Dan Gable

Danny Mack "Dan" Gable was born on October 25, 1948, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Mack Gable, a real-estate salesman, and his wife, Katie Gable, a homemaker.

He began competing in sports at an early age, but realized that wrestling was his true passion around middle school when an unfortunate tragedy struck his family. His older sister, Diane Gable, was molested and murdered on May 31, 1964, in the Gable family home, while Dan and his parents were on vacation.

After the incident, he became motivated to earn a name for himself in order to make his family proud of him and thereafter started wrestling for Waterloo West High School. He was undefeated in high school competitions and won three consecutive Iowa state high school championships.

After completing high school, Dan Gable got enrolled at the Iowa State University where he decided to continue his wrestling.

In his freshman year, he participated in the Midlands Tournament, a major U.S. wrestling meet, and emerged victorious in that competition, defeating two national champions.

After graduating from Iowa State University, he won the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali Columbia and World Championships in Sofia Bulgaria.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, he won a gold medal in the Freestyle, 68 kg category.

In 1972, Dan Gable decided to become a coach and joined the Iowa coaching staff, assisting the head coach, Gary Kurdelmeier. In 1976, Gable became the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa and went on to become the most successful coach in American collegiate history.

His team won 15 NCAA titles in 21 seasons, including a record nine titles in a row, from 1978 to 1986. He also coached the 1980, 1984, and 2000 U.S. Olympic teams and served as an assistant coach in 1988.

Dan Gable was undefeated at Waterloo West High School, winning 64 matches and earning 25 pins. His success continued at Iowa State where he won 117 matches in a row, along with two NCAA championships and three All-America titles.

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Dan Gable won a gold medal in Men's Freestyle, 68 kg event. In the whole Olympics, he did not surrender a while single point.

From 1976 to 1997, Gable was the head coach of wrestling at the University of Iowa. Under his supervision, the Iowa team achieved extraordinary success, winning 15 NCAA titles and 21 Big Ten championships.

In 1980, Dan Gable was inducted into the U.S. Wrestling Hall of Fame.

In 1985, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.