There are some wrestlers who are able to lie on their backs and still inflict tremendous amounts of pain on their opponents. For these fighters lying on their backs is a superior position. This is rare, however. For most fighters their strategy dictates they remain on top of their opponent. From a top position the fighter is able to add their body weight to the holds in which they have placed their opponents and force them to submit.

There once was a man named Dave Schultz. Described as a pudgy child often ridiculed for his dyslexia, Schultz didn’t let any of that stunt his growth. As he excelled through high school, he found wrestling to be something he could truly enjoy and honed his skills to win match after match. Long after high school, he continued to take the wrestling world by storm winning numerous titles, championships and tournaments along the way. His prowess even took him to the 1984 Olympics where he won the gold medal. People may have once called him “Pudge” but that wasn’t what they were calling him, now. Now, they were calling him Champion.

And then, like all good things, his life and career came to an end in a senseless shooting. But on that day, the wrestling world didn’t just lose Dave Schultz; it also lost any credibility and integrity in the sport. Nowadays, wrestling is little more than loud and obnoxious theatre-work. However, if you look hard enough, you can still find people who remember what it used to be like; carrying on the legendary honor and sportsmanship that Dave exemplified each and every day.

A popular and controversial freestyle wrestler is Gorgeous George, who wrestled in the 1940′s and was a popular television personality. He was popular because he wrestled professionally, but he was controversial because he was a very odd character and was considered a kind of ‘villian’ among other wrestlers because he talked dirty and it was questionable whether or not he would sometimes cheat.

Born in Palo Alto, California on June 6, 1959, Schultz began wrestling in junior high. He was know to be a chubby child, and was often made fun of for his dyslexia and appearance.

At Palo Alto High School, he excelled at wrestling under the guidance of Coach Ed Hart. As a senior, he competed on his first U.S. international team in Soviet Georgia, the Tblisi Tournament. In the tournament, he was the highest ranking American winning a silver medal. Due to the timing of the international tournament, Schultz was unable to qualify for the California State High School Championships. Coach Hart petitioned the state on Schultz’s behalf, and he was given the opportunity to compete. At state, he wrestled two weight classes above his division. Pinning all of his opponents, but the last; he ended up defeating him 12-1 in the finals. Also during his senior year, he won the U.S. National Open Greco-Roman Championships. This was his first national title, and he also won the award for most falls in the least amount of time.

Schultz turned to the sport of wrestling in junior high school and was successful early on, winning both a national and international wrestling title in 1977. The talented athlete also became the state champion while he was a high school senior. At this young age, Schultz was able to pin Chuck Yagla, a 2-time NCAA champion.

Dave competed in the “toughest tournament in the world” when he qualified to participate with the U.S. international team for the Tbilisi Tournament in Soviet Georgia. He won a silver medal and placed the highest out of all the competing Americans.

His successful wrestling career included becoming a three-time NCAA All-American, winning an Olympic Gold medal in 1984, four World Cups, two Pan American games titles and he was the only American to win the Tbilisi tournament a record two times.

Dave Schultz was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997 after his death. Sadly, the great athlete was shot and killed by his team’s sponsor, John E. du Pont at age 36.