1950 Wrestling Team (2009) - Hall of Fame

1950 Wrestling Team

Induction:
2009

The 1950 wrestling team accomplished a feat no other team in UNI history had ever done, claim a national championship.

Not only did the 1950 Iowa State Teachers College wrestling team win the NCAA team title, but it also won the AAU championship.

The Panthers outlasted Big Ten Champion Purdue by a final dual score of 30-16 to claim the NCAA Championship. At the AAU championships, the Panthers took the title at the expense of then intrastate rival Cornell College by a score of 44-40. In addition to the two team titles, three of the Panther wrestlers – Keith Young, Bill Nelson and Bill Smith – won NCAA individual championships that year.

Under the direction of head coach Dave McCuskey the 1950 Panthers finished with an unblemished 11-0 record in dual matches, including wins over Oklahoma, Purdue, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa State.

The Panthers had placed second in the NCAA meet three times prior to the 1950 national championships and had previously captured the AAU title in 1949. The 1950 team still remains as the only team sport at UNI to win a Division I national title.

Following their wrestling careers at Iowa State Teachers College, many of the 1950 team members continued to contribute to the sport of wrestling, including many with illustrious coaching and officiating careers.

Members of the championship 1950 wrestling team included: Head Coach Dave McCuskey, Assistant Coach Paul Cameron, Frank Altman, Luverne Klar, Floyd Oglesby, Fred Stoeker, Bill Smith, Keith Young, Bill Nelson, Martin Lundvall, Gene Lybbert, Chuck Edwards, Lowell Cook, Dick Eisenlauer, Clyde Bean, Glen Salzbrenner, Walt Sherman, Cloyce Smith, G.K Blenderman, Lee Wachenheim, Lindy Solon, Don Miller, Russ Fullbright, John Harrison and Max Long.