1960- American wrestler Amateur freestyle wrestler Bruce Baumgartner won the U.S. national championship seventeen times in as many years. An eight-time Midlands Champion, he medalled at four Olympic Games, from 1984-96, earning gold medals in two. After winning the World Cup Championship in 1997 for the eighth time, he retired from competition. In 2002 Baumgartner was named to the National Wrestli…
1967- Russian wrestler Russia's Alexander Karelin is the most successful Greco-Roman wrestler of the modern era, having won twelve European Championships, nine World Championships, and three Olympic gold medals during his reign. Karelin's dominance is unparalleled: he won every match he entered for thirteen years and went ten years without giving up a single point. He also is an oper…
1951- American wrestler Known as Jesse "The Body" Ventura as a wrestler with the American Wresting Federation, and later with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Jesse Ventura appealed in 1998 to Minnesota voters who wanted a change in the governor's mansion. Change they got when Ventura became governor Ventura. A master of self-reinvention, Ventura has reached the top of fo…
1948- American wrestler America's greatest wrestler, Dan Gable was an Olympic medallist, an outstanding college wrestler and a tremendously successful college coach. He is an incredible example of determination and drive. A tireless proponent of wrestling, it's hard to measure just where Gable's impact in the sport of wrestling ends. It's everywhere—whether it&#x…
