 boycott, until the U.S.S.R. broke up following the 1988 Games. In spite of never winning a high school state title, championships came early and often for Bill Smith once he got to Iowa State Teachers College. There he was undefeated and won two NCAA titles, but 19 36 19 48 6 | NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM THE GOLD STANDARD MEHRINGER LEWIS WITTENBERG

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