The Golden Era Of Amateur Wrestling: 1980S

Wrestling is a nondiscriminatory sport where size and gender do not matter. It is, without a doubt, the hardest sport in which to compete and boasts the best conditioned athletes in the world. The 1980s produced a group of American wrestlers unmatched in history that included eleven nominees to the NCAA 75th Anniversary Wrestling Team; thirty-three, four-time All-Americans; seven of the top nine wrestlers in history; and five amateur wrestlers who accounted for seven NCAA titles, three Olympic gold medals, six world gold medals, and forty-one United States national championships. In his tribute to the Golden Era of Amateur Wrestling, award-winning sportswriter Reginald Rowe shines a light on the era's most dominant athletes that include Mean Gene (Mills) the Pinning Machine as he embarked