Danny Hodge
Daniel Allan " Dan " Hodge ( born May 13, 1932 in Perry, Noble County, Oklahoma ) is a former American professional wrestler and boxer.
Career
Danny Hodge began in high school with the rings, which he continued at the University of Oklahoma, he attended his high school years after. For this university, he won all 46 fights that he played for them. Also in the championships of the U.S. high school sports association NCAA he was very successful and won a middleweight, free style, three times in a row, " All-American Championships ", and three times the NCAA Championships the state of Oklahoma.
Since then usually the wrestlers at the Universities of the best American wrestlers were total, Danny Hodge was twice, 1952 and 1956, used at the Olympic Games in free style. In Helsinki he was only 19 years old and too inexperienced to be able to stand against the veterans Dawit Tschimakuridse from the Soviet Union and Bengt Lindblad of Sweden can. Four years later, however, in Melbourne, he mixed the middleweight class at the duly defeated among others the reigning world champion Abbas Zandi from Iran and the Soviet Ringer Giorgi Schirtladse, but was subject to almost the Bulgarian Nikola Stantschew. He thus won the silver medal. It was admirable how the U.S. boys who had no international experience over almost at the Olympic Games held up time and again against the world elite.
In addition to the rings Danny Hodge operated even with the boxes. Again, he took it very far. He was " Golden Gloves " winner and also won the United States Championship ( AAU Championships ) at middleweight. He was the only athlete in the United States, of this combination, which is to belong to the same time in wrestling and boxing to the best athletes in the United States, managed.
After the 1956 Olympics Danny Hodge turned in the U.S. the professional wrestling ( wrestling) to. He spent 18 years in the organization " NWA " Ringer professional who became world champion in the junior Haevyweight and defended that title eight times. He was trained here at the beginning of his wrestling career of " Strangler " Ed Lewis, a professional wrestling world champion from the 1930s and 1940s. For his contributions to the sport wrestler he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1976.
Today Danny Hodge lives in Perry, Oklahoma.
International success
(OS = Olympic Games, F = Freestyle, Mi = middleweight, then to 79 kg body weight)
NCAA all- american- Championships
Danny Hodge won this title in 1955, 1956 and 1957 in free style, medium weight.
Swell
- Website National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- DOCUMENTATION of International Wrestling Championships FILA, 1956
- Yearbook of the German Federal Ringer 1972 Athletics Verlag, Karlsruhe, 1972
- Journals " athletics " Nos. 24/1956 and 1/1957