Listen to this episode from The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify. Andrew Cutraro, GABLE SPENDS HIS days trying to be useful. 1 Iowa State, 22-15. Dan Gable was dominant at Iowa State, keeping his undefeated streak alive until his very last match, the NCAA finals of his senior year. There are rumors that Gable benefited financially from his friendship with Carver, a wrestling enthusiast. His family panics with him. BOONE, Iowa Twelve of the top high school male and female wrestlers from the 2022-23 season were honored Wednesday at the 13th annual Dan Gable Ms. & Mr. Wrestler Awards banquet. Not even he really knows what's happening to him. He jokes that the set of "Rocky" was stolen from him. His girls grew up. In Episode III of the three-part series, Dan's wife, Kathy, and their four daughters - Jenni, Annie, Molly and Mackie - share funny stories and more while discussing their family and wrestling! Over beers at the bar in the Lansing cabin, he recalled: In Munich, I knew hed win. Instead, she volunteered to be the high school wrestling manager, staying after practice to clean the mats. I loved every minute of it, she said. Theres no toughness here at all, Mack Gable recalled. He sinks down farther into the water. Andrew Cutraro. University of Iowa wrestling legend and Waterloo native Dan Gable knows. They should be fired, he said. All four girls have moved out, started lives of their own. . In the central Montana mountains, a paralyzed man and his wife are proving the answer just might be yes. "SONOFABITCH!" by Wright Thompson, Can a fly rod really hold the secret of life? Gable says. The house is empty. While the loss ruined . His wife, Kathy, sat at the computer, waiting on the coffeemaker to start. His only defeat came in the NCAA finals his senior year. One of their wrestlers was Dan Gable, who went on to copy much of their success at ISU while he led Iowa to 15 NCAA championships. It wasn't good puke either.". Mackie seems unsure, taking a step toward him, then a step back. Contacts: Chris . He endured eight knee operations and four hip replacements in exchange for whatever relief wrestling brought. A neighbor found the body. We ordered sides of beef and five-gallon cans of milk.. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? That night, he didn't sleep a wink. Before a match with main rival Oklahoma State, the girls knew not to talk to their dad, and if they saw him in the tunnel, not to expect a hello. Every day for two years, he tortured himself, refusing surgery for torn cartilage in his knee, scared he would miss out on the Olympics. He is being pulled backward, toward her death and his complicity in it. Only my family comes before it, said the man who commonly is called the greatest wrestler in U.S. history.. . Katie Gable drove to Ames. Every state but one now has high school wrestling, and every state but three has college wrestling. They got a neighbor to go check. ", "I feel bad for my dad," Mackie says. Now he is losing again. It was dark outside. It's about Gen. Waverly, who is relieved of his command and struggles to build a new life. Danny Mack "Dan" Gable (born October 25, 1948) is a retired American Olympic wrestler and head coach. Dan loved them. Andrew Cutraro. Expanding upon Gable's first collection of stories, A Wrestling Life 2 goes a little deeper into the mindset and life events that have shaped the man, the wrestler, and the coach. As the sun rose, he pushed away his pain to do the thing he did best: fight. The temperature rises toward 200. Dan takes a step back, then rushes toward the door. He got out of his bed, crossed the hall and climbed into Diane's bed, turning to face the wall. and that was all Dan could stand. Gable credits his parents with being the single greatest influence of my life, and he remains close to them. Brad Penrith won an NCAA title for Iowa in 1986, but he needed support from head coach Dan Gable and his wife, Kathy, along the way. Zaputil disappeared. He called me a couple of times and said, I cant take this, Dad. Both talk as if theyd like more children. Gable has weathered family tragedies that first struck when he was just 15. "McDonough, get up! Gable returns, ready to continue. When he was a small boy, his parents drank, and they fought. Fishing is the only thing I love besides wrestling and my family, he says. In 1974, Gable married Kathy Carpenter, and together they had four daughters: Jennifer, Annie, Molly and Mackenzie. They all grew up around wrestling and still love to watch the sport . He couldn't use his arm for two weeks, couldn't crank a boat, couldn't chop wood. Diane's death is a psychic phantom limb, a complicated pain he talks about more each year, even if he still can't articulate how it makes him feel. The Russians knew he was good. Dan Gable. His face hardens, his mouth curving into a frown, his muscles firing, looking