After leaving the place he’d help establish as a national wrestling power, Gray Simons spent five seasons at Indiana State as the Sycaomres’ head coach prior to taking over his first “big school” - the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. While sports-crazy, Tennessee was still new to the wrestling game. Gray Simons and a talented recruiter named Steve Gaydosh wouldn’t just change Tennessee’s fortunes - they would turn Tennessee into a waking giant in college wrestling. As programs started to fall around them, Tennessee held strong, as did its athletes, overcoming some severe adversity on the ..read more

Gray Simons finished his college career by setting a new standard in college wrestling. Seven national championships, college wrestling’s first four-time title winner in any division to go along with two Olympic appearances. The Olympic disappointment didn’t last long as Gray Simons returned to Mat Town to take over its proud wrestling program. Simons was primed to lead the program to new heights, taking over as the program’s head coach after his distinguished competitive career. But could Simons build the Bald Eagles into a winner against the nation’s heavyweights or would something else stan ..read more

From 1961-1964, Gray Simons was one of the best wrestlers in the World. Heading into his junior season at Lock Haven, Simons had already won two NAIA national championships and an NCAA championship, beating Olympian Dick Wilson in the finals as a sophomore.  After his trip to Rome saw him come away from the Olympics without a medal, Simons continued his tear through college wrestling. Would injuries or wrestlers from more dominant programs stop him from his place in wrestling history? Would old friends and teammates be the ones who would knock Simons from his path?  Find out in the s ..read more

Trailer for the upcoming Etched in Stone series, Gray Simons: Seven. Gray Simons was college wrestling's first four-time collegiate national champion. He also holds the unique distinction of being the first - and only - seven-time college national champion. Simons was a four-time NAIA champion at Lock Haven and was also a three-time NCAA champion, winning the Outstanding Wrestler award six times in those seven tournaments.  A two-time Olympian, Simons stands as one of the greatest American wrestlers to ever walk the earth.  ..read more

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling are excited to announce that their Etched In Stone - Stories of Wrestling Legends podcast featuring Lee Kemp, a three-time World champion and a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Wisconsin has launched at etchedinstonepodcast.com. Episode II will be released on March 7 followed by Episode III on March 14 and Episode IV on March 21. The EIS series provides wrestling fans an opportunity to hear legendary wrestlers sharing the trials and tribulations they encountered on the way to becoming one of wrestling’s best. Podcasts also inc ..read more

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling are excited to announce that their Etched In Stone - Stories of Wrestling Legends podcast featuring Lee Kemp, a three-time World champion and a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Wisconsin has launched at etchedinstonepodcast.com. Episode II will be released on March 8 followed by Episode III on March 15 and Episode IV on March 22. The EIS series provides wrestling fans an opportunity to hear legendary wrestlers sharing the trials and tribulations they encountered on the way to becoming one of wrestling’s best. Podcasts also inc ..read more

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling are excited to announce that their Etched In Stone - Stories of Wrestling Legends podcast featuring Lee Kemp, a three-time World champion and a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Wisconsin has launched at etchedinstonepodcast.com. Episode II will be released on March 7 followed by Episode III on March 14 and Episode IV on March 21. The EIS series provides wrestling fans an opportunity to hear legendary wrestlers sharing the trials and tribulations they encountered on the way to becoming one of wrestling’s best. Podcasts also inc ..read more

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling are excited to announce that their Etched In Stone - Stories of Wrestling Legends podcast featuring Lee Kemp, a three-time World champion and a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Wisconsin has launched at etchedinstonepodcast.com. Episode II will be released on March 8 followed by Episode III on March 15 and Episode IV on March 22. The EIS series provides wrestling fans an opportunity to hear legendary wrestlers sharing the trials and tribulations they encountered on the way to becoming one of wrestling’s best. Podcasts also inc ..read more

The famous tagline for ABC’s Wide World of Sports is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Lloyd Keaser’s story isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. In addition to the hardships he overcame as a youth and the struggles in high school and at the Naval Academy, Keaser’s wrestling career also saw the highs and lows. Wrestling is a fickle beast. Wrestling doesn’t care how good you are. It can fell the mightiest of men and women. It is humbling.    Following Keaser’s triumph in 1973 at the World Championships, he experienced another form of agony, but it was wrapped in Olympic unique ..read more

When it comes to being a success, Famed country music legend Loretta Lynn once said you either have to be first, best or different. In the sports world, there aren’t many opportunities to be all three at the same time, since there’s usually always someone who’s come before you.    In 1973, Lloyd “Butch” Keaser would accomplish the rare trifecta, but before Keaser made history as the first African American to win a world championship and the first Black wrestler to win an Olympic medal, he had to be introduced to the sport of wrestling.    In the second installment of the Ll ..read more