THE LINCOLN LOBBY: In the
summer of 1832, a young Abe Lincoln ambled into a
small frontier village in New Salem, Illinois. A few
months later, the six foot, four-inch Lincoln was
challenged to a wrestling match by Jack Armstrong,
the town toughie. A life-size mural of the match
greets visitors in the Lincoln Lobby. It was
commissioned by the DGIWIM and painted by Jack
Bender, a well-known national sports artist and
Alley Oop cartoonist, and his wife, Carole. An
entire wall in the center of the museum displays the
original artwork by Bender, a native of Waterloo,
and numerous other depictions of the match. A
booklet entitled "The Sport of Lincoln," written by
Mike Chapman, is on sale in the MATMAN Gift Shop.
“On
the Mat” is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday
night. The broadcast can be heard live from 6-7 p.m. Central Standard
Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in
Waterloo, Iowa, hosts the show.
“On the Mat” can be heard live on the Internet at
www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan. Feel
free to e-mail
radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with questions or comments about the show. Click here
for archived shows.
Museum
Information
Hours
of Operation:
Tuesday - Saturday
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission:
$5 for adults
$3 for students (17 and under)
Children 6 and under are free
OLYMPIC PAVILION: The modern Olympic Games began in
Athens in 1896, with wrestling one of the ten sports
involved. Visitors to this area will see posters
from every Olympics since 1896, and a record of how
the American wrestlers fared in each of the Games.
There are also posters and photos of most U.S.
champions, as well as display cases with Olympic
memorabilia. One wall also tells the story of the
ancient Games, born in Olympia, Greece, some 2,000
years ago!
NCAA PAVILION: The first NCAA tournament was held in
Ames, Iowa, in 1928. This wing lists every NCAA
champion in all three divisions --- I, II and III -
as well as champions from the NAIA national
collegiate tournament. The pavilion is packed with
wrestling memorabilia from NCAA tournaments through
the decades, including every NCAA Official Press
Guide with photo covers.
JACOB'S WALL: One of the most admired displays in
the museum greets visitors almost immediately after
beginning their tour. It is called "Jacob's Wall."
The first sport mentioned in the Bible comes from
the book of Genesis, where a young shepherd named
Jacob wrestles the Angel of the Lord late one night.
The near life-size etching on Jacob's Wall takes
visitors back nearly 4000 years. Around the corner
are over a dozen pieces of artwork depicting this
legendary match, and a short story that gives the
details as found in the Bible.
WRESTLING IN ANTIQUITY: "The Epic of Gilgamesh" was
composed in ancient Sumer over 5000 years ago and is
considered to be the oldest piece of extant
literature in the world. This story features a
wrestling match between Gilgamesh the king and a
great warrior named Enkidu. Today, Sumer is called
Iraq! Visitors will see exhibits on Gilgamesh and
other great wrestlers from antiquity such as
Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War, and Hercules.
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