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WKN and SocraTease -- Good discussion and beneficial to anyone interested in wrestlers being honored. When I first came up with the concept back in 1994, I sat down with Dan Hodge (my first book was "Two Guys Named Dan" in 1976 and we became very good friends) and told him of my plans to create something similar to the Heisman Trophy, to draw more media attention and to give college wrestlers something extra to shoot for. Dan endorsed the idea and said if I named it after him, he would like pinning to be an essential part. In 1956, Dan won three national titles (collegiate, freestyle and Greco-Roman) in two weeks time by pinning all 13 foes. I quickly agreed that pinning would be a main factor. But since then, Bryan Van Kley (who bought WIN from me many years ago) and I have tried to "keep up with the times" by including dominance to mean techs and majors, as well as pins. And we consult with many former coaches and leaders of the sport who are on the voting committee and try to listen to what fans are saying (WKN and JB, in particular) and some of my longtime friends who have been involved with the sport for over half a century. Bryan and I are proud that over 20,000 fans vote on line each year and that all the colleges that have a winner play it up big, both at the annual wrestling banquet and at a football game in the fall, often with 70,000 fans in attendance. And we greatly appreciate our sponsor Asics. The goal was always to make wrestling more visible and to honor those who excel at Mankind's Oldest Sport. -- Mike Chapman

Great work, Fishbane. You and WKN and JB are all truly amazing!

Interesting to note that the National Wrestling Hall of Fame bio of Myron Roderick states that his OSU teams once produced 84 consecutive duals without a loss. I guess that means there could have been a tie in there, which makes it different than wins in a row. And that is supported by his overall dual recoerd of 140-10-7.

Flying Cement -- Congratulations for one of the most intriguing and entertaining posts I have ever seen here.

Tough to scramble when you can't move because your wrists are locked tight in an iron grip. BTW, I am an Askren fan too.

All the old-timers I have talked to said they felt Hodge would shut anyone down once he got on top and grabbed thieir wrists. Gary Kurdelmeier, a very powerful wrestler who was NCAA champion at 177 the year after Hodge, wrestled him twice and was pinned both times, and had black and blue marks on his arms for several days. Gary said Hodge would turn anyone who had the courage to really wrestle and not just turtle up on him. Wayne Baughman, winner of 16 national titles in all styles and a keen observer of the sport for half a century as a wrestler and a coach, said in his opinion Hodge would have beaten anyone in college stye wrestling. I guess we all have our own opinons of who was the best, and why. The best wrestler I ever saw in person, during my 55 years of writing aobut the sport, was Dan Gable as a junior. He was 31-0 with 29 pins. He also beat five NCAA champions during his college career, including three two-timers.

No way to leave Dan Hodge off any such list. Never lost in college and never taken down his entire college career. Pinned over 73 percent of foes. His junior year, Hodge won the NCAA title with four straight pins, the freestyle title with five pins and then entered the Greco-Roman nationals (his first ever try in that style) and won with four more pins. So, he won three national titles in less than a month's time with 13 straight pins. And his impact on the sport was such that to this day he remains (sadly) the only wrestler to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 7

They are truly studs, in all walks of life. Anyone wanting to know more about them can look for a book written by Lou in 1985 called "The New Breed: Living Iowa Wrestling", or the book "Uncommon Bonds: A Journey in Optimism", written by all three Banachs in 2015. "The New Breed" has a terrific cover photo with Lou, Ed, Barry Davis, Jim Zalesky and Pete Bush pictured. Lou provides a great insiders look at the program during the Gable years. Some outstanding photos, as well. The photo of Lou wrestling 405-pound Tab Thacker is fascinating. The book is hard to find but pops up on EBay every now and then.

Steve and Lou in recent photo.

On Saturday night, Steve Banach was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in the "Outstanding American" category. He joins brothers Ed and Lou as the only three brothers in the hall. FROM THE HALL -- Retired United States Army Infantry Colonel Steve Banach began wrestling in the eighth grade and competed alongside his younger twin brothers Ed and Lou Banach for Port Jervis High School in Port Jervis, New York. He continued his career at Clemson University, where he was elected captain of the wrestling team as a freshman and was an Atlantic Coast Conference finalist. Banach then decided to transfer to the University of Iowa, where his twin brothers were wrestling for Dan Gable. Steve ended his wrestling career at the 1984 Final Olympic Trials as a member of the US Army Wrestling Team. He served with distinction in the United States Army from 1983 to 2010. This period of service included deployments to six combat zones. Steve demonstrated impeccable leadership during his service in the U.S. Army. He is a Distinguished Member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and served in that special operations organization for nine years, culminating with command of the 3rd Ranger Battalion from 2001-2003. He led U.S. Army Rangers during a historic night combat parachute assault into Afghanistan on October 19, 2001, as the “spearhead” for the Global War on Terror for the United States of America. He subsequently led U.S. Army Rangers in a second combat parachute assault into Al Anbar Province in western Iraq in 2003. Banach served as the 11th Director of the prestigious School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and led the development of the U.S. Army’s Design Methodology doctrine. As a Stryker Brigade Commander, he led the development of the Company Intelligence Support Team tactics, techniques, and procedures, for the U.S. Army. He served as the lead Design Officer for the Department of the Army Cyber Information Warfare Design Planning Team. He also served as the Director of the Army Management Staff College and was responsible for the design and implementation of the US Army’s Civilian Education System. He earned the Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Bronze Star Medal for Service, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge with two awards, and the Master Parachutist Badge with two Bronze Combat Jump Stars. Banach also holds a certificate in Leadership in Crisis: Preparation and Performance, from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. After leaving the U.S. Army, Banach served as the CEO of the Operational Art & Strategic Initiatives Studies Group (OASIS-G) and is now the Vice-President for Strategic Planning at SOFTwarfare, LLC.

11986 -- Yes,that is correct. I was there covering the meet for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Lou rushed right out and tried a body lock; his left knee buckled and he went straight to his back and was pinned. A little overzealous. He couldn't wait for the rematch at the NCAA and used a ltitle more strategy, winning a 3-1 win.

After attending 47 NCAA tournaments, I rate Lou Banach as one of the best I ever saw, when it counted most. Lou went 1-3-1 in his three NCAAs with an overall tournament record of 15-1. Competing at about 215, he was outweighed in every NCAA match but one. He pinned Bruce Baumgartner in the finals as a sophomore, pinned 400-pound Tab Thacker his junior year when he took third while battling a shoulder injury, and defeated 395-pound MItch Shelton his senior year then pinned tough Wayne Cole of Iowa State in the finals. Lou also pinned four-time AA Steve "Dr. Death" Williams in a dual while being outweighed by about 50 pounds. Lou then won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympcis at 220.

Many years ago, I spent an afternoon with Grace Thorpe, Jim's daugther, in Yale, OK. She told me that her father loved to wrestle a "backyard style" and never was defeated. Pretty interesting. Also, Bob Mathias belongs in any conversation about the greatest athlete ever. He won the Olympic decathlon gold medal in London in 1948 at AGE 17 -- and won again four years later. He told me that he wanted to go again in 1956 but he was ruled ineligible by the AAU for starriing in a movie about his own life. He was also a star running back at Stanford and played in the Rose Bowl. Glen Brand, 1948 Olympic wrestling champion, told me he was in awe of Mathias when he won the decathlon in 1948 and Glen considered Mathias the best athlete he ever saw.

The Cary and Barry show is about to take off. I have known BD since he was a senior in high school and his passion for the sport is as high as it gets. I think this is a great coaching staff full of wisdom and enthusiam. As an old sailor (not at the Academy but in the regualar navy) myself, I am happy for the program.

Very well said, jchapman!