Robert E. Pearce

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Robert "Bobby" Edward Pearce (born February 29, 1908 in Wyaconda , Maryland , † March 15, 1996 ) was an American wrestler and Olympic champion .

Career

Bobby Pearce began wrestling in Cushing , Oklahoma High School . His coach there was Matt Berg, who made him an excellent freestyle wrestler. In 1928 he took part in the US Olympic elimination and came in 3rd place in bantamweight. He then moved to Oklahoma State University, where Edward C. Gallagher was his trainer.

In 1930 and 1931 he was American bantamweight champion of the Amateur Athletic Union and in 1931 also American university champion (NCAA College Champion). In 1932 he qualified for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles . There he won the gold medal with four certain point wins, including victories over the top European wrestlers Aatos Jaskari from Finland and Ödön Zombori from Hungary . Such victories were all the more remarkable since the US wrestlers started exclusively in competitions at American universities. At that time there were no world championships and no Pan-American championships where they could gain international experience.

From 1933 to 1937 Bobby Pearce was a professional wrestler and worked alongside and then as a trainer at high schools and universities. For his services to wrestling , he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1981.

International success

swell

  • Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships, 1976
  • various issues of the specialist magazine "Athletik" from 1932
  • National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum website

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pearce, Robert E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pearce, Robert Edward; Pearce, Bobby
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler and Olympic champion
DATE OF BIRTH February 29, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Wyaconda , Maryland
DATE OF DEATH March 15, 1996