Takedown Report

Chris Campbell Took A Week Of Vacation From Job To Compete At 1990 Worlds

World champion Chris Campbell was an attorney when he made a successful wrestling comeback in his 30s

There are stories that are stranger than fiction. Then there’s Chris Campbell.  His improbable comeback tale includes more twists and turns than an ambitious Hollywood script could handle. And it’s all real. 

Campbell was an NCAA champion for Iowa in 1976 and 1977 but it was borderline miraculous that he made it there. Dan Gable — an assistant coach at the time — flew to Westfield, New Jersey, in 1973 to speak at a banquet as a favor to then-athletic director Bump Elliot. A young Chris Campbell was in the audience. “I really liked your speech,” Campbell told Gable. “I’d really be interested in wrestling at Iowa.”

Oh, by the way, “I’ll kick your butt,” Campbell told Gable during the exchange. 

Gable learned that Campbell went out for wrestling when the basketball coach told him “You suck.” He wrestled JV as a sophomore but Campbell’s mother wouldn’t sign a release for his junior year. He eventually competed as a senior season, winning a state title following an undefeated season.

“Nobody really recruited me because they were afraid my mother wouldn’t sign off,” Campbell said. “Nobody really knew about me because I only really wrestled one year of high school at the varsity level.” 

Iowa Wrestling Scholarship

The Hawkeyes offered Campbell a books scholarship after he placed second at Junior Nationals in Iowa City a few weeks later. He sold his car, purchased a ticket to Iowa with the money, and began work at a Ford factory while he trained with the Hawkeyes. 

Gable took over as head coach during the 1976-77 season and Campbell was his first individual NCAA champion following two titles and three appearances in the finals. 

That led to a successful freestyle career where he won a World title in 1981 following a fifth-place finish in 1977. Campbell made the 1980 Olympic team but the United States boycotted due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. The strict amateur rules at the time meant Campbell often lived on food stamps.  … rest of story at … Flowrestling.org/articles/chris-campbell-took-a-week-of-vacation-from-job-to-compete-at-1990-worlds

September 21, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized