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Legends

37 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratings

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Mat Talk Podcast Network presented Legends, a series dedicated to telling the stories of wrestling's greats. Featuring Outstanding Americans, Distinguished Members, Order of Merit and Medal of Courage winners, Legends will chronicle the stories from the most legendary figures in Olympic, college and high school wrestling.

Wrestling Sports History
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Episodes

2022 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

July 27, 2022 04:26 - 1 hour - 74.8 MB

The 2022 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend closed out with its annual induction program featuring all the honorees. The Class of 2022 featured Meritorious Official Tom Clark (posthumously), Order of Merit recipient Mike Moyer, Medal of Courage recipient Melissa Simmons, Outstanding American Mario Lopez and Distinguished Members Clarissa Chun, Sara McMann, Andy Rein and Jake Varner. The program includes highlight speeches and video presentations. Also honored are Dave Schultz High...

2022 Hall of Fame Tribute Breakfast

June 20, 2022 19:07 - 1 hour - 72.6 MB

The 2022 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend was back to a fully attended in-person event after a delay from the 2020 class and the 2021 induction ceremony. The McKnight Center hosted one of the newest additions to the weekend, the Tribute Breakfast. Speaking at the Tribute Breakfast in 2022 were Rick Tucci and Zach Errett for Meritorious Official inductee Tom Clark, Jim Miller and Greg Hatcher for Order of Merit inductee Mike Moyer, Archie Randall and Dr. Bob Hines for Medal of ...

2021 Distinguished Member Bruce Burnett

May 17, 2022 05:20 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MB

Bruce Burnett has excelled as a coach on the high school, collegiate and international levels, serving as USA Wrestling’s national freestyle coach and leading some of the most successful teams in American history. During his tenure, five Americans won Olympic gold medals and 11 U.S. athletes won 13 World Championships including four champions in 1993 and four in 1995. From 1993-2000, U.S. wrestlers won 22 World medals (11 gold, four silver and seven bronze) and placed in the Top 10 at the W...

2021 Distinguished Member Mark Lieberman

May 10, 2022 05:35 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MB

When wrestlers, coaches, media and fans gather to talk about the G.O.A.T. at Lehigh University, the conversation always includes Mark Lieberman. Combining all styles, he is considered the Mountain Hawks’ greatest overall wrestler. A 1979 Sports Illustrated article described Mark as “the guttiest and the best” college wrestler that year. He was a two-time undefeated NCAA champion at 177 pounds in 1978 and 1979 after a runner-up finish in 1977 at 167. He is part of another special wrestling fa...

2021 Distinguished Member Dremiel Byers

May 03, 2022 05:05 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MB

One of only two Americans to win three medals at the Greco-Roman World Championships, Dremiel Byers is considered one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in U.S. history. Byers won a gold medal at the 2002 World Championships and is one of just five Americans to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. He added a bronze medal in 2007 and a silver medal in 2009 joining Distinguished Member Matt Ghaffari as the only Americans to medal three times. His 2007 bronze medal helped the United States...

2021 Distinguished Member Bill Zadick

April 26, 2022 03:04 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MB

As a competitor and coach, Bill Zadick has forever written his name in the U.S. wrestling record book. He won a gold medal at the World Championships in Guangzhou, China in 2006. His younger brother, Mike, brought home a silver medal from the same tournament, making them the first set of brothers since Terry and Tom Brands in 1995 to both make the same World or Olympic team. For a 10-year period, he was one of the most competitive wrestlers on the U.S. national freestyle team. Beginning in ...

2021 Medal of Courage honoree Gary Chopp

October 22, 2021 05:05 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MB

In 1975, a few months after concluding his wrestling career at Grand Valley State University with a sixth-place finish at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament, Gary Chopp went skydiving. During the 3,000-foot jump, his main and reserve parachutes malfunctioned, causing him to fall freely during the last 300 feet. He crashed into the ground, fracturing his spine and shattering his pelvis. Surgeons removed his damaged kidney and spleen, but he suffered paral...

