Quote:
Originally Posted by brian1961
Thanks David, for coming to my rescue on that Dan Gable upset. You were most enlightening, and confirmed it was a much more serious upset than what I remembered. Of course, most of what I remembered was 41 years ago on TV with ABC's great coverage of the Olympics. Dan Gable was profiled, and I recall some of the background of that terrible upset. Seems there was also a close sister that had died tragically that affected him during his wrestling career. Anyway, I will check out the link that you so thoughtfully included.
I don't know why, but I want to remember a dear and great man who was one of America's wrestlers in '72---super heavyweight Chris Taylor. If I miss-spelled his name, forgive me. He was from southern Michigan. A gentle soul, but a determined foe you would not want to face. I believe he took the bronze. I must say this, but for too many stupid, irresponsibly-minded Americans, they think you got to win the gold, or you failed. In any other country, any Olympic medal classifies you as "a master of sports".
Somehow David, I have a feeling you appreciate a jolly good show. Thanks again. Take care. --Brian Powell
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Having wrestled in HS and a bit in college, aside from baseball, wrestling is probably the sport I'm most passionate about. Yes, I'll even indulge in watching/collecting pro wrestling(also still perform some backyard stuff for fun) and MMA occasionally just to get my wrestling fix... I won't go too far into my accomplishments, but most notably, I beat a guy who went on to be a member of the US Olympic team. I don't really thrive on it, but I guess it would be my "Al Bundy moment". In one way or another we've all got our own "4 touchdowns in one game" moment..
As far as Gable's sister, she was raped and murdered while he was a sophomore in high school. Here's a quote from Wiki about it...
"Gable later recalled that the event gave him a singular passion for wrestling as a way to uplift his shattered family. In his documentary Gable, he said, "I needed to give them enough entertainment that they didn't have to look other places."