An illustrious group of people from the wrestling community came together on October 18th at Augsburg College in Minneapolis to honor and celebrate Greco-Roman wrestling history.
Four Greco-Roman wrestling greats, an influential contributor, and a prominent wrestling family were recognized for their achievements in the sport of wrestling.
Jim Burke, Jim Raschke, Brad Rheingans, Jim Martinez, Dave Curby, and the Martinez Family were recognized by the Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions.
Burke, Raschke, Rheingans, and Martinez were inducted as Distinguished Members. Each is an Olympic or World Championships medalist. Dave Curby received the Alan Rice Leadership Award while the Martinez Family of Minnesota received the Family Legacy Award.
Raschke, Martinez, Curby and Jason Martinez spoke about their wrestling experiences. Burke passed away in 2006 and Rheingans spoke by taped video.
Master of Ceremonies was Jason Bryant. Other speakers included Leroy Smith, Russ Camilleri, and Mike Chapman.
This was the fifth induction class into the Greco-Roman Hall of Champions. Past Distinguished Member inductees are Steve Fraser, Jeff Blatnick, Mike Houck, Dennis Hall, Joe Warren, Rulon Gardner, Matt Ghaffari, Dennis Koslowski, Brandon Paulson, and Matt Lindland.
The Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions is located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
To learn more about this year’s honorees, visit the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum website.