x][w~3sV% $f'$qRUzV[%JVwr|rnNk{-66Y6'{.oO\n.OyR$.`XISdf$fy&!=y67eiPl>M4?~sH^dYyd@oZn.N^~6hPW~nkz9^4Y\,2E /uVMo]BP6wi&$P,s5Gsxp*.&J4X~BHwf=Sx7p&,\/bi,b%_%eR?UM4]AB! I kind of wish he had gotten me with his best move.". His voice cracks, his eyes flicker, and suddenly, he goes silent, grasping for words. To understand the legend of Larry Owings, you must first understand the legend of Dan Gable. Not, like he-was-on-a-Wheaties-box-one-time famous (though he was). Gable calls his loss to Larry Owings of Washington his greatest loss. Jean made it out just in time; he won the match, and the national title. In "Larry Owings Documentary (The Man Who Beat Dan Gable," filmmaker Kaden Christiansen shares the story of Washington Athletics' Larry Owings, who is famously known for his upset of undefeated two-time NCAA champion Dan Gable of Iowa State Wrestling in the 1970 NCAA Wrestling finals. Their epic match 30 years ago altered the lives of both in ways not anticipated and provided the sport with a story to pass down through generations on the scope of a Biblical parable. Owings strategy in the match was his strategy in all his others: to wear out the other guy; he was, in short, going to out Gable Gable. As a sophomore, he wrestled mainly in the 95-pound weight class before moving up to 112 pounds by his senior year. Owings will forever be in the history books because of this match, and the lesson from this moment is that anything can happen in the NCAA finals. Come watch me next week as I finish my career 182-0. Gable kept bungling the lines, and the take took half an hour; by the time he was finished, without having gone through his regular pregame warm-up, every seat in the area was already filled, and the match was about to start. I didn't know how the referee would score it.". Smith, a man not quite 5 feet tall, ran over and bear-hugged and hoisted his champion. While Gable's record that season was 31-0, with five straight pins in the 1970 NCAA tourney, Owings was 32-1, and had four pins entering . I told him he had to get out there." He beat Gable in the finals of the 1970 NCAA Tournament, one of the most famous wrestling matches in history. I say that I went undefeated for seven years, lost a match, and then I got good, he says. He won't allow it. All Rights Reserved. Looking at the photo now, Gable says, I felt -- I feel -- like I let everyone down. After Gable received his second place trophy, there was a loud ovation in the hall that stretched on for minutes, until one of Gables teammates approached him and said, Gable, lift up your head. Later, over beers at a local bar, when hes asked how often he thinks about his loss in the 1970 NCAA wrestling national championships, he will say, without a beat, Everyday. His wife, Kathy, will turn to him and look as if she suddenly doesnt know this man shes been married to for 40 years. He was intrigued by Owings' swagger. It doesn't matter that it's been 30 years. His physical makeup was legendary, his results extraordinary. 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Phone: (405) 377-5243 Email: info@nwhof.org If so, he must have had to have gone 142 for his qualifying tournament before the Big Dance, right? It was during 117-1 at Iowa State University that lost to Larry Owings in 1970. It has to be in the top five here. "Stunned was the word," Owings said of his first moments as the giant-killer. It was the final bout of Gable's storied career; prior to meeting Owings, he had never lost in scholastic competition. Many who were there that day use the same words to describe the strange aftermath: it was like a bomb went off. Really?. Earlier in the day, without any prodding, he brought up the murder of his sister Diane in 1964. That makes it worse now from my point of view. In his senior season at Iowa State, Gable lost the only match of his amateur wrestling career to Larry Owingsa sophomore from the University of Washingtonin the NCAA 142-pound national championship. More than any other sport, wrestling is rooted in self-belief and desire: being big, strong, fast and talented can take you only so far; in the end, it is about endurance, stamina, conviction. Referee Pascal Perri described the noise as "comparable to Niagara Falls during the spring thaw.". Grant won in '69 @ 145 and again in '70 @ 150. Gable grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. Gable was inducted into the USA Wrestling Hall . "I knew who he was," Owings said, somewhat disingenuously. After college, Owings competed on the senior level circuit before retiring. A few old black-and-white wrestling photos turn up in the image results, but mostly he finds himself staring at photos of strange faces. It's famous in part because of . A sophomore had beaten the giant. He was a legend in his home state and across the country with his work ethic and drive to succeed in wrestling. 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. How about a nod to the wrestler Owings so very wisely avoided. He has come to peace with things he never thought he would. In that way, he and I were similar. We got up, and he offered me his hand and we shook. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon. It was a good match, wasnt it? he says. Iowa Wrestling Lands Commitments From Spencer Lee and Gavin Teasdale, TONY RAMOS TO LEAVE IOWA FOR NORTH CAROLINA, FORMER IOWA HEAVYWEIGHT TERRANCE JEAN-JACQUES SIGNS DEAL WITH WWE, TONY RAMOS FEELS "BETRAYED" BY IOWA, LEAVING IOWA PROGRAM, DAN DENNIS BEATS TONY RAMOS, WILL WRESTLE IN THE OLYMPICS IN RIO. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. 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. "It was an indication," Gerald said, "that Gable was taking him real seriously. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon. Owings at that moment pulled off a move that hed never done in a match: a leg sweep that caught Gable by surprise and dropped him down to the mat -- as Gable fell, he felt like he was going down in slow motion. Energy, aggression, speed and endurance. CACCAMO Rita. [6], From 1971 to 1973, Gable competed internationally in freestyle wrestling. Gable won @ 130 in '68. While the result of the match against Owings was unusual, in comparison with Gable's previous results, his effort is undeniable. I was like, Who would say that?, Where are they now: Catching up with Chamique Holdsclaw, The wrestler was an unknown coming off a 30-1 season at Washington, a reserved 19-year-old who didnt appreciate anyone who suggested that any result on the mat was a foregone conclusion. It is the match that Dan Gable will say turned him into a great wrestler -- and yet he still has trouble bringing himself to talk about it. We were on our knees at the end of the match. [10], Gable has been written about in many magazines and numerous books, including Two Guys Named Dan (1976), From Gotch to Gable: A History of Wrestling in Iowa (1981), The Toughest Men in Sports (1984) and Legends of the Mat (2006), all by wrestling historian Mike Chapman.[11]. He lost only once, in the final match of his final season at Iowa State University. ,Bk*+P2S` (fTrcSo NY]XX+%[w R&]_O!-(%z2R Er= de DHN"q)^P#o6Cx$%{s'1|zV9 However, because of NCAA. He tried an arm-bar move, coming over Owings' shoulder in an attempt to lock him up and take him down. Two years ago, Gable got the call that Dianes killer had died in prison. "Where are they Now: Catching up with Dan Gable and Larry Owings," Sports Illustrated (July 11, 2014), This page was last edited on 20 January 2023, at 03:38. Owings was a sophomore at the University of Washington, who had dropped two weight classes (from 158 to 142) just to get a shot at the legend. It was close throughout the three-period match, and the constant crowd noise was deafening. 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. In fact, Gable would emerge from the Owings match stronger, more determined. It was around the time I turned 50, and maybe that has something to do with it: I realized that I had a talent, and whats the point of denying that I had that talent? I know that the match affected my entire life. "It was my mom's worst fear." But Larry Owings had tremendous credentials of his own. Larry Owings Fall 5:19 Bryan McGann 6-3 David McGuire 4-0 Shane Foley 8-5 Mike Riley 9-0 Reid Lamphere 15-11 Larry Owings 13-2 David McGuire 8-4 Mike Riley 2-1 Reid Lamphere 14-12 David McGuire 3-3, 1-0 David McGuire Fall 4:32 130 Weight Class David McGuire 4-2 Len Groom, Northern Colorado [2] Mike Milkovich, Kent State Everette Barnard, Indiana National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, "Bio: Dan Gable 15 National Championships. No high school kid can come close to scoring on Owings. "People are still talking about it," said Ron Good, editor of the Amateur Wrestling News. No one had ever said something that, at least no one who could back it up. Earned bachelor's degree and master's degree in education from the University of Washington. Was I annoyed? says Owings. 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. SECOND PERIOD: Gable chose top to start the second period with the goal of looking for a turn against Owings for back points, but, instead, Owings, escapes and takes a shot for another two-point . The match spawned a book, a documentary, countless magazine articles, and decades of reflection. Owings nearly escaped, but Gabled rolled him around and nearly put him on his back before Owings persistence paid off and he earned the escape point. During the conversation, neither mentioned the match. The next match featured Grant, like Gable a defending Champion from 1969. In fact, the result was so expected that Gable filmed a commercial with ABCs Wide World of Sports encouraging viewers to watch his final match by saying "Hi, Im Dan Gable. Come watch me next week as I finish my career 182-0." Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. "He was a good, solid all-around wrestler who did not make a lot of mistakes," said Owings, now director of facilities for the Molalla (Ore.) School District. Feeling stripped of his powers after his loss, Gable was finding out what it was like to be human. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. In 1991, Gable was awarded with the Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award by Cauliflower Alley Club. Owings neighbor and close friend of two decades showed up to a tournament a few years ago and saw Owings in the stands wearing a shiny purple Washington jacket. Wow! Leading 7-2, Owings continued to ride Gable before Gable notched a reversal and put himself back on track with a 7-4 score. He took notice of the young Husky, perhaps more than appropriately. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Jean was due to wrestle in the nights final match, and the PA announcer called for the match wrestlers: Jean had three minutes to get to the mat. It still stands as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. We went at it tooth and nail.". '@$6. Now, it was like a burden was lifted. Unbelievably, Mr. Flasche was my neighbor and customer at my pharmacy when he moved to our tiny, beautiful town of Troy, MT in the early 2000s. That Gable could lose. 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. Here is Larry Owings: sitting at his dining room table in his modest house in the Oregon countryside, 30 miles outside of Portland, on a May afternoon. Gables obsession with preparation and routine was already legendary; the stories are almost outlandish -- but they are all true. Help us build a sustainable news organization to serve Canby for generations to come! 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. Larry was tough. But Dan Gable, of course, is so much more than one result. How about Andy Daniels beating John Azevedo or Gary Barton winning the tournament in1972. He has one VHS cassette of the broadcast but the tape is the only copy of the match hes ever owned, so worn that hes afraid that if he runs it in the VCR one more time the tape will be ruined forever. 