Takedown Report

The Life and Legacy of Dave Schultz, Chapter 1: The Day Wrestling Died

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Only had the pleasure of briefly meeting Dave Schultz twice and was most favorably impressed by his pleasant manner and friendliness to others. Then in August of 1995 I saw him compete at the World Championships in Atlanta. I believe that was his last time in international competition. He was cheered on by more wrestling fans than any other competitor. This could be expected by having the event in the U.S.A. yet he was cheered on by fans of his opponents. The Iranians had a large and quite noisy crowd with a leader of their cheers who used a rythmic little horn. At first they impressed me as being a bit annoying but eventually I came to see they were not only fans of their wrestlers but also true fans of the sport. They also gave Schultz a standing ovation as he came out to wrestle and after he jogged back to the showers after the matches. He repayed their respect with a waive and recognition of thanks to them. It was most memorable. As any other wrestling fan it was a sad kick in the gut when I heard the shocking news the following January. I wish I could have seen him in many other competitions in front of wrestling fans.
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Dave Schultz was one of the all-time greats. Not just because he was an NCAA champion or an Olympic gold medalist… but because of his genuine good nature and generous spirit.
Ten years ago, Dave’s life was taken in a senseless, bizarre murder that sounds straight out of a really awful movie. Only this was really awful real life.
RevWrestling.com seeks to pay tribute to Dave Schultz with a series of articles that address various aspects of his life and legacy. In this installment, we share the circumstances of his tragic murder… and outline his considerable wrestling accomplishments. In future chapters, we plan to paint a more complete picture of Dave, including reminiscences from some of the folks who knew him best.

Friday, January 26, 1996: The day wrestling died.
That date, US freestyle wrestler Dave Schultz was murdered by multimillionaire John du Pont at his estate in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia.

Dave SchultzDave, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, was training for the 1996 Atlanta Games and coaching the Team Foxcatcher squad at du Pont’s state-of-the-art wrestling facility on the estate grounds. That dreary Friday afternoon, Dave was working on the radio in his Toyota Tercel in front of his house at du Pont’s estate when the heir to the chemical company fortune pulled up to the 36-year-old wrestler/coach’s car and fired a shot through the back window of the station wagon. At the sound of the gunshot, Dave’s wife Nancy bolted out of the kitchen in their home. By the time she reached the front door, there was a second shot. She saw her husband on the ground… and du Pont pointing his .38 out the open window of his Lincoln Town Car.
According to the account of the crime in the book No Holds Barred: The Strange Life of John E. du Pont, Nancy told du Pont to stop … but he fired off a third shot into the back of the prone wrestler. Then du Pont pointed the gun at Nancy, who took refuge inside the house while dialing 911. The life squad was there in minutes. However, Dave was pronounced dead at Mercy Haverford Hospital at 3:30 p.m. In the meantime, John du Pont fled the murder scene and barricaded himself in his mansion on the estate grounds … staying locked in the library that had been reinforced as a bomb shelter during the Cold War, and stocked with food and water in anticipation of a nuclear attack. Outside, approximately 75 police officers — including thirty SWAT team members — took up positions in the freezing rain. Negotiating by phone with the police, du Pont asked that he be addressed as “His Holiness” and referred to himself as the Dali Lama. In the meantime, all wrestlers at the Team Foxcatcher facility were evacuated. The standoff dragged on through the weekend. At least a dozen separate phone conversations took place between du Pont and the police. Earlier … Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/832/The-Life-and-Legacy-Dave-Schultz-Chapter-1-The-Day-Wrestling-Died?fbclid=IwAR0aIYJ5g9mo5Gin5TfQerU6ulQDfJygo6GvXS8es2kFS1JkMsy_Zk9sq1g

January 27, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized