Gable Comments
In-season success, like Midlands, means not end to goal
Q We’re sitting here at the Midlands, which has a special place in your career. What are your feelings looking back at this tournament?
A The Midlands is where I got my start. I was in my first year of college for just four months. This tournament had been in existence for about 4-5 years, but it was the talked-about tournament; something new and there were a lot of Open guys with big names.
I was not officially eligible to compete for Iowa State so this was going to be my debut against big competition. This was the on
e where you were supposed to make your mark and set you apart from everyone else. I came to it just like I came to anything else; to wrestle hard and do the best that I could. They had live radio and this guy sticks a microphone in my face as I’m warming up. He said I understand you have never lost a match … insinuating that this could be the match I lose. I wasn’t thinking about losing but I didn’t know if I was going to win or not. I didn’t let these guys get inside my head.
I was able to go into this level and not think about who they were … and ended up winning and also won O.W. All of a sudden I made headlines in the (Chicago) Tribune … such as “Unknown Stars.” I was no longer going to be an unmarked man. The Midlands was my first taste of fame.
Q Unfortunately, this building — Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena — is also where you suffered your only loss to Larry Owings in the 1970 NCAA championship. Is it tough coming in here?
A There have been at least ten events in this building that have really affected my brain. My first Midlands championship did not happen here — the 1966 Midlands was held at LaGrange, Ill. — but I associate the Midlands with Northwestern. When I lost to Owings, that was the No. 1 effect in my athletic career from a negative point of view, which ended up being a positive point of view. It’s the match that really made my career, which made me go to a new level. He made me coach better. It’s never going to go away and I’m going to use it as a plus forever even though it blows my mind that I didn’t focus for that match.
This was also the place that Iowa started it streak of Big Ten championships in 1974. This is a place where Tom Brands got beat in the Big Ten finals against a Minnesota kid. When he lost, he ended up going out in the (Northwestern) football field and ran sprints right after his match. This is also the place where Tom Brands got pinned by Alan Fried in the finals of the Midlands. I can keep going.
Q The NWCA National Duals are coming up in mid-January. Most people think of wrestling as just an individual sport. Is it important that we make dual competition more important?
A If you look at other types of sports, you want to look at what’s successful and what’s not. I think the Duals concept is very successful from a team perspective. I don’t think the dual tournament will ever replace the NCAA championship because the individual and team points added up make it the best. You won’t be able to replace that in a dual championship.
Q How important were dual meets to you as as a coach?
A Dual meets just lay the groundwork. The National Duals really helped me out in my coaching because you had back-to-back matches and it was against good competition.
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