2021 Order of Merit recipient Gary Abbott

October 20, 2021 05:05 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MB

Show Notes: Legends Since 1988, Gary Abbott has served as the media face of USA Wrestling, traveling to major wrestling events in the United States and around the globe, including eight Olympic Games, dozens of senior and age-group World Championships and 38 straight NCAA Championships. Currently the Director of Communications and Special Projects, he is responsible for USA Wrestling communications, including publications and other media platforms, media relations, promotions, public relati...

2021 Meritorious Official Tim Shiels

October 18, 2021 18:28 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MB

Tim Shiels began officiating full-time in 1988, working the regional and state tournaments in his home state of Minnesota. He began focusing on college officiating in 1989 and has worked 12 NCAA Division I national championships, seven NCAA Division II national championships, 19 NCAA Division III national championships, five national junior college tournaments and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament.   He has worked five NCAA DI finals and was selected as a...

2021 Hall of Fame Honors Weekend Induction Speeches

June 07, 2021 14:36 - 2 hours - 93.9 MB

The induction speeches for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Meritorious Service for Officials: Tim Shiels Order of Merit: Gary Abbott Medal of Courage: Gary Chopp Outstanding American: Carl Eschenbach Distinguished Members Bruce Burnett Dremiel Byers Mark Lieberman Bill Zadick

2019 Distinguished Member Rich Lorenzo

July 01, 2020 14:59 - 36 minutes - 16.8 MB

An outstanding high school and collegiate wrestler, Rich Lorenzo became an icon in college wrestling as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1978 to 1992. His exemplary career has earned Lorenzo induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 2019 Distinguished Member. During his coaching career, he helped 53 Penn State wrestlers earn All-America honors, including two-time NCAA champion Jeff Prescott and national champions Carl DeStefanis, Scott Lynch and Jim Martin. He...

2019 Distinguished Member Brandon Paulson

June 16, 2020 22:02 - 1 hour - 32.9 MB

Successful at virtually every level of his storied career, Brandon Paulson is recognized for his wrestling prowess and coaching expertise by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 2019 Distinguished Member. The highlight of his wrestling career was winning the silver medal at 114.5 pounds in Greco-Roman competition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He also competed three times in Greco-Roman at the World Championships, winning a silver medal in 2001 and finishing eighth in 2002. A four-time ...

1979 Distinguished Member Charles "Doc" Speidel

December 21, 2018 06:00 - 11 minutes - 5.23 MB

He devoted a lifetime to the sport of wrestling. But in more than 60 years as an athlete, coach and teacher, Charlie Speidel contributed far more to the lives of others than ever can be recorded in the statistics of achievement. He was a pioneer for wrestling and helped it gain stature as a major sport in the high schools and colleges of Pennsylvania and across the eastern states. He traveled extensively, often with arch rival Billy Sheridan, to present clinics and introduce the sport. The ...

1979 Distinguished Member Dr. Albert deFerrari

December 14, 2018 06:00 - 10 minutes - 5.14 MB

His interest in wrestling surfaced in 1922 from deep in the waters of San Francisco Bay. After more than half a century of service to the sport, Dr. Albert deFerrari's impact on wrestling had spanned the globe. His first exposure to the sport followed a shipwreck near the Golden Gate. The ship's cargo of cotton was declared free to any takers. Already a champion swimmer and diver, deFerrari retrieved a truckload. The mothers of his neighborhood then remade the wrestling mats of the area, stu...

1979 Distinguished Member Keith Young, three-time NCAA champion

December 07, 2018 06:00 - 14 minutes - 6.75 MB

He packed more wrestling success into five years than most athletes manage in a lifetime of competition. Keith Young spent the next three decades returning those rewards to the sport with full interest. His Algona High School team didn't offer wrestling until his senior year, and when he joined the University of Northern Iowa you'd hardly expect a youngster of such limited experience to fill the shoes of one of wrestling's all-time greats, Bill Koll. But fill them he did, winning six nation...

