Top 5 US Freestylers of All Time

[bnwtwg]

1 hour ago, AgaveMaria said:

Dan Gable may be slighted by many who are younger.

Old head Bobby Douglas may disagree with your opinion. Only beat Gable six times so maybe not the best example idk. But it's fair to say that Gable had a very, very dominantly impressive peak for a very, very short duration.

[AgaveMaria]

7 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

Old head Bobby Douglas may disagree with your opinion. Only beat Gable six times so maybe not the best example idk. But it's fair to say that Gable had a very, very dominantly impressive peak for a very, very short duration.

I think I remember it being five times. Either way it was shameful. Mainly because a racist coach wanted Gable in place of Bobby. So, he forced wrestle offs over and over and over again. May well have contributed to Bobby not placing higher - wrestling the young Gable was a meat grinder.

The Dan Gable we remember from International competition was more seasoned and a real killer in 1972. Bobby wasn't beating him then.

The Russians weren't either. The story of them scouring the land looking for anyone who could beat him are true.

[bnwtwg]

5 minutes ago, AgaveMaria said:

I think I remember it being five times. Either way it was shameful. Mainly because a racist coach wanted Gable in place of Bobby. So, he forced wrestle offs over and over and over again. May well have contributed to Bobby not placing higher - wrestling the young Gable was a meat grinder.

The Dan Gable we remember from International competition was more seasoned and a real killer in 1972. Bobby wasn't beating him then.

The Russians weren't either. The story of them scouring the land looking for anyone who could beat him are true.

Once in '68, then five times in a row during a best of "two" in '70. Sometimes it's better to be the Chixculub Asteroid destroying the world once than an ice age that is long-term damage that can be sustained occasionally. But it won't get you on the Top 5 overall list.

[peanut]

On 4/7/2025 at 8:58 PM, AgaveMaria said:

I think I remember it being five times. Either way it was shameful. Mainly because a racist coach wanted Gable in place of Bobby. So, he forced wrestle offs over and over and over again. May well have contributed to Bobby not placing higher - wrestling the young Gable was a meat grinder.

The Dan Gable we remember from International competition was more seasoned and a real killer in 1972. Bobby wasn't beating him then.

The Russians weren't either. The story of them scouring the land looking for anyone who could beat him are true.

“Scouring the land looking for anyone to beat” Gable makes no sense.

It’s like saying the USA scoured the land (in barns? under bridges?) looking for anyone to beat Yarygin, who pinned his way through the ‘72 Olympics. 

[The Kid]

18 minutes ago, peanut said:

“Scouring the land looking for anyone to beat” Gable makes no sense.

It’s like saying the USA scoured the land (in barns? under bridges?) looking for anyone to beat Yarygin, who pinned his way through the ‘72 Olympics. 

We did scour the food buffets in Iowa and found Chris Taylor. 

Edited April 12 by The Kid

[Jim L]

On 4/12/2025 at 10:40 AM, peanut said:

“Scouring the land looking for anyone to beat” Gable makes no sense.

It’s like saying the USA scoured the land (in barns? under bridges?) looking for anyone to beat Yarygin, who pinned his way through the ‘72 Olympics. 

Agree, I love this bit of mythology and the belief that it proves how great Gable was.

I heard USA wrestling is doing the same thing now to find someone to beat Sadulaev. Scouts are out from the Alaskan tundra to inner city Miami hoping to find someone to beat Sadulaev as we have found anyone in traditional wrestling hotspots that can beat him.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 4/12/2025 at 10:40 AM, peanut said:

“Scouring the land looking for anyone to beat” Gable makes no sense.

It’s like saying the USA scoured the land (in barns? under bridges?) looking for anyone to beat Yarygin, who pinned his way through the ‘72 Olympics. 

It is a pretty silly story and often repeated as part of the mythology.  I'm pretty sure they had tournaments to see who their best guys were, and didn't need to scour anywhere.

[lisa morales]

Many scoured multiple barbers over several decades in hopes that Gable would get rid of his combover.