 Hodge, then aged 80, crushing an apple with one hand at theOklahoma House of Representatives in 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Dan Allen Hodge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1932-05-13)May 13, 1932 Perry, Oklahoma, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 24, 2020(2020-12-24) (aged 88) Perry, Oklahoma, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Dan Allen Hodge (May 13, 1932 – December 24, 2020) was an Americanamateur andprofessional wrestler, who also had a briefprofessional boxing career. He is in both theU.S. amateur wrestling Hall of Fame, for his threeNCAA titles andOlympic silver medal, and thepro wrestling Hall of Fame, as a seven-timeNWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. TheDan Hodge Trophy is thecollege wrestling equivalent of theHeisman Trophy.
Hodge was born and raised inPerry, Oklahoma, where he continued to live. He was famous for the ability to crush apples with one hand,[1] a feat which he demonstrated live onESPN during the2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He said his strength was due to having double tendons in his hands.[2]
Dan Allen Hodge was born and raised inPerry, Oklahoma,[3] the son of an alcoholic father and a mother who dealt with severe depression.[4][5] His home burned down when he was 9, and his mother suffered severe burns over 70 percent of her body, necessitating 52 blood transfusions.[4][5] Hodge was raised by his grandfather, who drank a lot and beat Hodge frequently.[4] He also worked at aConoco gas station.[6]
Hodge started wrestling by the age of 13.[3] At Perry High School in Oklahoma, Hodge won the 165-pound title at the state tournament in 1951. As acollegiate wrestler for theUniversity of Oklahoma, Hodge was undefeated at 46–0, with 36 pins and reportedly was never taken off his feet during his collegiate career.[7] He was a three-time Big Seven conference champ at 177 pounds (1955–1957), and won the 177-pound title at the NCAA championships those same three years, pinning all three of his finals opponents. In addition to his collegiate wrestling career, Hodge also won threeAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championships infreestyle wrestling, as well as winning one inGreco-Roman wrestling in 1956 at 174 pounds.[4] He was the first and to date only amateur wrestler to be featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated.[8][9]
His reputation as a high school wrestler preceded him when he joined the US Navy in 1951. AtAmes, Iowa, in April 1952, Hodge survived the US Olympic Trials, and was coached byNaval Academy Instructor Ray Swartz in the 174-pound division.[10] Hodge finished outside the top seven in theHelsinki Olympics freestyle middleweight, losing two of his three bouts.[3][11] Going into May 1956 wrestling trials for the US Olympic team, Hodge was the middleweight favorite. He was eliminated on May 2 by William Smith, who was embroiled in controversy with the Central AAU.[10] At theMelbourne Olympics freestyle middleweight, he won the silver medal, losing the final toBulgarianNikola Stanchev.[12]
TheDan Hodge Trophy, named after him, is thecollege wrestling equivalent of theHeisman Trophy.[4][7]
Danny won the 1958 Chicago Golden Gloves at Heavyweight, then won a Chicago Intercity bout in October, beating Charley Hood. He finished his amateur career with 17 wins, no losses and 12 KO's. Convinced by boxing manager Art Freeman that he was a better prospect thanRocky Marciano, Hodge decided to become a professional boxer rather than pursue the opportunity to compete as a boxer and a wrestler at the1960 Summer Olympics inRome.[10] In his professional boxing debut, he scored a first-round knockout victory over Norm Jackson.[10] As a professional, he had a reported record of 8–2, although only 7 wins have been documented. He retired on July 9, 1959.[10]
.jpg) Hodge in 1972 | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
|---|---|
| Ring name | Danny Hodge |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[13] |
| Billed weight | 227 lb (103 kg)[13] |
| Trained by | Ed "Strangler" Lewis[13] Leroy McGuirk |
| Debut | October 7, 1959[13] |
| Retired | September 1, 1983 |
Trained byLeroy McGuirk andEd "Strangler" Lewis, Hodge made his debut as a professional wrestler on October 9, 1959.[4][10] Hodge's first major feud was withNational Wrestling Alliance Junior Heavyweight ChampionAngelo Savoldi. Hodge's father entered the ring during a boxing match on May 27, 1960, between Hodge and Savoldi, and stabbed Savoldi with a penknife.[10] Savoldi required 70 stitches at a local hospital, while Hodge's father was arrested.[14] On July 22, 1960, Hodge defeated Savoldi for theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Stockyards Coliseum in Oklahoma City.[15] Hodge became McGuirk's principal headliner, and by 1962, Hodge was making upwards of $80,000 a year.[14]
Hodge was a perennial NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, holding the title eight times for a total of over ten years, longer than anyone else.[4] After holding the title for over four years, he eventually dropped the title to longtime rivalHiro Matsuda. Six months later, he defeated Matsuda to regain the title.[16] He held the belt for several months until he lost it toLorenzo Parente; they both continuously lost and regained the title in the span of a year during their feud. After Parente lost the belt to Hodge again, Hodge held the belt for another four months until eventually losing it toSputnik Monroe on July 13, 1970.[16] Once again regaining the title a few months later, Hodge found himself as an ex-champion again when he eventually facedRoger Kirby. He was separated from the title until he defeatedDr. X, who was holding the title, and Hodge held his title once again for two more years before being upset byKen Mantell on December 19, 1973. Mantell eventually lost the title to Hiro Matsuda, Hodge's rival; Hodge defeated him for the championship on March 2, 1976.[16]
On March 15, 1976, after wrestling that evening inHouma,[4] Hodge was driving his car when he fell asleep at the wheel causing him to crash through a bridge and into a lake. The car flipped, and the crash broke his neck and shattered his teeth upon impact. Hodge was able to escape by punching out his car window and safely swimming back to shore.[2] He was then transported to a hospital,[5] and the injuries sustained in the accident caused his retirement from professional wrestling.[6] On September 1, 1983, Hodge returned to the ring, facing against SWCW USA Junior Heavyweight ChampionEric Embry, which Embry won.[17]
In 2007, Hodge was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame.[9] He made appearances inWWE onRaw in 2005 and 2012 in which he honored his close friends and fellow OklahomanJim Ross.[18]WWE Hall of Famer and seven-time world championBret Hart has referred to Hodge as "one of the greatest wrestlers in pro wrestling or amateur wrestling there’s ever been",[19] and described being in the same room as Hodge at the 2008National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's award ceremony as "a big, big honor for me".[19]
Hodge and his wife, Dolores, had three children.[6]
On March 29, 2005, Hodge was honored byOklahoma state lawmakers as an "Oklahoma Sports Hero".[4] He served as chairman of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, which regulates professional boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts in Oklahoma.[20] There is a statue in his honor at the Perry Wrestling Monument Park in Oklahoma.[21]
Hodge died at the age of 88 on December 24, 2020, and had been suffering fromdementia.[6]
