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Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. 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. Gable was only the third wrestler to be inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend category.[1][2] In 2014, Gable was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame[3] and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020.[4]
 Gable in April 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Danny Mack Gable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 25, 1948 Waterloo, Iowa, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Iowa State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Harold Nichols | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gable was born and grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. When he was 15 years old, a teenager from his neighborhood murdered Gable's 19-year-old sister. Although Gable called his sister's death his "biggest loss",[5] he did not allow the tragedy to affect his focus on wrestling. Instead, he thought of it as a reason to train with even more determination:
The more you can settle into focusing on what you have and what you would like to do and where you want to go—a positive point of view—the quicker things turn around and positive things start to happen.[6]
He attended high school at West High School in Waterloo.[7] During high school he was a three-time Iowa state champion with a 64-0 record.[8]
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College
From 1967 to 1970, Gable attended Iowa State University, where he competed in wrestling. At Iowa State, he became a two-time NCAA Division I national champion and three-time finalist. Gable's college career record was 181–1, with his only loss being in the NCAA final match during his senior season to Larry Owings of the University of Washington.[9]
Freestyle
From 1971 to 1973, Gable competed internationally in freestyle wrestling. Highlights of his career include gold medals at the 1971 Tbilisi Tournament, the 1971 world championships, and the 1972 Olympic Games. At the 1972 Games, Gable won all six of his matches without giving up a point.[10] After competing sporadically from 1974 to 1975, Gable retired and became a full-time coach. In 1991, Gable was awarded with the Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award by Cauliflower Alley Club.[11]
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From 1976 to 1997, Gable was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. Gable's teams compiled a dual meet record of 355–21–5. He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten champions, and 12 Olympians, including eight Olympic medalists. His teams won 21 Big Ten championships and 15 NCAA Division I titles.[9]
In addition to coaching folkstyle wrestling at the University of Iowa, Gable coached freestyle wrestling. Gable was the head coach of three USA Olympic teams and six USA World teams.[9]
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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.[12]
The 2008 film, Never Back Down, mentioned Dan Gable. The antagonist and protagonist early in the film seem to bond over this Iowa athlete as the, 'greatest Olympic wrestler ever... the '72 Games, never surrendered a point.'
The Dan Gable museum is named for him, which is located in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, part of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.
Professional wrestler Chad Gable's WWE in-ring name was named after him.[13]
Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson was named after him.[14]
The Gable grip used in wrestling and mixed martial arts was named after him.[15]
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.jpg)
- 2020
.svg){kind=small}
- 1980
- National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member[16]
- 1972
Summer Olympics- Tbilisi Tournament
- Midlands Championships
- 1971
- World Wrestling Championships
- Pan American Games
- Midlands Championships
- 1970
NCAA Division I- NCAA Division I Gorrarian Award winner
- Big Eight Conference
- Midlands Championships
- 1969
- NCAA Most Outstanding Wrestler
- NCAA Division I
- NCAA Division I Gorrarian Award winner
- Big Eight Conference
- Midlands Championships
- 1968
- NCAA Division I
- Big Eight Conference
- Midlands Championships
- 1967
- Midlands Championships
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- Baughman, Wayne. 1987. Wrestling On & Off the Mat. R. Wayne Baughman. ISBN 978-0-9618446-0-8
- Chen, Albert. 2014. "Where are they Now: Catching up with Dan Gable and Larry Owings," Sports Illustrated (July 11, 2014)[17]
- Gable, Dan. 2015. A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 978-1609383404
- Hammond, Jairus K. 2005. The History of Collegiate Wrestling. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. ISBN 978-0-9765064-0-9
- Moffat, James V. 2007. Wrestlers At The Trials. Exit Zero Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799051-0-0
- Smith, Russ L. 1973. The Legend of Dan Gable. Medalist Sports Education Publication.
- Zavoral, Nolan. 1997. A Season on the Mat. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-3553-9
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