like a weapon. One day in March, he stared at a bowl of pasta, hungry and stubbornly trying not to eat. View the profiles of professionals named "Kathy Gable" on LinkedIn. An excerpt from our 2014 interview with the legendary wrestler and wrestling coach Dan Gable. They'd driven the block from a rented fishing cabin to a nearby pay phone. He threw a mug through the Christmas tree. He later wrestled for Furman University. It's March. He has had to slow down because his knees . He felt the bar of light shining on the bed but stayed still. She wanted to wrestle in junior high school, but her mom wouldn't let her join the boys team. He never cheered after one of his own matches, but he'd leap into the air after theirs, and he'd mourn with them after defeats, and sit in a sauna wearing a coat and tie to help them make weight. He had condominiums in Florida, and he flew us there. Gable ripped Zaputil's shirt off, and what he saw staggered him. It's just him and Kathy now. Gable was undefeated in high school competition and won three consecutive Iowa state high school championships. I have this new baby son. She tapped him, asked if he knew anything about the Olympics getting rid of wrestling in 2020. KATHLEEN GABLE OBITUARY. Tragedy struck again three years ago when doctors discovered Dans mother had cancer. Drive them through the cornfields to this suite in a deafening, packed arena. he yells. There'd been drama with Annie, who didn't want to stop and eat together on the way back. He resides in Iowa City, Iowa, with his wife Kathy. One of his girls says he lost confidence in himself when he turned over the program he built, too burned out to continue, his identity too tied to wrestling to ever let it go. Dan and Kathy Gable, Iowa City, announce the engagement of their daughter, Molly, to Danny Olszta of New Lenox, IL. She thought it was about wrestling, she admits, sheepishly. Gable wears the scars of his lifetime of doing battle. He tried to describe what it did to him, and to his mom and dad. He lived and died with his wrestlers. Dan Gable Quotes. Back and forth. St. John pushes his opponent into the mat. None of them ever say this stuff to my face … I dont think much of people who would rather cry than do something about it. She recalls they went for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood on their first date. "It just killed me," Gable says. "No, it ain't!" Gable was joined Monday by his 13 grandchildren, his wife Kathy, daughters, Jenni, Molly, Annie and Mackenzie, and sons-in-laws One of Gable's son-in-laws (to his left) was pictured holding three . Mention her sons career, and she smiles and says, He was ornery when he was a little kid, but I didnt let him get away with anything.. Theres not much bad I can say about Dan except that hes a workaholic. Mackie's car disappears around the bend, leaving behind a red glow and then not even that. A FEW HOURS before Iowa's final round of the tournament, Gable and two friends find a sauna in a private gym, accessible by an unmarked door and a metal staircase. He wasn't just a successful wrestler though. Dan Gable. There was no greater sin for a Gable wrestler than to be caught stalling -- backing up, eating clock, not attacking and destroying -- and once Gable even screamed at a ref to call it on his own guy. Pain, Tomorrow May Never Come, Giving. He needs something to do. Later that night, some friends sit around the hotel bar, just as baffled as Mackie. "I don't think I can sit here," he says, stepping out of the suite into the hallway. It took all morning to pack the hotel room and load grandkids into the proper vehicles. U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Gable with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on December 8, 2020. . Can a fly rod really hold the secret of life? He was passing the parking lot where they found out about Diane, where his dad dropped a pay phone that swung slowly on its cord. I never write sympathetic notes. Im not sure Id have that if Id lost the gold. His legs are sinewy as a sprinters. CLICK HERE . I said to myself, She cant be here with me, but she can look down on me and be proud. I tried to accomplish much more for her, Gable recalled. It was the prison. In a stunning development Friday morning, Dan Gable announced that he was leaving his wife of 28 years over a disagreement about groceries. Photograph By Andrew Cutraro. Follow the Mag on Twitter: @ESPNmag. Everything is still. "It's not over!". Dan Gable married his wife, Kathy Carpenter, in 1972. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist.Gable was only the third wrestler to have ever been inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend . The wrestlers stop in the middle of practice and have Gatorade parties. Even though he chose this life and they did not, that distinction became smaller and smaller until it ceased to matter at all. He's been more emotional, calling old wrestlers on the phone to tell stories about how it used to be. With this in mind, Gable spoke with WIN editor Mike Finn about what makes a good partnership between a head coach and his assistants and actually compares it to a good marriage. The family was dying with her, and he would be left alone. SUBSCRIBE. "McDONOUGH! His career molded his family, then welded it together. Gable once again is on the trail of what many believe is an impossible dream. Dan Gable, in full Daniel Mack Gable, (born October 25, 1948, Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.), American freestyle wrestler and coach who is often considered to be the greatest amateur wrestler in American history. Today, Gable still resides in the Hawkeye State with his wife, Kathy. One by one, his four daughters called. It was easier to get financial backing from private sources. He wrestles anyway. The fight gave him focus. The girls' bedroom doors had holes in them; they'd slam and lock them, and Dan would punch through them. He lost his relevance. kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. Years later, sitting in a Des Moines hotel hot tub, Gable would bring up the Owings loss, which he does about once a day. He is best known for his tenure as head coach at the University of Iowa where he won 15 NCAA team titles between 1976 and 1997. He can be reached at [email protected]. My dedication to Diane kept me straighter she was a motivating force. On the mat, he had an amazing run through high school and college, compiling a combined 182-1 record. The noise stops Gable and he looks down, his face stern. "I'm coming here with one thing in mind," Dan says after checking into his suite on the 10th floor of the Savery Hotel, reaching into the closet and thumbing past two Iowa jackets before pulling out one that says USA. He's always been a protective parent, never letting his girls stay home alone overnight, even when they were in college, no matter how much they complained. Dan won the state title at 119 pounds in 1971 and had a 40-4 record his last two years. That's bullshit. "They were doing it before I died," he says, then catches himself. Gable's life is governed by justification and guilt, as if he's forever paying off some unseen debt. "I have this son. In 1974, Dan Gable married Kathy Carpenter and the couple has four daughters: Jenni, Annie, Molly and Mackenzie. The sweat rolls down his arms. "I had to get it out of me," he says, still sniffling, wiping away his tears. There's a sign above his head that says: Whatever Happens In The Hot Tub Stays In The Hot Tub. "I don't even know how to explain it. During the holidays, Gable sits in front of his television and watches "White Christmas." Gable sighs, a look of mock resignation on his face. His daughters are all married and have their own children. On the plaque, he wanted the inscription to say STALLING, as if the bronze Gable were screaming at people. Mike Duroe and Doughty watch him compose himself. Dan Gable is a retired wrestler, coach, Olympic gold medalist, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Lessons in Leadership. I dont want wrestlers who are satisfied just to make the Olympic team I want athletes who are after the gold, Gable said. He doesn't like to eat, for instance, without working out, constantly balancing a ledger in his mind. Dan Gable's career accomplishments are etched in wrestling lore, from his 1972 unscored-on Olympic gold-medal performance on the mat to his record-setting 15 NCAA titles as wrestling coach (a mark unequaled in wrestling history). former university of iowa wrestling coach dan gable will be awarded the . The logs are still wet, and the air smells like oak and elm. He was undefeated in 64 prep matches, and was 118-1 at Iowa State. The criticism stings, and Gable admits it. He leans in and gently kisses her on the forehead. It's part of their blood.". One afternoon, he shows his collection of oversize black scrapbooks, which live in the same room as his used crutches and a pile of rifles and shotguns. Interestingly, Kueter joined Gable in the group of unbeaten Iowa high school wrestlers. They wanted to sell the house and move, but Dan begged them to stay. The family threw away all its knives, not knowing which one had been used. "I never wore a mouthpiece," he says suddenly. He was just a boy. Another fall might be more than he can handle. Gable resides in Iowa City with his wife Kathy and has four daughters, Jenni Mitchell, Annie Gavin, Molly Olszta and Mackenzie McCord. WHEN THE GABLES finally arrive in Des Moines for the NCAA tournament, 37 days have passed since the IOC decision. A year ago, McDonough dominated people, and now, for some reason, he is wrestling without anger or energy. The best result we found for your search is Kathy J Gable age 60s in Peru, IN. He asks the