Brand Inductions Held on April 18

Nearly two hundred wrestling fans greeted the Class of 2009 at the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame inductions held on April 18. The hall is located inside the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum, and is named in honor Glen Brand, Iowa State’s 1948 NCAA and Olympic champion.

Inducted were (in order):

 * Leon “Champ” Martin, who coached Algona High School to four team championships and was NCAA runner-up for Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) in the 1942;

* Jim Craig, NCAA champion at Iowa in 1959, and two-time All-American at the University of Iowa, as well as Big Ten champion and longtime high school coach;

* Franc Freeman, two-time All-American at State College of Iowa (now UNI) and coach of two state championship teams at Bettendorf;

* Vic Marcucci, NCAA champion at Iowa State in 1967 and three-time All-American, as well as national freestyle champion;

* Eric Volker, two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American at Iowa State in the late 1980s;

* Mike Chapman, author of 15 books on wrestling, and creator of WIN magazine, the WIN Memorabilia Show, the Dan Hodge Trophy and the Dan Gable museum.

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Two legends out of the recent past and a very tough worker from the 1950s headline the 2009 Class of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, set for July 11 here.

The pro hall of fame is located inside the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The museum was nearly destroyed by the historic flood of June 10, 2008, but re-opened this month.

The 11 th class is comprised of living wrestlers Nick Bockwinkel, longtime world heavyweight champion in the AWA; Ricky Steamboat, a superstar in the WWF, and Fritz Von Goering, who wrestled many of the top stars of the 1950s and ‘60s, and all five of the other inductees at one point in his long career.

Three deceased wrestlers are also being inducted: Bronko Nagurski, Luther Lindsay and Karl Gotch.

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