John William Smith (born August 9, 1965) is an American

folkstyle Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and mi ...

and

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

wrestler and coach. Smith was a two-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

national champion, and a six-time world level champion with two

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Championships and four

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Wrestling Championships. Smith is the only American wrestler ever to win six consecutive World or Olympic championships as a competitor. At the end of his competitive career, Smith had won more World and Olympic gold medals in wrestling than any other American. Smith was widely known for his low single leg takedown, and is considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time.

Wrestling career

High School

Smith wrestled at

Del City High School Del City High School is the only public high school located in Del City, Oklahoma, U.S., and one of three high schools in the Mid-Del School District. The school opened in 1953. According to GreatSchools.org, the high school is rated above Midwes ...

Del City, Oklahoma Del City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 21,822 at the United States Census, 2020. Del City is located near two major interstate highways, both of whi ...

. While in high school Smith had a 105-5 record, and was a two-time

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

state champion.

College

Smith competed collegiately at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. While at Oklahoma State University, Smith's college career record was 154-7-2. At the

NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have been held annually since 1928, except for a hiatus in 1943–45 during World War II and in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 1928 and from 1931–1933, there was only an unofficial team tit ...

, Smith was a three-time national finalist and a two-time national champion. He finished his college career with 90 consecutive victories.

International

Beginning in his teenage years, Smith competed internationally in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

. Highlights of his career include four UWW World gold medals, and two

gold medals. At the Senior level, his international freestyle wrestling record was 100-5. He is the only American wrestler to ever win six consecutive World or Olympic championships as a competitor.

Coaching career

Smith became the head wrestling coach at

in 1991. During his tenure, Oklahoma State University won five

national team titles, with titles coming in 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. As of 2022, his overall dual meet record was 462-69-6. He had also coached 33

individual national champions, and coached his wrestlers to 150 All-American honors. Smith has brought 21 team conference titles and 129 individual conference championships to Stillwater as a coach, as well.

Awards and honors

;1992 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

;1991 *

World Wrestling Championships The World Wrestling Championships are the Amateur Wrestling World Championships organized by United World Wrestling. The Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling tournament began in 1904, and the Men's Freestyle Wrestling tournament began in 1951. The Women's ...

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

* Pan American Championships ;1990 *

* Grand Masters of Olympic Wrestling * UWW Master of Technique award winner *

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

winner ;1989 *

;1988 *

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

;1987 *

* Pan American Championships *

;1986 *

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

;1985 *

Other honors

* Smith was inducted into the

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 ...

as a Distinguished Member in 1997. * He was inducted into the

Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame The Jim Thorpe Association is a civic and charity organization based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its parent corporation is the Jim Thorpe Athletic Club. It is named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe Award The organization has ...

with the class of 1997. * In 2020, Smith was inducted into the

Oklahoma Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated to their communities, and provide educational programming for all ages. The first Oklahoma Hall of Fame Induction Cer ...

. * The high school Smith graduated from,

in Oklahoma, named its field house after him. * Smith has a wrestling move named after him, the John Smith low single.

Family

Smith's older brother Lee Roy Smith and younger brother Pat Smith are

national champions. Smith's youngest brother, Mark, was also a successful

wrestler, having placed in the top five nationally three times. Smith's nephews Mark Perry and Chris Perry are also

national champions. His son, Joe Smith, earned NCAA All-American honors twice while wrestling at Oklahoma State under his coaching. His nephew

J. T. Realmuto Jacob Tyler Realmuto ( ; born March 18, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2014 and 2018, he played in MLB for the Miami Marlins. Realmuto was born in Del Ci ...

is an All-Star

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Bibliography

* Dellinger, Bob & Doris. 1994. The Cowboys Ride Again. Oklahoma Bylines Inc. * Zavoral, Nolan. 1997. A Season on the Mat. Simon & Schuster. * Hammond, Jairus K. 2005. The History of Collegiate Wrestling. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. * Moffat, James V. 2007. Wrestlers At The Trials. Exit Zero Publishing. * Parrish, Kim D. 2007. Cowboy Up. Oklahoma Heritage Association.

References

External links

Wrestling Hall of Fame – Coach

Wrestling Hall of Fame – Wrestler

Collegiate Record – Wrestler

Collegiate Record – Coach

John Smith Videos-MatDaddy.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1965 births Living people American male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States World Wrestling Champions Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling coaches James E. Sullivan Award recipients People from Del City, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Oklahoma Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1987 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games Goodwill Games medalists in wrestling Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games