Dave Schultz (amateur wrestler)

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Dave Schultz
Oklahoma State University
University of Oklahoma
NCAA championships1
Olympic teamUnited States
Olympic medalGold
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles 74 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Kyiv 74 kg
Silver medal – second place 1985 Budapest 74 kg
Silver medal – second place 1987 Clermont 74 kg
Silver medal – second place 1993 Toronto 74 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Edmonton 82 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Budapest 74 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis 74 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Mar del Plata 74 kg
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place 1986 Moscow 74 kg
Silver medal – second place 1994 St. Petersburg 74 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Representing the Oklahoma Sooners
Gold medal – first place 1982 Ames 167 lb
Silver medal – second place 1981 Princeton 158 lb
Representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys
Bronze medal – third place 1978 College Park 150 lb

David Lesley Schultz (June 6, 1959 – January 26, 1996) was an American

freestyle wrestler
, and a seven-time World and Olympic medalist. He coached individuals and teams at the college level and also privately.

Dave and his brother, wrestler

Anatoli and Sergei Beloglazov) to win both World and Olympic championships. The Schultz brothers have won more NCAA
, World, and Olympic titles than any other American brother combination in history.

Schultz was employed as a coach by

Foxcatcher Farm
that he set up on his estate in Pennsylvania. In January 1996, du Pont murdered Schultz.

Early life

David Lesley Schultz was born in

Christian by faith.[6][7]

As a young child, Dave was overweight (nicknamed "Pudge"), and was often

Schultz began wrestling in junior high school at David Starr Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto coached by Robert Hoskins.[8] In 1977 as a senior at Palo Alto High School, he became state champion. That year he also won both his first national and international wrestling titles. As a high school senior he pinned 2-time NCAA champion and NCAA "Outstanding Wrestler" Chuck Yagla at the Great Plains Championships. His brother Mark started competing in sports in gymnastics, winning the Northern California All-Around Gymnastics Championships in his age group. In his junior year he switched to wrestling, and in his senior year won state.[2]

Wrestling career

Dave Schultz (on far right) with (L-R) Mohammad Reza Tupchi, Chris Campbell, Kevin Jackson, and Abbas Jadidi.

High school career

Schultz's high school wrestling records included winning first place in the prestigious Great Plains freestyle tournament, which qualified him to compete on his first U.S. international team in the Tbilisi Tournament in then-Soviet Georgia.[2] The Tbilisi Tournament is considered by many experts in the wrestling community to be the "toughest tournament in the world."[2] Schultz earned a silver medal and was the highest-placing American at the tournament. Due to the timing of Tbilisi, Schultz was not able to compete in the high school tournaments that were required to qualify for the California State Championships, but his coach Ed Hart successfully petitioned the state coaches association to allow him to compete.[2] Wrestling two weight classes above his normal division, Schultz pinned all his opponents in the state championships but the last, whom he defeated 12–1 in the final match.[2] Later that year he won his first national title by winning the U.S. National Open Greco-Roman Championships and won the award for most falls in the least amount of time. Schultz's senior year is considered by most experts as the most successful senior year in U.S. high school wrestling history.[2]

College

In college, Schultz was a three-time

Oklahoma State University and then twice at the University of Oklahoma. In 1982, he was the 167-pound weight class NCAA Champion defeating Mike Sheets from Oklahoma State University in the finals by criteria tie-breaker in overtime. His career collegiate record was 91–8: 30–4 at Oklahoma State University, 61–4 at the University of Oklahoma.[2]

World and Olympics career

Schultz won ten Senior National titles (eight in Freestyle and two in

Tbilisi, Georgia. In all, he was a seven-time World and Olympic medalist. Together, Dave and his brother Mark Schultz, along with the Banach brothers, were the first American brothers to each win gold medals in the same Olympics, and likewise the only American brothers to win both World and Olympic championships.[10]

Coaching and post professional career

At various times, Schultz also served as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma,

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. In 1996, Schultz was murdered there by John du Pont.[2]

Murder

Schultz trained at the Foxcatcher center while preparing for another Olympic bid, as well as coaching the wrestling team. On January 26, 1996, he was shot and killed by John du Pont, the owner of the center. Du Pont had exhibited bizarre and threatening behavior for an extended period preceding the murder.

Schultz was 36 at the time of his death. His body was cremated. Schultz's surviving family included his wife Nancy, his son Alexander, his daughter Danielle, his siblings, and both parents.[12]

At the trial, neither the prosecution nor the defense suggested a motive for the crime. A jury rejected du Pont's plea of not guilty by reason of insanity; he was convicted as guilty but mentally ill.[13] Du Pont was sentenced by Judge Patricia Jenkins to 13–30 years incarceration and died in prison on December 9, 2010. Schultz's father Philip told The New York Times that "the fact that he's officially gone is almost a moot point. I did forgive the man for what he did. I never forgave the act."[14]

The story of the events leading to his death are portrayed in the 2014 film Foxcatcher, with Schultz portrayed by Mark Ruffalo.

Legacy

After Schultz's murder, 20 former Foxcatcher athletes were left without training or coaching resources six months before the 1996 Olympic Games. Schultz's widow founded the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club in March 1996 to sponsor the stranded wrestlers through the Olympics. The Club succeeded beyond the initial goal. It continued to train athletes in both men's and women's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling until it closed in 2005.[15] Among the wrestlers who competed under Dave Schultz WC sponsorship were Olympic gold medalists Kurt Angle (100 kg/220 lbs Men's Freestyle, 1996) and Brandon Slay (76 kg/167.5 lbs Men's Freestyle, 2000), Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda (48 kg/105.5 lbs Women's Freestyle, 2004), and World Champion Stephen Neal (130 kg/286 lbs. Men's Freestyle, 1999).[15]

Representation in other media

Athletic achievements

  • 1982 NCAA Division I Champion, 167 lb class
  • 1983 Senior Freestyle world champion, 163 lb
  • 1984
    Olympic
    gold medalist, 163.1 lb
  • 1986 Goodwill Games gold medalist
  • 1994 Goodwill Games silver medalist
  • Seven-time USA Senior Freestyle champion (1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995; all except 1988 (180.5 lb) at 163 lb)
  • Five-time World Cup champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1994, 1995)
  • Two-time Pan American Games champion (1977 (Greco-Roman), 1987(Freestyle))
  • Three-time AAU National Champion (1977 GR, 1981 FS, 1982 GR)
  • Three-time NCAA Division I all-American (1978, 1981, 1982)
  • Two-Time Tbilisi Champion (1984, 1991)
  • Two-time Olympic Festival Champion (1985, 1987)
  • Two-time Sunkist International Champion (1989, 1990)
  • Three-time DeGlane Challenge Champion (1983, 1990, 1991)
  • Three-time World silver medalist, 163 lb (1985, 1987, 1993)
  • Two-time World Bronze medalist (1982, 1986)

See also

References

  1. ^ "DAVID SCHULTZ". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ "Mark Schultz: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". Amazon.com. 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  4. ^ World Biography. Vol. 2–3. New York, N.Y.: Institute for Research in Biography. 1948. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  5. . Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  6. ^ "The Life and Legacy of Dave Schultz, Chapter 1: The Day Wrestling Died". Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Palmer, Mark (January 26, 2006). "The Life and Legacy of Dave Schultz". Intermatwrestle.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  8. ^ Garcia, Edwin; Wykes, S.L. (September 8, 2014). "The Foxcatcher murder: The true story". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Dave Shultz Gold | 1983 Worlds | Schultz vs Magamadov". cmptrained.com. January 28, 2014.[dead link]
  10. ^ a b Official Report of the Games of the XXIII Olympiad Los Angeles, 1984. Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.
  11. ^ "Dave Schultz Interview After 1984 Olympic Gold Medal win". Youtube.com. March 13, 2008. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
  12. ^ "Tribute to David Schultz". The Washington Post News. 1996. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  13. ^ CNN (February 25, 1997). "Du Pont guilty but mentally ill in Olympic wrestler's murder". CNN. Retrieved February 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ Longman, Jeré (December 9, 2010). "John E. duPont, Heir Who Killed an Olympian, Dies at 72". The New York Times.
  15. ^ a b Abbott, Gary (April 23, 2005). "RIP Dave Schultz Wrestling Club". Retrieved December 8, 2010.
  16. ^ "Honoree: Dave Schultz".
  17. ^ Angle, Kurt. "Twitter". Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  18. ^ "Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award". nwhof.org. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  19. ^ "United World Wrestling to induct 15 members into Hall of Fame at Rio 2016". January 22, 2024. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  20. ^ "The Story Behind Foxcatcher: The Real-Life Murder of Dave Schultz". People Magazine. Time Inc. November 14, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  21. ^ Chai, Barbara (January 15, 2015). "Oscar Nominee Mark Ruffalo: 'Channing Should Be Here in My Place'". The Washington Street Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

External links