Or Ron Gray?
When listing the best wrestlers to wear the Cardinal and Gold robe, Ron Gray’s name will rise to the top. Gray was one of Iowa State legendary head coach Harold Nichols’ first stars on the mat, winning two individual NCAA titles, earning All-America honors three times and capturing three Big Eight crowns in his three seasons (1957-59) in Ames.
A native of Eagle Grove, Iowa, Gray was one of the most sought after high school recruits in the nation when he finished his prep career at Eagle Grove High School. Gray won three state titles (1952, 1953, 1955), owning the distinction as the first freshman Iowa state champion in 1952. Nichols, who started his outstanding wrestling coaching career at ISU in 1954 and was still in his early years with the Cyclones, lured Gray to Ames as one of his top recruits.
Gray sat out his first season because of the NCAA freshman ineligibility rule and found his way into the Cyclone lineup as a sophomore in 1957. Gray won every match that year, including a Big Eight title, until the NCAA Championship title bout at 147 pounds against Iowa’s Simon Roberts. Gray lost to Roberts in an overtime period to finish second at 147 pounds, which would be one of just two personal setbacks in his Cyclone career. Ironically, Roberts, who prepped at Davenport High School, defeated Gray in the 1954 state finals when he was a junior, preventing Gray from becoming the first four-time Iowa state champion and first three-time NCAA champion.
