Robin Reed (October 20, 1899 – December 20, 1978) was an American
amateur and
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
, and wrestling coach. Throughout his amateur career he never lost a wrestling match, official or unofficial, to anyone at any weight class. Reed won a gold medal 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 wrestli ...
at the
1924 Summer Olympics.
He led
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
to its first team national championship, and as a wrestler in college he consistently wrestled in the 170 pound weight division, despite his actual weight being close to 140 pounds. Reed later wrestled professionally, and was a World Welterweight Champion.
Early years
High school
Reed was born in
Pettigrew, Arkansas
Pettigrew is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Arkansas, United States. Pettigrew is located on Arkansas Highway 16, east of St. Paul and three miles southwest of Boston. The community is in the Boston Mountains along the banks of t ...
. He grew up in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
and first started wrestling at Portland's
Franklin High School, where he took a class on wrestling in order to get out of having to take gym. Reed is quoted as saying, "I needed gymnasium credits to graduate from high school, but I didn't want any gym because I was already getting all the exercise I needed operating an air hammer at the shipyards. I was only 125 pounds and could barely hold onto that air hammer, so I was getting all the gym I needed." He learned quickly, going undefeated throughout his time wrestling in high school.
College
After high school, Reed attended
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...
(then known as Oregon Agricultural College), and won every match he competed in, winning the 125-pound National
AAU championship in 1921 and the 135-pound championship in 1922 and 1924 (he didn't win a title in 1923, though he still won every match he competed in). While still a student at Oregon State, he coached the local
Corvallis High School wrestling team to win the
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
state championship.
Olympics
While still attending Oregon State, Reed participated in the Pacific Northwest Olympic team trials. He entered the 145.5, 158.5, 174.0, and 192.0 pound weight classes, winning at each weight class. At the Olympics, he entered the 134.5 pound weight class (the second lowest) and pinned all of his opponents, including fellow
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
teammate
Chester Newton in the finals. It was widely established that Reed had the ability to pin every member of U.S. Olympic team, including team members who won gold at 191 pounds and heavyweight.
Prior to the 1924 Olympic competition, Reed was hitch-hiking from his home in Oregon to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, in route to join the U.S. Olympic team. Reed stopped at
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 ...
and asked the coach if he could work out when it came time practice. When the coach refused, Reed asked if he first pinned every member of the wrestling team, could he then work out with the team. The coach agreed, and Reed proceeded to pin each Iowa State wrestler prior to practice and earned his workout. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, Reed who only weighed around 135 lbs., bet he could pin
Harry Steel, the American heavyweight gold medalist, and did so five times within fifteen minutes. It is widely believed that if the rules had permitted it, Reed could have won the gold medal in every weight class.
Post-Olympics
Coaching and professional wrestling
Upon his return from the Olympics, Reed retired from his amateur wrestling career having never lost a match, a feat matched only by Japan's
Osamu Watanabe. While still a student, he became coach of the
Oregon State wrestling team, and led them to win the national AAU championship in 1926, Oregon State's first team national championship in any sport.
In late 1926, he began competing on the professional wrestling circuit, a career he would follow for 10 years. He trained with other feared wrestlers such as
Martin Burns
Martin Burns (February 15, 1861 – January 8, 1937), nicknamed Farmer Burns, was an American catch wrestler, wrestling coach, and teacher. Born in Cedar County, Iowa, he started wrestling as a teenager and made money traveling around the Midw ...
and
John Pesek
John Pesek (February 21, 1894 – March 12, 1978) was an American professional wrestler and greyhound racing dog breeder. Nicknamed 'The Nebraska Tiger Man' for his ferocity, aggression and catlike dexterity, Olympic freestyle wrestling gold meda ...
, who helped refine his submission skills. He notably lost against Pesek in a private workout match. Reed reportedly took Pesek down before Pesek overwhelmed Reed with his aggressive
catch wrestling
Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain . It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission ...
skills. His greatest accomplishment in pro wrestling was winning the World Welterweight Championship.
Later life
In 1936, he went into the real estate business following his career in professional wrestling. In December 1936, Reed survived a suicide attempt following a lawsuit from his ex-wife. Reed resided off the Oregon coast the remainder of his life. In 1971, Reed finished up his college degree at the age of 72. He died in 1978 at the age of 79.
He 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 1978, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame inaugural class in 1980, and the Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.
Robin Reed - Wrestling
''Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum''. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
References
Robin Reed, distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Oregon State Wrestling History
page 11
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Robin
1899 births
1978 deaths
Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics
American male professional wrestlers
American male sport wrestlers
Oregon State Beavers wrestlers
American wrestling coaches
Oregon State Beavers wrestling coaches
People from Madison County, Arkansas
Wrestlers from Oregon
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics
People from Lincoln City, Oregon