Dan Gable

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",{{cite web |url=https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/2015/04/22/dan-gable-national-crime-victims-rights-week/26215291/ |title=Dan Gable among speakers discussing victims' rights}} 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:

{{Blockquote |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.{{cite web |url=http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/himself-the-victim-of-a-violent-tragedy-gable-says-loss/article_88ef6af9-73c2-5277-90e4-fb11142dbd0b.html |title=Himself the victim of a violent tragedy, Gable says loss can result in some good |first=JON |last=ERICSON|date=December 9, 2012 }}}}

He attended high school at West High School in Waterloo.{{citation|title = West High officially opens its athletic addition in grand style|publisher = Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier|author = Andrew Wind|date = 31 October 2007|access-date = 2011-08-10|url = http://wcfcourier.com/news/top_story/west-high-officially-opens-its-athletic-addition-in-grand-style/article_7ae92eca-9c8a-5d87-b7fb-343512e87f3c.html}} During high school he was a three-time Iowa state champion with a 64–0 record.[https://www.iowawrestlinghalloffame.com/inductee/dan-gable Dan Gable - Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame]. Retrieved June 17, 2023.

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 118–1, with his only loss being in the NCAA final match during his senior season to Larry Owings of the University of Washington.{{cite web |url=http://dangable.com/bio/ |title=Bio: Dan Gable – 15 National Championships. Olympic Champion. World Champion. |website=dangable.com}}

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.{{cite web |title=Wrestling legend Dan Gable is born |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wrestling-legend-dan-gable-is-born |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331114851/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wrestling-legend-dan-gable-is-born |archive-date=March 31, 2015 |department=This Day in History |work=History |access-date=December 8, 2020}} 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.{{cite web |title=Honorees |url=http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/awards/honorees |work=Cauliflower Alley Club |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=July 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706161143/https://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/awards/honorees |url-status=dead }}

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 158 All-Americans, 50 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.

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.

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.{{cite web |title=Books and Products by Mike Chapman |url=http://www.mike-chapman.com/books-and-products |website=mike-chapman.com |language=English}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Bryan |date=October 13, 2017 |title=Chad Gable Training With His Namesake Following Number One Contendership Win {{!}} Fightful News |url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/chad-gable-training-his-namesake-following-number-one-contendership-win |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808113831/https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/chad-gable-training-his-namesake-following-number-one-contendership-win |archive-date=2023-08-08 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=www.fightful.com |language=en}}

Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson was named after him.{{cite web |last1=Schwerdt |first1=Joseph |title=Named for an icon, Gable Steveson becomes a legend in his own right |url=https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/named-icon-gable-steveson-becomes-legend-his-own-right |website=NBC Olympics |access-date=6 August 2021 |language=English |date=6 August 2021}}

The Gable grip used in wrestling and mixed martial arts was named after him.{{cite web | url=https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/news/the-gable-grip | title=The Gable Grip | date=June 12, 2019 }}

File:President Trump Presents the Medal of Freedom to Dan Gable (50694617103).jpg from Donald Trump on December 7, 2020]]

;2020

• 45px Presidential Medal of Freedom

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

;1980

• National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member[https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/bio/38 Dan Gable]. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 16, 2022.

;1972

• {{gold1}} Summer Olympics
• {{gold1}} Tbilisi Tournament
• {{gold1}} Midlands Championships

;1971

• {{gold1}} World Wrestling Championships
• {{gold1}} Pan American Games
• {{gold1}} Midlands Championships

;1970

• {{silver2}} NCAA Division I
• NCAA Division I Gorrarian Award winner
• {{gold1}} Big Eight Conference
• {{gold1}} Midlands Championships

;1969

• NCAA Most Outstanding Wrestler
• {{gold1}} NCAA Division I
• NCAA Division I Gorrarian Award winner
• {{gold1}} Big Eight Conference
• {{gold1}} Midlands Championships

;1968

• {{gold1}} NCAA Division I
• {{gold1}} Big Eight Conference
• {{gold1}} Midlands Championships

;1967

• {{gold1}} Midlands Championships

{{div col end}}

{{s-start}}

! colspan="7"|World Championships & Olympic Games Matches

|-

! Res.

! Record

! Opponent

! Score

! Date

! Event

! Location

|-

! style=background:white colspan=7 |{{small|1972 Olympic {{gold1}} at 68 kg}}

|-

|{{Yes2}}Win

|12–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|URS}} Ruslan Ashuraliyev

|style="font-size:88%"|3–0

|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|August 27, 1972

|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|1972 Summer Olympic Games

|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6|{{flagicon|FRG}} Munich, West Germany

|-

|{{Yes2}}Win

|11–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Włodzimierz Cieślak

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

|{{Yes2}}Win

|10–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|JPN}} Kikuo Wada

|style="font-size:88%"|6–0

|-

|{{Yes2}}Win

|9–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|GRE}} Stefanos Ioannidis

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|8–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Klaus Rost

|style="font-size:88%"|20–0

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|7–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|YUG}} Safer Sali

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

! style=background:white colspan=7 |{{small|1971 UWW world {{gold1}} at 68 kg}}

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|6–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|BUL}} Ismail Yuseinov

|style="font-size:88%"|8–3

|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|August 27, 1971

|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|1971 World Wrestling Championships

|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6|{{flagicon|BUL}} Sofia, Bulgaria

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|5–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|JPN}} Kikuo Wada

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|4–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Josef Engel

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|3–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|TUR}} Nihat Kabanli

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|2–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|FIN}} Eero Suvilehto

|style="font-size:88%"|Fall

|-

|{{yes2}}Win

|1–0

|align=left|{{flagicon|URS}} Vasily Kazakov

|style="font-size:88%"|5–1

{{end}}

{{Portal|Biography}}

• Iowa Sports Hall of Fame

• 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){{cite magazine |first=Albert |last=Chen |title=Where are they Now: Catching up with Dan Gable and Larry Owings |url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2014/07/10/dan-gable-larry-owings |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=July 10, 2014 |access-date=December 8, 2020}}
• 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}}

{{Reflist|refs=

}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [http://www.dangable.com Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040606235519/http://dangable.com/ |date=June 6, 2004 }}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221084952/http://www.thewrestlingtalk.com/college-wrestling/1612-dan-gable-university-iowa-video-interview.html |date=mdy |title=Dan Gable Official Interview}}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914181736/http://www.riverhorse.tv/CATCH/ |date=mdy |title=Website of film 'Catch: the hold not taken'}}
• [http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/dangablestore/gablerecords.pdf Gable's wins and losses between the years 1963 and 1973]
• {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=dan-gable|old_id=Dan-Gable|archive=20230720074709}}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313190503/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_37841.htm |date=mdy |title=Dan Gable at usolympicteam.com}}
• {{Olympics.com profile|org_archive=20170326165638}}
• {{Olympedia}}

{{Olympic Champions freestyle wrestling lightweight}}

{{World Champions freestyle wrestling lightweight}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gable, Dan}}

Category:1948 births

Category:Living people

Category:Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Category:American male sport wrestlers

Category:American wrestling coaches

Category:Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers

Category:Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling coaches

Category:Sportspeople from Waterloo, Iowa

Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling

Category:World Wrestling Championships medalists

Category:Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Category:Wrestlers at the 1971 Pan American Games

Category:Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games

Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling

Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:21st-century American sportsmen

Category:National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees