News and information about the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum

USA Wrestling hosted one of its last chance Olympic trials qualifier event on May 9-10. Participants from Greco-Roman and men's and women's freestyle competed for a chance to participate at the final Olympic Trials competition on June 13-15 in Las Vegas. This winner of each weight class qualified for the final Olympic Trials.

The competition site was just two blocks away from the museum at the Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. The museum had several visitors during the weekend, including 1972 Olympic champion Ben Peterson. To view a picture of Peterson's visit to the museum, click here.

The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum hosted its biggest amateur event on April 18-19. The weekend began on Friday with the Dan Gable ASICS Coaches Clinic at Dan Gable's former high school, West Waterloo. This year's clinicians included Dan Gable, former Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel, Nortwestern head coach Tim Cysewski, Indiana head coach Duane Goldman, and former Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson.

After several sessions at the high school, a special reception took place at the museum for all participating coaches. Mark Perry, two-time NCAA champion for the University of Iowa in 2007 and 2008, and Matt Fields, 2008 All-American for Iowa, were in attendance for the reception.

After a catered meal for all the coaches, Dan Gable gave his first clinic of two clinics at the Dan Gable Teaching Center located inside the museum. Gable put Danny Song and Pablo Ubasa through an individualized workout as coaches sat in the stands and around the mat. This session went over extremely well as coaches were able to see firsthand what a Gable-style workout looks like.

The clinic concluded on Saturday, April 19, with another clinic by Gable at West Waterloo.

The Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa, the museum's biggest amateur wrestling event of the year, began at 1 p.m. at the museum. Similar to last year, the 2008 induction ceremony was a standing room only event. People were packed into all corners of the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa to see Mike Natvig, Chuck Patten, Dan Mashek, Tim Krieger, Duane Goldman, and Mike Van Arsdale inducted into the hall of fame.

Mike Chapman, executive director of the museum, gave the opening remarks for the ceremony. Chapman spoke about the importance of wrestling and its rich history. He then introduced the hall of fame's namesake, Glen Brand, prior to the induction speeches.

Each inductee spoke about the importance wrestling played in his life and impact family had on his successes. Mike Van Arsdale, an NCAA champion for Iowa State and a native of Waterloo, spoke about his love for wrestling in his speech.

“What I really wanted to say, if we have young people, older people, people in the middle, when I sum this whole thing up, it's probably about more things than this but I want to say it's about love,” said Van Arsdale. “It's about commitment and believing in yourself. So it's about belief. And it's about understanding.”

Each inductee was presented a hall of fame plaque in the shape of Iowa, a Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame polo shirt, and a hall of fame poster with pictures of all six inductees. Immediately following the ceremony all six inductees gathered with Glen Brand for pictures and autographs. There was also a reception with food and punch for everyone attending the event.

To view pictures from the Dan Gable ASICS coaches clinic reception on April 18, click here.
To view pictures from the 2008 Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa inductions on April 19, click here.

Pictures of Frank Gotch Day on April 3, 2008, and a special autograph session with Dan Gable on April 5, 2008, can now be viewed.

To view pictures from Frank Gotch Day, click here.
To view pictures from Dan Gable's autograph signing, click here.

On April 3, 2008, the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum celebrated Frank Gotch Day in Waterloo. This historic day marked the 100-year anniversary of Gotch's victory over George Hackenschmidt for the World Heavyweight wrestling title. Frank Gotch is considered the reason for Iowa's strong wrestling tradition.

The festivities began at noon with a luncheon at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, located two blocks from the museum. The site of the luncheon was a unique part of the day. Gotch defeated Dan McLeod in the Syndicate Theater on April 9, 1909. The theater stood where the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center is located today.

On hand for the luncheon were several wrestling greats, including Dan Gable, 1972 Olympic champion; Randy Lewis, 1984 Olympic champion; Chuck Yagla, two-time NCAA champion and 1980 Olympian; Tolly Thomspon, NCAA champion and world medalist; Bob Siddens, legendary West Waterloo high school wrestling coach; Bob Steenlage, Iowa's first four-time state wrestling champion; and Mike Chapman, museum executive director and the author of three books on Gotch.

In addition, all three Iowa high school state championship wrestling teams and all individual state placewinners from Black Hawk County were on hand for the celebration. Waverly-Shell Rock (3A), Ballard-Huxley (2A), and Gilbertville-Don Bosco (1A) won the traditional state tournament and the state dual meet tournament in 2008. Each team set a new record for points scored at the state tournament in their respective division. Waverly-Shell Rock set the all-time state record with 225 points.

There was also a large contigent from Gotch's hometown. Over 30 people from Humboldt made the two hour drive to be part of the event.

The luncheon included speeches by Steenlage, Chapman, and Gable. Chapman, the keynote speaker for the event, spoke about the importance of heroes in our society, using Thomas Carlye's quote of "Whoever excels in what we prize appears a hero in our eyes" as the starting point for his remarks. He then talked about Gotch's character and the impact Gotch has had on wrestling and the state of Iowa.

Following the luncheon there was a special reception at the Gable Museum with the debut of a new Frank Gotch documentary, the unveiling of a new Frank Gotch artwork, and the release of Mike Chapman's new book, "Frank Gotch: His Life and Legacy." All the wrestling legend were on hand for the festivities.

To read the Waterloo Courier's article covering this event, click here.
To read USA Today's article covering this event, click here.