Christopher J. Taylor (June 13, 1950 – June 30, 1979) was an American super-heavyweight wrestler. He competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman events at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and won a bronze medal in the freestyle. At 412 pounds (187 kg), he was the heaviest Olympian ever until the appearance of judoka Ricardo Blas Jr. in 2008 (weight limits have since been imposed).

Amateur wrestling

The 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) Taylor wrestled for Dowagiac High School in

Dowagiac, Michigan Dowagiac ( ) is a city in Cass County, Michigan, Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,879 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the South Bend, Indiana, South Bend–Mishawaka, Indiana, Mishawaka, ...

Muskegon Community College Muskegon Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Muskegon, Michigan. The college offers 49 associate degree programs and 33 certificate programs. The college's main campus is located on a 111-acre campus in Muskegon, with extens ...

in Muskegon, Michigan, and

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

(winning the NCAA heavyweight championship in 1972 and 1973 by defeating

Greg Wojciechowski Gregory M. Wojciechowski (born 1951) is a former American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler, best known by his ring name The Great Wojo, who competed primarily for the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association during the 1980s, most ...

and Jim Hagen, respectively), and won the bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics. He lost only to

Alexander Medved Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Medved (born 16 September 1937) is a Ukrainian-born Soviet Belarusian retired freestyle wrestler who competed for the Soviet Union and was named "one of the greatest wrestlers in history" by FILA, the sport's governing bod ...

. It appeared Medved was stalling, but the referee awarded a point to the Soviet, charging Taylor with a lack of action. Later admitting that he felt sorry for Medved because of Taylor's size, the referee was dismissed from the Olympic tournament and banned from international officiating. In the Greco-Roman competition, Taylor was unexpectedly

suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling feature ...

ed and pinned by a much lighter

Wilfried Dietrich Wilfried Dietrich (14 October 1933 – 2 June 1992) was a German heavyweight wrestler. Between 1956 and 1972 he took part in five Olympics and six world championships, often entering both the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling contests – a ...

, whom he defeated a week before in the freestyle contest.

Professional wrestling career

Taylor wrestled professionally in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

. His debut was in 1973 vs

Rene Goulet Robert Bédard (July 12, 1932 – May 25, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler. better known by his ring name, the "Number One Frenchman" Rene Goulet. Early life Robert Bedard was born on July 12, 1932 in Quebec City and played hocke ...

. Taylor faced various wrestlers, among them future star

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

. Taylor, trained by

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

and

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 3 March 2014) was a British professional wrestler and wrestling instructor. Robinson was one of the few wrestlers who was successful in several continents (Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania ...

, was being groomed to be a major star. Chronic health problems limited the amount of work he could do, and said problems forced him to retire from the ring in 1977. He is often seen in video highlights shown at the AWA training camp, most notably in the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

DVD releases ''The Spectacular Legacy Of the AWA'' and ''The Definitive Ric Flair Collection''. Also appears in a clip on The Nature Boy, an

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

30 for 30 documentary about Ric Flair's life. He defeated Flair. Taylor's finishing move was a variation of the bearhug.

Personal life

On September 9, 1973, Taylor married Lynn Hart. He died of cardiovascular complications at his home in

Story City, Iowa Story City is a city in Story County, Iowa. It is located within the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area which envelops the entirety of Story County and combined with the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area makes up the larger Ames-Boo ...

, at the age of 29, two years after health problems caused him to retire from professional wrestling. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in

. The couple had one daughter.

Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

**Distinguished Member (Class of 2012) *Iowa State Wrestling Hall Of Fame **Class of 2012 *

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is a List of professional wrestling halls of fame, professional wrestling hall of fame museum located within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's National Wrestling Hall o ...

**Class of 2013 Chris Taylor and Wilfried Dietrich 1972.jpg, Taylor vs. Dietrich at the 1972 Olympics Chris Taylor vs Wilfried Dietrich 1972b.jpg, Taylor vs. Dietrich at the 1972 Olympics Chris Taylor with family 1972.jpg, Taylor with family at the 1972 Olympics Chris Taylor vs Rene Goulet 1973.jpg, Taylor vs. Goulet in 1973

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Chris 1950 births 1979 deaths American male professional wrestlers Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in wrestling People from Dowagiac, Michigan Professional wrestlers from Iowa Professional wrestlers from Michigan Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers 20th-century American male actors People from Story City, Iowa Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics 20th-century professional wrestlers