secretary, "You need me?". Having that taken away, I don't want to say it's killing him You gotta understand, wrestling is what he went to when he recovered from his sister passing away.". Piece by piece, he'd been stripped of the things that had kept his demons in check since seventh grade, in the gray cinder block dungeon at West High School. On the morning the IOC announced it would drop wrestling from the Olympics, Dan Gable was a continent away, fast asleep. The second best result is Kathy Gable age 60s in Hackensack, NJ. But Gable fears that the old FILA politics will keep the rules from changing. His body, though older and scarred by combat on the mat, still fits a description that appeared in Esquire magazine a decade ago: His wrists resemble ankles, his forearms approach the size of a normal human calf, his upper arms are respectable thighs. One grandchild swung back and forth in the background as Trump hung the medal around Gable, 72, who represented the US in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.. Gable's grandson Sammy, 6, leaned on the Resolute Desk and bent over nearly backwards.. Another grandson stared at the document pronouncing . Forty-four years ago, on the way to winning the gold medal at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, he didn't yield a . President Donald Trump called the championship wrestler and coach "a true GOAT." . 8 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, trying to decide whether he can watch the last Iowa match of the NCAA wrestling tournament. Gable pumps his feet and looks like he might get sick. Gable lost. He'd let his mom and dad down. "I've never seen him like that ever," she says. Every now and again, he splashes water on his face. "Before my sister died," he says, and he changes the subject. Along the way, he had four daughters with his wife, Kathy. Upset at the Big Ten tournament, he'd thrown his second-place medal in a trash can and stormed off. It's freezing outside. Competing for Iowa State University, he posted a near-perfect record. "After what wrestling did for my dad and his family, after their tragedy. My sisters death affected my whole life. Dan explained that a neighborhood boy named Tom Kyle had been saying aggressive, sexual things about Diane, but Dan thought it was just normal guy talk. His patience astounds them, and they're starting to wonder what his future might hold. " I was born into wrestling, so the transition from being a wrestler to a coach was automatic." - Dan Gable. He says his wife, Kathy, is the one who has loaded showcases and . Dan sees the phone again. To his nine grandchildren, he is a jungle gym. It swung back and forth, slowly, back and forth. "We'll follow the old man wherever he wants to go," the song goes. A blue-eyed Iowa girl, hilarious but fierce in defending her family, she found a soul mate in Dan. DAN GABLE PACES suite No. This is where he was before the wrestling tournament, and where he would return when it ended. There are 30+ professionals named "Kathy Gable", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. They have four children. Dan Gable added another award Monday to his hall-of-fame resume. Outside in the concourse, feeling weak, then feeling guilty about feeling weak, he knows what must be done. The Hawkeyes, whom he hasn't coached in 16 years, are having a miserable weekend, with no national champions. He is also famous for having only lost one match in his entire Iowa State University collegiate career - his last . He shakes and strains, a rocket on the pad. Wrestling saved them from going down a path of destruction.". After the IOC decision -- its ruling can be cemented or reversed in a September meeting, during which wrestling, squash or baseball and softball will be chosen -- the president of FILA, the international wrestling body, was pushed out by his own board. His struggle is never clearer than when he stops by the Iowa wrestling office, to pick up mail that still arrives there addressed to him, or to sign autographs. 1. After moving into Diane's room, Gable kept winning. School administrators worried people wouldn't get it, so after weeks of fighting, they settled on a compromise: (NO) STALLING. … Gables body is pure function; it looks built to perform.. Gables name is to wrestling what Joe Namaths is to professional football and Muhammad Alis is to boxing. Everything unraveled. ", Moments after his only wrestling defeat in college, Gable congratulates Larry Owings, the man who beat him. At Carver-Hawkeye, they sat in section NN, seats 1-6, the first two rows. President Donald Trump awarded Dan Gable with the Medal of Freedom Credit: AP:Associated Press. Mackie was in elementary school when he quit. He was 15 years old when his older sister, Diane, was . Childhood & Early Life. Without it, they were a different family. Fierce showdowns with Peekers seem like a comical use of the authority he built by demanding everything from himself and from athletes who wanted to be like him. For him, the reward wasn't a medal but seeing how winning it made them feel. His friends look at the floor in silence. The Iowa wrestling room was perfect, carefully constructed over decades as a confessional, a place where pain could be traded for absolution. Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit. The Gables always seemed to be one bad night from breaking apart, leaving Dan without a family: alone. In fact, theres much about Gable who at times watches the movie Rocky for inspiration that remains a mystery: On a June afternoon when thermometers hit 95, Gable stood soaked in sweat after a workout in the yard of his parents cabin on the Mississippi River near Lansing, Iowa. It drew us all closer together, Gable said. So did his family. Then doctors told him he couldn't wrestle people any longer, and the Christmas tree and the chain saw nearly took away the Takedown Machine, and that is just about that. "The match changed my . He is best known for his tenure as head coach at the University of Iowa where he won 15 NCAA team titles between 1976 and 1997. . While he watches, his mom and his aunts crowd around one another. They've seen the peaks of arrogance and valleys of self-doubt. Both talk as if they'd like more children. Rudy is outside, playing in the woods, but Peekers is by the couch, hacking and dry heaving. The sun will be a relief, easing Dan's aching joints. As if its burned into his mind, Gable recites the long list of potential Soviet gold medal winners. Still, most afternoons he found himself drawn to the Iowa wrestling practices, sitting in the bleachers like a fan, offering tips. 1 -- and practice moves on the Takedown Machine, trying to keep intact a world he'd first built as a seventh-grade boy. Dan Gable is an American former wrestler and coach. From time to time, he'd suck his thumb. Next year, for the first time in their lives, Dan and Kathy are spending January and March in Florida, returning to Iowa in February for wrestling events. Hes worked his tail off to get where he is right now, she said during a shopping trip around Iowa City one afternoon. "I'm gonna step outside.". Kathleen was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 16, 1942. After finishing, he walks up a narrow stairwell, toward the lobby of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Where Is He Now? Here, surrounded by his forest, he has found the strength to finally surrender, which is its own kind of victory. "Maybe it's time to turn my locker in," he says. Mackie cried during the final news conference. He has developed a legion of champions at the University of Iowa 10 wrestlers have won national titles, 42 have achieved all-American status since he became head coach in 1977. He set NCAA records in winning and pin streaks . Why was the hardest dude on the planet crying because a wrestler he doesn't coach won a match? He welcomed the hurt. Around the corner from Dan's favorite chair, an overstuffed brown recliner, is the big family room. . It was sewn up before it started and thats harmful to the sport., University of Michigan coach Dale Bahr calls Gable the best wrestling coach in the country by far, but he also says, It defuses competition and the interest when everybody knows whos going to win. The Network is a community of wrestlers who help each other in business and in life while supporting the sport that has played such an important role in every member's life. And then, Dan Gable talked about what it was like on the victory stand: My life flashed before me during the National Anthem. A student walks past and doesn't recognize him. Follow him on Twitter at @wrightthompson. 4 Iowa beat No. Attitude is the No. University of Minnesota wrestling star Gable Steveson won the Olympic men's freestyle 125kg gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the most dramatic fashion. 7. Too many are sitting on their jobs instead of doing the job, Nichols said. All he can do is wait for headlights to shine through the windows, letting him know one of his girls has come back home. Dan Gable is a former Olympic wrestler and head coach who is considered to be one of the greatest amateur wrestlers in American history Dan Gable @Coaches, Timeline and Childhood . During a speech not long ago, Gable laughed about the rolling circus that travels with him. "Dan is a man of purpose," his friend Doughty says. But rumors that the late Roy Carver set him up in business before he died are not true, Gable said. He went 39-0 this season, winning a second straight 220-pound state title. His work paid off. Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. Kathy Gable is known for ESPN SportsCentury (1999). Hes never been on an ego trip. Courtesy Gable Family. The memory of his sister comes to him, vividly.