Shelby Autrie Wilson (born July 14, 1937) is an American

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

and Olympic champion.

Career

A native of

Ponca City, Oklahoma Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...

, Wilson was a two-time Oklahoma state tournament runner-up while in high school, and was a two-time NCAA runner-up in

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

Oklahoma State 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 ...

. At the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials, he finished in third place. During the Olympic Training Camp he successfully challenged the trials' second and first-place finishers to gain the starting position. He won Olympic Gold in Rome, in the freestyle lightweight (67 kg) division. His Olympic gold medal was the first major tournament that Wilson had won. He later became a high school wrestling coach at

Owen Valley Community High School Owen Valley Community High School, also known as "OVHS", is a public high school located in Spencer, Indiana. History Built in 1971, OVHS is the result of a consolidation of several smaller schools located within Owen County. The three schools t ...

."1960 Summer Olympics – Rome, Italy – Wrestling"
– ''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on April 29, 2008) In 1982, Wilson 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.Shelby Wilson
''National Wrestling Hall of Fame''. Retrieved September 18, 2022.

References

1937 births Living people Wrestlers at the 1960 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Sportspeople from Oklahoma People from Ponca City, Oklahoma Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Ponca City High School alumni {{Oklahoma-sport-stub