Legends

Episode 7 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 2016 Order of Merit recipient Ron Good of Amateur Wrestling News. His career on the mat ended in high school where he helped John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City capture a state championship. His involvement with wrestling, however, continued and if you’ve read America’s first and oldest national wrestling publication, Amateur Wrestling News, then Ron Good’s name is familiar. Serving as co-editor and editor for almost 40 years and regarded as one of the nation’s top experts on college wrestling, Good is highly respected for his match coverage, feature stories, columns and rankings. Good attended his first NCAA Championships in 1977 as a volunteer for AWN before being hired by the publication that August. He spent five years under the mentorship of the magazine’s founder Jess Hoke, who was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1977. Good, who attended the University of Central Oklahoma where he studied music and participated in intramural wrestling, says that he was impacted by Hoke’s “contagious passion” for the sport. He received the Bob Dellinger Award as the Wrestling Writer of the Year in 1989, and was honored by the National Wrestling Media Association with its Print Journalist of the Year award in 2007. Amateur Wrestling News was selected as the NWMA Publication of the Year in 1992. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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Episode 6 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 1986 Distinguished Member Ben Peterson. A high school youngster from Wisconsin, competing in the 1968 Olympic trials, caught the eye of veteran coach Harold Nichols. Ben Peterson would become one of Iowa State's greatest wrestlers, and then one of America's brightest stars. He won nearly 100 collegiate matches, was a three-time Big Eight king and a three-time All-American. He captured NCAA championships in 1971 and '72. Encouraged--you might say pushed--by his friend and teammate, Dan Gable, Peterson blended athletic skills with determination and strong faith. Over the next decade, he won seven national Freestyle titles, placed twice in the World Championships (with a bronze medal in '73), and won gold in the 1975 Pan Am Games. During this era, he was joined by his brother, John, to forge one of wrestling's great family legends. In the '72 Olympics, Ben struggled to a draw with Gennady Strakhov of the USSR. When they emerged as the only survivors at 198 pounds, Ben earned the gold with more falls. John's silver at 180.5 was almost as sweet. The brothers returned to the Olympics in 1976 at Montreal, for equally rewarding but oddly reversed success. Levan Tediashvili, the superb Soviet who had blocked John's bid at Munich, limited Ben to a silver medal. But John captured the gold, and the Peterson brothers became the third and fourth two-time Olympic medalists in U.S. history. Ben made a third Olympic team in 1980, only the fifth American to do that, but was thwarted by the boycott. Faith has been a hallmark of Ben Peterson's life. Since 1976 he has coached and taught at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin, and has directed a summer camp to teach his skills and his way of life to young wrestlers. In 1985, one of Ben's students, Mike Houck, became the first American to win a World Championship in Greco-Roman. As a wrestler of outstanding achievement and as a golden example of sportsmanship and leadership, Benjamin Lee Peterson is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Soundcloud | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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Episode 5 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 2015 Distinguished Member Joe Gonzales. The goal of wrestling is to take an opponent off his feet and place him on the mat. Perhaps no wrestler in collegiate wrestling has done it better—or more often—than Joe Gonzales. Gonzales perfected the takedown during his time as a 118-pound wrestler at California State-Bakersfield. His 1980 wrestling season ranks among the finest in collegiate wrestling history. Gonzales’ 55-0 record is the national record for the most wins in a single season with no defeats and no ties. He notched 448 takedowns that year too, also a national record. During his career, CSU Bakersfield was a Division II program, so Gonzales had a unique opportunity to win championships in two different divisions. He won the Division II NCAA tournament on March 1, 1980, with a 28-11 win in the championship finals. Then, just two weeks later, he won the Division I NCAA tourney, scoring 16 points or more in four of the six matches he won during his championship run. His junior season was almost as successful. Gonzales went 44-1 during the 1979 season, winning a Division II championship with a 22-14 win in the finals. He entered the Division I NCAA tournament as the top seed, but dropped a thrilling 16-13 decision to Gene Mills of Syracuse in the finals. Many consider their exhilarating showdown as the most entertaining collegiate match ever. Gonzales also earned a California Junior College state title for East Los Angeles College. Gonzales carried his collegiate success into international competition. He was a five-time National Open freestyle wrestling champion at 114.5 pounds, winning titles in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1988. “Gonzo” was also a five-time U.S. World Team member, a three-time World Cup champion, a bronze medalist at the 1982 World Championships, and champion at the 1982 Tbilisi tournament—considered by many as the toughest tournament in the world. He was a member of the 1984 Olympic freestyle team as well. After college, Gonzales served as an assistant wrestling coach at Arizona State from 1986-1989. The Sun Devils won the Pac-10 tournament all four seasons he was with the program, and they were crowned NCAA tournament champions in 1988. In recognition of a record-setting wrestling career, Joe Gonzales is recognized as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | Soundcloud | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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Episode 4 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 2016 Distinguished Member William "Bill" Harlow. Thought to be the best wrestler ever to come from Tennessee and one of the greatest big men to wrestle at Oklahoma State University, William B. Harlow was a state champion, a three-time NCAA finalist and a three-time national freestyle champion. When he arrived at Oklahoma State, however, he felt as though he had a lot of catching up to do technically and spent his years in Stillwater as a “human sponge” absorbing everything he could learn. With Distinguished Members Yojiro Uetake, Bobby Douglas, and Gene Davis as teammates during his collegiate career, learning opportunities were scattered throughout the wrestling room. He quickly gained a reputation as a slick and smooth wrestler, using technique rarely seen in a man of his size. Harlow finished second in his first trip to the NCAA finals as a sophomore in 1964. As a junior, he