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. It still stands as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. "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. 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. Pac-8 Champion and three-time NCAA finalist. How about a nod to the wrestler Owings so very wisely avoided. He also has a museum named for him in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, part of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. His intensity only grew when he became coach at Iowa in 1976; Gable was legendary for going to extreme limits to solve a problem. Gable says that the loss was like a death in the family. It just about killed my parents, he says. Finally, he says, Theres a barrier between us that Im not sure needs to ever go away., 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Canby Then is brought to you by Retro Revival. He had pinned everyone in the 1970s national tournament before this match, and he was considered to be the unquestionable favorite against a wrestler he beat two years prior at the Olympic Trials. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. I say that I went undefeated for seven years, lost a match, and then I got good, he says. It was one of the most emotional scenes I can ever remember.". % Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The article didn't mention the fact that Caldwell had pinned Metcalf the previous season. Open daily. He lost only once, in the final match of his final season at Iowa State University. He played college basketball for Yavapai College and Oral Roberts University . 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. 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. Canby Coach Larry Wright encouraged Owings to continue his wrestling at the highest level. But Gable made a gritty comeback, as his fans expected him to, late in the match. That has never bothered Owings. If you need a little weekend reading, friends, you could do worse -- a lot worse -- thanthis compelling profile by Sports Illustrated's Albert Chen on Dan Gable and Larry Owings, two men whose histories are inextricably intertwined. He has softened in his old age -- thats what nine grandchildren will do to you -- and lately he has been more reflective; a stack of papers on the desk is the memoir hes working on with a writer. Im emotional about it because theres still a lot of meaning Gable told SI.com in 2014. He faced Gable on the mat one more time, at the 1972 Olympic trials in Anoka, Minn. Owings was wrestling best at 136.5 that year, but he struggled to keep his weight under 138. (I mean, why not, right?). 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. To say Owings was the underdog would be, well, an understatement. Gables success was always due in large part of his ability to live in a bubble -- no distractions ever got in his way. Wrestling never came up until they went on a date later in their relationship and two strangers walked up to them and asked for Owings autograph. Find them on the corner of NW Third and Grant in downtown Canby. Lately hes been calling around -- to the University of Washington, to the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Iowa named after the loser of the match, to ABC, which was there to broadcast the event -- to see if anyone can send him a DVD, but no one seems to have one. With 17 seconds left, Owings was ahead 13-11. Not in Dan Gable's mind, not in this lifetime. Yes. Each wore white headgear and white kneepads. Not, like he-was-on-a-Wheaties-box-one-time famous (though he was). Phone: (405) 377-5243 Olympic Champion. Conditioning was a big part of my preparation.". Referee Pascal Perri described the noise as "comparable to Niagara Falls during the spring thaw.". Just sitting here, talking about it it hurts. In his high school career, undefeated. A Des Moines newspaper reporter once wore an Iowa hat to a Russian village during the Cold War, in the mountains near the Siberian. 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. 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. Im emotional about it. Great article, Mark, thanks. His four brothers, his classmates, even his coaches at Canby High when he started wrestling told him he was fat. He may have been the only opponent Gable had faced in years who saw him as anything other than invincible. However, Gable had to deal with more distractions than Owings. Owings was the first UW wrestler to win an NCAA title, but what mattered was that he had upset a man the Russians reverently called "The Machine," a man who had won 181 straight matches, 108 by pins. He describes Owings as a "Charles Lindbergh persona, quietly confident," who believed he could equal Gable's strength and conditioning. Larry Owings - Washington (1969 - 1972) 1-time NCAA Champion High School: Canby, Oregon He prefers to show them, firsthand. The night before the weigh in, he had a fight with his wife, who was seven months pregnant and didnt want him to leave her and the baby behind and go to the Olympics. The next match featured Grant, like Gable a defending Champion from 1969. Where Are They Now: Catching up with Cubs legend Ernie Banks. 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. See, Larry Owings is the The Man Who Beat Dan Gable. [6], In addition to coaching folkstyle wrestling at the University of Iowa, Gable coached freestyle wrestling. Gable had an undefeated high school wrestling career. They said Id never be a wrestler because I was too fat, he recalled, much later. That Gable could lose. <> Gable recovered from the defeat and would later say it made him a much better wrestler. His results were extraordinary. It's all good. That number 182 would have included Gable's undefeated high school and collegiate career. Really? Gable's teams compiled a dual meet record of 355215. His 1970 NCAA finals victory over Dan Gable cemented his place in wrestling history. Owings had his first chance at the 1969 NCAA Championships but, as he would later regret, decided to wrestle at 130 pounds, avoiding Gable's 137-pound class. And when I was younger, I really was pretty fat. It was during 117-1 at Iowa State University that lost to Larry Owings in 1970. NCAA Champion and Outstanding Wrestler. He was known to wake up in the middle of night, just to do push-ups while his opponents slept. I didnt know you could do that. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The words hang in the air. [6], Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson was named after him. The Hawkeyes can still earn a double bye, but a lot hinges on the trip to Indiana. This was Owings' opportunity, the fateful moment when his never-used leg sweep caught Gable by surprise. I'm coming here to beat Gable," he was quoted. He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten champions, and 12 Olympians, including eight medalists. We went at it tooth and nail.". SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Wrestling fans attending the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, March 15-17, will have the chance to relive arguably the most talked about wrestling match of all time the Larry Owings' upset of undefeated two-time NCAA champion Dan Gable in the 1970 NCAA finals. An escape from Owings gave the Washington wrestler the lead, even after Gable pushed his riding time up over a minute, symbolically tying the match with time to go, but Owings wasnt done. I know a good way for a sportsman to get rid of it. Minn. Owings was wrestling best at 136.5 . Even now, no one tells Dan Gable what to do. It's famous in part because of . Just a thought. Owings was the first UW wrestler to win an NCAA title, but what mattered was that he had upset a man the Russians reverently called "The Machine," a man who had won 181 straight matches, 108 by pins. Once there is a seed of doubt planted in your mind, well, youre probably doomed. World Champion", "Named for an icon, Gable Steveson becomes a legend in his own right", "Where are they Now: Catching up with Dan Gable and Larry Owings", Website of film 'Catch: the hold not taken', Gable's wins and losses between the years 1963 and 1973, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dan_Gable&oldid=1134702764, Chen, Albert. Wrestling is just two people out there -- anyone can be beat, anything can happen. Owings had dropped two weight classes to wrestle in Gables class at 142 pounds. They shut down the whole tournament for 15 minutes. Through the windows an orange sun is sinking just beyond the towering pines, and light glows his pale bald head. 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 . Larry Owings, Coach/Official, Canby, Oregon Graduated from Canby High School where he was a two-time OSAA champion. The newspapersthough, focused on Gable's match:Iowa State star suffers mat loss, read the title in a story run by the Associated Press following the match. 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? Who wants to be known for just one thing? He thinks about what would have happened if he would have lost his match: maybe he wouldnt have entered a failed marriage in 1970 just months after the match (Maybe she wouldnt have married me if I wouldnt have been a winner, he says), maybe he would have pushed himself harder to become an Olympian. Gable said no thank you. 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. All Rights Reserved. From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in folkstyle wrestling. With focus and determination Grant won 6-1in the match after Owings-Gable. 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. stream Gable's career soared. Coached high school wrestling in Washington (Seattle) and Oregon (Clackamas CC, Oregon City, Molalla, Canby and Woodburn) for over 25 years. 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. The match spawned a book, a documentary, countless magazine articles, and decades of reflection. "Stunned was the word," Owings said of his first moments as the giant-killer. It was a good match, wasnt it? he says. College career [ edit] Yavapai College (2001-2003) [ edit] Owens averaged 22.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Yavapai College. I have to agree with the other poster - Vincenzo Joseph over Imar has to be in the top 3. It was one of the greatest upsets in American sports: an unknown sophomore from the University of Washington slaying the god from Iowa State and one of the most astonishing streaks in sports history. After retiring as the virtually undisputed greatest wrestler in the history of the sport, he decided to go ahead and become its greatest coach. 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. 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 His gig was always that he was going to out condition people, says Owings. Larry Owings won the Pac 12 at 157 and went to 142 for Nationals. It was close throughout the three-period match, and the constant crowd noise was deafening. Owings briefly wrestled internationally and retired in 1973 to his home in Oregon. The atmosphere was electric, though what everyone had expected -- what ABC had come for -- was a coronation, not a competition. At the 1972 Games, in particular, Gable won all six of his matches without giving up a point. Wrestling was already fading in his life when he met Diane, the woman who would become his second wife. Gable said he learned not to take an opponent lightly, to eliminate distractions and accentuate an aura of invincibility and intimidation toward an opponent, just as Owings had done to him. 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: . 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