Brand, Gable, Peterson, Jackson and Sanderson honored at Golden Legacy dinner at Iowa State Univ. prior to World Team Trials
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Banquet Photos
Five Olympic gold medalists from different eras were honored as Iowa State Univ., and the entire wrestling community celebrated “Iowa State Wrestling’s Golden Legacy” at a special dinner held at the Gateway Center Hotel in Ames, Iowa, June 17.
The program honored Iowa State alumni who went on to win Olympic gold medals for the United States: Glen Brand (1948 London), Dan Gable (Munich, 1972), Ben Peterson (Munich, 1972), Kevin Jackson (Barcelona, 1992) and Cael Sanderson (Athens, 2004).
Many of wrestling most successful and popular figures were there to honor these greats, on the night prior to the start of the World Team Trials, to be held at Hilton Arena at Iowa State Univ. this weekend.
Olympic champion Eddie Banach, now an academic advisor at Iowa State and a star for the Univ. of Iowa, gave the prayer. Other Olympic champions who were there to share in the celebration were John Smith, Tom Brands, Kenny Monday and Steve Fraser, plus World champions Zeke Jones and Terry Brands.
After dinner and prior to speeches, an auction was held for six unique wrestling memorabilia, which raised $4,000 for the Cyclone Wrestling club. Two items went for $1,100 each, a canvas rendering of the five Iowa State Olympic champions, as well as a limited edition print “A Cyclone Legacy “Wrestling.” One of the items, a picture of Iowa State members of the 1972 Olympic team (Gable, Peterson, Chris Taylor) was bought by the 1972 Olympic team coach who worked with the three athletes, Bill Farrell. A silent auction of other wrestling items was also held prior to the dinner.
Current Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas addressed the five champions.
“You are my heroes, you are the heroes of wrestling,” said Douglas. “I am so proud to be a part of the Iowa State program.”
Brand was the first to speak, telling three stories about his life and wrestling career. He told a story about how he came to Iowa State, a match against a huge heavyweight from Colorado State, and his pivotal Olympic match in the third round against a Turkish athlete.
Brand noted that the Turkish team did not lose a single match in the first three rounds of the London Olympics, and he drew a Turk in that round.
“My teammate Henry Wittenburg, the team captain, shook me. He said look up at all those people. Everybody here wants to see a Turk get beat. My conditioning was my best asset. I did everything I could to tire him out, to get him pooped at the end of the match. Between 13 and 14 minutes, he had it.”
Brand explained how he lifted his opponent in the air, sunk in a half nelson and put him towards his back.
“Ughh, that is how it all ended. He had it; just get me off the mat,” said Brand of his victory over the Turk.
Gable talked about his experience at Iowa State and how his time as a student and coach there made him become the success in life that he has become.
“For four years and one summer session I was a student here, and two years of graduate school. They were six years of wrestling training and six years of life preparation. I developed leadership skills here,” said Gable.
Gable gave some of his life philosophy which has guided him through his amazing career.
“I look at it like this. There’s the past. You learn from the past. You hope the future is what you are working for and is a success. But you look at the present to see if you are doing things right. That is where it is all at,” said Gable. “I am a fanatic, not just about wrestling, but about my family.”
Gable asked those in the room to work to build the sport that they love.
“We have a powerful group of people here,” said Gable. “We don’t expect anything but the best. The people in this room can make a difference, both individually and together, to make this the best sport it can be.”
Peterson talked about the powerful influence that Iowa State had on his life, and many of the things that helped shape him as an athlete and as a man.
“I have been thinking about this for several days,” said Peterson. “Coaches (Les) Anderson and Coach (Harold) Nichols were very patient, teaching and encouraging us. It was a setting where you can work as hard as you want and go as far as you want.”
He told the story of how his teammates pushed him hard, making each other the best they could be. He also noted that Gable was beating all of the champions in the room. “He was the lightest, but he was beating us all,” said Peterson.
Peterson told the story of how he decided not to be an architect, which he studied in college, to become a coach and teacher.
“I went from building buildings to building the lives of people,” said Peterson. “I will tell you a secret. I do not like wrestling. I love the competition it provides.”
Jackson talked a lot about the people who made a difference in his life and career, making sure to pick on Gable, who was the head coach at the Univ. of Iowa when Jackson was at Iowa State. Jackson wrestled three years at LSU before competing at Iowa State as a senior, on a team that won the NCAA team title and snapped Iowa’s nine year NCAA winning streak.
“One reason I came to Iowa State was to beat Iowa,” said Jackson. “I went to a university that I thought had a chance to beat Iowa. One of the reasons I was here was to beat Iowa, and we did. Of course, I got beat in the NCAA finals, to an Iowa kid”¦ It was the right move for me to come here.”
Jackson had great things to say about both Gable and Cael Sanderson, who Jackson coached at the 2004 Olympic Games.
“He is one of my heroes,” said Jackson about Gable. “I look to him for guidance. I love wrestling. But he LOVVVES wrestling. Wrestling is my passion. It is his obsession.”
“To Cael Sanderson, I say, please come back. We need you,” said Jackson, as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Coach to its most recent Olympic champion. “We have a great relationship. Our coach-athlete relationship is very strong. He is a champion’s champion. We miss your personality and your energy. Cael deserved to win the Olympics. The general public does not know what it takes to be an Olympic and World champion. There is a huge difference from winning the NCAAs. I don’t think Cael even understood it until 2003.”
Sanderson talked about the legacy of Iowa State program, and about the people who made a difference in his career. He thanked his wife Kelly, his brother Cody, his parents and his coaches for helping him reach his goals and dreams.
“My family has been extremely close to me,” said Sanderson. “They taught me to always do my best. You can always fight for things. What more can you do than that? I love to compete. That is what life is all about. There is no better form of competition than wrestling.”
Sanderson also offered his philosophy of life that has guided him.
“You are responsible for everything you think, everything you say and everything you do,” said Sanderson. “Now it is up to you. What are you going to think, say and do? It can shoot you to the moon, or it can be destructive and set you back. You are responsible for yourself. It’s your choice.”
Sanderson thanked Coaches Bobby Douglas and Kevin Jackson, along with his family, for getting him through the tough times on the way to his gold.
“They are the only people who know everything about me,” said Sanderson. “I retired for about three months. They are the only ones who knew that. They got me through it. I love you guys.”
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