1979 Distinguished Member Frank Lewis, Olympic Champion

November 30, 2018 06:00 - 7 minutes - 3.55 MB

As a tall, skinny college freshman, Frank Lewis was "a little tired" after six years of wrestling and planned to give full attention to his studies at Oklahoma State University. But he needed a physical education credit and a wrestling class would provide an easy grade. Members of the class were required to compete in the all-college intramurals and when he failed to win the championship his pride was stung. He decided to concentrate on wrestling again. Frank Lewis concentrated so well that...

1979 Distinguished Member Doug Blubaugh, Olympic Champion

November 16, 2018 06:00 - 14 minutes - 6.88 MB

In the shadowed ruins of Rome's ancient Basilica, Doug Blubaugh battled the world champion from Iran for the Olympic gold medal. Emamali Habibi had never known defeat. Three times the Persian attacked, each time throwing the young American into danger. Then a swift counterattack from Blubaugh hurled his opponent to his back ... suddenly the struggle was ended. Thus did an Oklahoma farm boy reach the apex of a brilliant athletic career, earning the 1960 Olympic gold medal at 160.5 pounds, an...

1978 Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Introductions

November 09, 2018 15:59 - 17 minutes - 8.18 MB

In another unearthed tape from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the introduction video for the Class of 1978 Distinguished Members has been released as a special episode of Hall of Fame Legends. This episode previews the inductions of the third induction class which featured true legends Glen Brand, Ross Flood, Stanley Henson, Harold Nichols, Robin Reed, Gray Simons and Bill Smith. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Play Music | A...

2017 Medal of Courage recipient, Thomas Irving Green

July 30, 2018 17:16 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MB

A real-life profile of courage, Thomas Irving Green truly personifies the word. As the all-time wins leader at Weedsport High School in New York, Green wrestled collegiately at Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York, and at SUNY Cortland. After college, he turned his attention to officiating and was moving up the ranks, including serving as an assistant mat official at the Division III NCAA Championships in 1996. Just a few weeks after the end of the 1997 wrestling season, his life cha...

2017 Outstanding American, Dom Gorie

July 24, 2018 17:26 - 56 minutes - 26.2 MB

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Outstanding American Dom Gorie. Beginning his wrestling career in junior high school, Dominic (Pudwill) Gorie always set his sights high. As a wrestler at Palmetto High School in Miami, he forged a standout career record of 41-9-1. He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1975 and wrestled four years for legendary coach Ed Peery, who was inducted as Distinguished Member of the Natio...

2017 Distinguished Member Andre Metzger, Two-time NCAA Champion

May 15, 2018 11:30 - 33 minutes - 15.7 MB

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Distinguished Member and two-time NCAA champion Andre Metzger. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Play Music | Android | RSS For those historians who refer to the 1980s as the “Golden Age“ of American wrestling, Michigan native Andre Metzger shines bright as one of its stars. Starting with a 27-second win by fall in his first match in the ninth grad...

2017 Distinguished Member Andre Metzger, Two-time NCAA Champion

May 15, 2018 11:30 - 33 minutes - 15.7 MB

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Distinguished Member and two-time NCAA champion Andre Metzger. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Play Music | Android | RSS For those historians who refer to the 1980s as the “Golden Age“ of American wrestling, Michigan native Andre Metzger shines bright as one of its stars. Starting with a 27-second win by fall in his first match in the ni...

2017 Distinguished Member Chuck Yagla, Two-time NCAA Champion

May 07, 2018 18:14 - 34 minutes - 16 MB

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Legends Podcast is with 2017 Distinguished Member and NCAA champion Chuck Yagla. Raised in the wrestling hotbed of Waterloo, Iowa, Chuck Yagla turned a talent for wrestling into a lifelong passion. He began his wrestling journey at Waterloo’s Columbus High School, where he served as a senior team captain and was runner-up in the 1972 Class 3A state tournament. At the University of Iowa, Yagla won an NCAA championship at 150 pounds in...

2017 Distinguished Member Cary Kolat, Two-time NCAA Champion

April 27, 2018 16:13 - 42 minutes - 20 MB

When the conversation among Pennsylvania wrestling fans turns to “the best ever,” Jefferson Morgan High School alumnus Cary Kolat’s name is always in the mix. Kolat compiled a 137-0 high school record with four Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championships, and he was named Outstanding Wrestler at the PIAA tournament each year he competed, an honor no other wrestler has achieved even twice. As a freshman at Penn State, Kolat won a Big Ten title and placed second in th...

2017 Distinguished Memeber Cary Kolat, Two-time NCAA Champion

April 27, 2018 16:13 - 43 minutes - 20 MB

When the conversation among Pennsylvania wrestling fans turns to “the best ever,” Jefferson Morgan High School alumnus Cary Kolat’s name is always in the mix. Kolat compiled a 137-0 high school record with four Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championships, and he was named Outstanding Wrestler at the PIAA tournament each year he competed, an honor no other wrestler has achieved even twice. As a freshman at Penn State, Kolat won a Big Ten title and placed second in the NCA...

Rare Olympians Breakfast featuring conversation with U.S. Olympic wrestlers from 1924-1964

December 26, 2017 22:20 - 1 hour - 42.7 MB

Episode 11 of the Hall of Fame Legends podcast unearths a gem of audio from the late 1970s. It's not confirmed when this was recorded, but noted wrestling historian Don Sayenga serves as a moderator for a special Olympians Breakfast that included wrestlers from all the way back in the 1920s. This recording has problems with sound quality, but some of the conversations between the group of Olympians, had only been heard that one time. Listen in amazement as names from the past resurface in th...

1979 Distinguished Member Joe McDaniel, Three-time NCAA champion

October 13, 2017 03:34 - 21 minutes - 10.3 MB

Episode 10 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features the introduction speeches and acceptance speech from 1979 inductee Joe McDaniel. McDaniel passed away in 2011, but archives unearthed at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame have given us his voice from that Honors Weekend. He was destined to be an Olympic champion, but the Games of the XII Olympiad were engulfed in the holocaust of World War II. So Joe McDaniel had to settle merely for recognition as the outstandin...

2017 Distinguished Member Tony Gizoni, Two-Time NCAA Champion

August 14, 2017 15:07 - 34 minutes - 16 MB

Episode 9 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 2017 Distinguished Member Tony Gizoni. Gizoni passed away just over a month after his 2017 induction. One of the greatest wrestlers ever to grace the collegiate mat, Tony “Babe” Gizoni was undefeated for seven years in high school and college, winning 108 straight matches. He became the fourth wrestler in Pennsylvania prep history to win three state championships, claiming titles at 101, 103 and 112 pounds from 1946 ...

HOF08: 2015 Order of Merit Recipient Dave Bennett

June 05, 2017 15:18 - 40 minutes

Episode 8 of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's LEGENDS podcast features 2015 Order of Merit recipient Dave Bennett. Known as “Doc” throughout the wrestling community, Dave Bennett got his start in wrestling as a member of the inaugural high school wrestling team at Jamestown High School in North Dakota in 1959. He was a conference place winner and qualified for the NAIA National Championships while attending Jamestown College (now University of Jamestown). In 1963, he transferred to Paci...

HOF07: 2016 Order of Merit recipient Ron Good of Amateur Wrestling News

May 18, 2017 20:29 - 45 minutes

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 fo...

HOF06: 1986 Distinguished Member Ben Peterson; NCAA and Olympic champion

November 18, 2016 19:15 - 45 minutes

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 '...

HOF05: 2015 Distinguished Member Joe Gonzales; NCAA Champion & World bronze medalist

September 07, 2016 22:19 - 25 minutes

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...

HOF4: 2016 Distinguished Member Bill Harlow; NCAA champion & World silver medalist

June 28, 2016 14:37 - 46 minutes

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 ye...

HOF03: 1992 Outstanding American John Irving; Writer and Novelist

May 05, 2016 20:40 - 42 minutes

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 U...

HOF02: Arthur "Bucky" Maughan, Distinguished Member 2003; National Champion wrestler and coach

January 18, 2016 17:49 - 1 hour

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 victo...

HOF01: Dr. Stanley Henson, Distinguished Member 1978; 1937-39 NCAA wrestling champion

October 12, 2015 05:00 - 47 minutes

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...

Welcome to Legends by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

October 08, 2015 03:31 - 1 minute

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 ba...