Dave Schultz: An American Hero From Palo Alto, California
Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat known to man, dating back to the Trojan War in 12th century BC. It remained popular during the Middle Ages. English settlers brought wrestling to America. It quickly gained popularity with the Native Americans as well. Organized wrestling tournaments have been held in America for over 100 years. Wrestling disciplines are broken down into two categories: international and folk. In America, wrestling takes place at both the collegiate and professional levels. Wrestling is an important component of mixed martial arts competitions, which is where some of the best wrestlers are today, including Gray Maynard, Joshn Koscheck, Ryan Bader, Brock Lesnar, and Georges St. Pierre.
Born in Palo Alto California, Dave Schultz was an Olympic and world champion freestyle wrestler. In high school, he won his first national title at the U.S. National Open Greco-Roman Championships. Experts consider his senior year to be the most successful year of high school wrestling in history. In college, Schultz was an NCAA All-American three times. After college, he won 10 Senior National titles over a 19 year period. He won the Pan American Games title twice, the World Cup four times, and the Tbilisi, Georgia tournament twice.
Schultz was shot and killed on January 26, 1996 in Pennsylvania where he was training for another Olympic bid. He was murdered by team’s sponsor, John E. du Pont who had exhibited very strange behavior leading up to the event. Schultz was 36 when he died. Shortly after his death, his wife started the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club to support the wrestlers who were left without any training or coaching resources for the 1996 Olympics. There is now a wrestling meet entitled Dave Schultz Memorial International. It is held at the Colorado Springs’ United States Olympic Training Center.