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. 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. His teams won 21 Big Ten championships and 15 NCAA Division I titles. He grew up the youngest of five Owings brothers, all of them wrestlers; Larry, overweight growing up, was always the least likely of the Owings brothers to go one to become a great in the sport. 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. Gable said when Owings grabbed his leg "it was kind of like a slow-motion fall. He won national titles at 130 and 137 pounds in 1968 and 1969. As a college sophomore, he defeated Dan Gable in one of the biggest upsets of NCAA finals history,. Not only did Owings show incredible confidence in the style he wrestled Gable, he was shrewd in moving down a weight class and avoiding the one wrestler who beat him that season: Mike Grant of Oklahoma. World Champion", "Trump honors legendary Iowa wrestler Gable at White House", "Dan Gable among speakers discussing victims' rights", "Himself the victim of a violent tragedy, Gable says loss can result in some good", "Bio: Dan Gable 15 National Championships. v%NoBPXw It was quite the pedigree, but no one expected the same from Larry, for one simple reason. The night before the start of the tournament, a teammate asked if hed seen the front page of the Chicago Tribune sports section. He was known to wake up in the middle of night, just to do push-ups while his opponents slept. Owings, who said, "I did not really realize the scope of what I accomplished," never again won the championship, losing in the NCAA finals his final two years. Dan Gable won 13-4 in a match that would serve as the central motivation for Owings two years later. I gave it everything I had.. Graduated from Canby High School where he was a two-time OSAA champion. Owings grew up in the Ninety-One School district, the youngest of five brothers who were all high school wrestling state champions. His one collegiate loss, however, has become the most famous match from his wrestling tenure in his final match. Earned bachelor's degree and master's degree in education from the University of Washington. As painful as the experience was, looking back, he believes it may have helped toughen him up. He was going for his third title at 142 pounds, and virtually everyone thought he was a lock. As for Owings, people did not leave him alone. When Larry was on his high school team, the coach used to joke that he was so slow that theyd have to drive pegs into the mat to see if hes still moving. Hes not. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. The house lights were dimmed, with only the overhead lights framing the mat in the center of McGaw Hall. Owings briefly wrestled internationally and retired in 1973 to his home in Oregon. Larry Owings is a wrestling legend. Despite leading Iowa to 15 team championships and cementing his legacy as one of the best leaders in the sport, he still thinks about Larry Owings. Dan stood there crying. NCAA Champion and Outstanding Wrestler. From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. I think Ill wrestle till Im at least 80, he said during a recent interview. The final seconds ticked down, and it was actually Owings, in the lead, who went for a final takedown. "I was almost embarrassed to have won," he says. The only defeat that Gable suffered during his. With none of his family members in attendance that day, Owings remembers staggering around, trying to process what just happened. My nickname was Porky. Everyone called me that, even my teachers at school. I told him he had to get out there. Jean made it out just in time; he won the match, and the national title. Larry Owings's wrestling career was different from Gable's. Growing up with 5 wrestling champs, Larry was told by his siblings he would never be a wrestler even being nicknamed "Porky." Owing wanted to prove them wrong. That number 182 would have included Gable's undefeated high school and collegiate career. It had a tremendous impact on my entire coaching career.". The way I see it, he says, Im the coach of the sport.. But Owings honestly believed he could beat him. "It just about killed my parents," he says. He holed himself up in his room, he didn't talk to anyone, he didn't even return his parents' phone calls. Canby Coach Larry Wright encouraged Owings to continue his wrestling at the highest level. It's hard to win a third NCAA title. Owings has not talked to Gable since 1980, and that was a brief conversation to ask him to consider looking at a wrestler in his district. Lyle Ballew, a teammate of Owings', reported back to Owings that during the Iowa State practices, Gable would work with teammates on every possible countermove to the cradle. Gable's teams compiled a dual meet record of 355215. Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon Graduated from Canby High School where he was a two-time OSAA champion. Id never experienced that before, says Gable. Looks like Owings wrestled at 142 the entire season. 1971 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships; Tournament information; Sport: College wrestling: Location: Auburn, Alabama: Dates: March 25, 1971-March 27, 1971: Host(s) Auburn University: . Im emotional about it. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. Where Are They Now: Catching up with Cubs legend Ernie Banks. It also dominated him. in the state of Iowa really going to lose it right now? \DP,uaO@LtT H]v[?Nr)|cXB!>Br$<4y3gz 1oZu, FO]+#3* u_i!c+pIf'iwC+)p\G Then lost in '70 @ 142 when Owings beat him 13-11. No, with his movie star looks and charisma, and a physique that would make Chris Hemsworth jealous, he was legitimately world famous. 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