won the Big Eight Conference title, but again finished as runner-up in the national tournament. Finally, as a senior, he moved up to 191 pounds and compiled a 21-0-1 record and won both the Big Eight and NCAA championships. With Uetake and Davis, he led OSU to the national team title, the second of his tenure as a Cowboy. Overall, he finished his collegiate career with a record of 54-5-2. Harlow began his wrestling career as an eighth grader, competing for the high school team at St. Andrews School in Sewanee, Tenn. Over five years, he lost only one match and, as a senior in 1962, won the national prep championship, the state championship and his fifth Mid-South championship, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors at all three tournaments. After leaving Oklahoma State, he concentrated on freestyle, winning three national titles, including being named Outstanding Wrestler in 1974. He represented the USA at the 1970 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and won a silver medal, As he continued to train and compete, he began a high school coaching career that would last for almost 50 years, beginning in Illinois. He returned to Oklahoma, coaching at Broken Arrow High School for 16 years while teaching and working as an administrator. He was principal and wrestling coach for three years at Kellyville, Okla., High School before serving eight years in Alaska as an administrator and wrestling coach. He returned to Oklahoma to teach and coach at Sapulpa High School until his retirement in 2013. Harlow received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2010, he was presented The Gallagher Award, given annually to an OSU wrestling alumnus who exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions. In recognition of his achievements as both a wrestler and a coach, William B. Harlow is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | Soundcloud | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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Episode 3 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features award-winning writer and novelist John Irving, a 1992 Outstanding American inductee. Throughout his literary career, John Irving has demonstrated his ties to wrestling. In his best-known novel, The World According to Garp, the title character is a wrestling enthusiast. The 158-Pound Marriage, winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Award, features a wrestling coach as a principal character. Irving attended the Universities of Pittsburgh and Vienna and earned degrees at the Universities of New Hampshire and Iowa. He has taught at Windham College, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley College, Brandeis University, Pittsburgh and Iowa. Wrestling captain at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Irving was a member of the wrestling team at Pitt. He has coached at Phillips Exeter and four other prep schools in Massachusetts and Vermont. He is a member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the New York Athletic Club. His works include Setting Free the Bears, 1968; The Water-Method Man, 1972; The 158-Pound Marriage, 1974; The World According to Garp, 1978; The Hotel New Hampshire, 1981; The Cider House Rules, 1985; and A Prayer for Owen Meany, 1989. He continues to write novels on a regular basis. Irving received the Rockefeller Foundation Award in 1973, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1976-77, and the O'Henry Prize, for the best American short stories in 1981. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | Soundcloud | Google Play Music | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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Episode 2 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features Arthur "Bucky" Maughan, a 2003 inductee as a Distinguished Member. A man of legendary tenacity, Arthur "Bucky" Maughan, is one of the all time great contributors to the sport of wrestling. As a competitor, coach, and tournament host, his Pennsylvania work ethic has impacted the past, the present, and the future of the sport. During his prep career in wrestling rich Pennsylvania, he compiled a string of 70 dual victories culminating in a state championship. Continuing his career at Moorhead State University, he won three national collegiate championships in two years-two NAIA crowns (1961 and 1963) as well as the 1963 NCAA title. In 1964, his passion for the sport led him to become the head coach of North Dakota State University. Teaching fundamentals to the "fledgling" team, he took the program from virtual obscurity to an NCAA Division II powerhouse. With a dual meet winning percentage of 77%, his teams have amassed thirty-five winning seasons including four National team championships SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | Soundcloud | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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The National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast debuts with Dr. Stanley Henson, a 1978 inductee as a Distinguished Member. Henson, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a three-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma A&M back in the 1930's and currently holds the distinction as the oldest living NCAA champion. Henson chronicles his life back in the Great Depression working in the oil fields, growing up wrestling and continuing his career for coach Edward C. Gallagher in Stillwater. A renowned surgeon who made great advances in sports medicine as well, Henson currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado after he retired from a distinguished career in medicine. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | Soundcloud | Android | RSS Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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If you love exceptional wrestling content and value the deep historical research and extensive reach of these shows, consider becoming a contributor to Mat Talk On-Line today. Every contribution ensures the continued production of unique insights found nowhere else, and in exchange for patronage, supporters gain access to exclusive bonus content, ad-free podcast feeds, and specialized research features. The level of contribution is entirely a perso

Legends is the latest offering from the Mat Talk Podcast Network. Presented by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, this podcast will interview the legends in the sport of wrestling, serving to preserve their memories, stories and triumphs for generations to come. The show is hosted by award-winning wrestling broadcaster, announcer and journalist Jason Bryant. It is completely crowdfunded, so the more wrestling fans who contribute, the more stories get told. All of these files are donated back to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for it's budding digital outreach program, which will provide more interactive exhibits at the Hall of Fame in Stillwater and the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo.
Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

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