Question: The GIANT mat used in early 70's by Iowa or Pokes....

[21Guns]

I seem to remember that either the Pokes or Iowa had that supersized enormous gigantic mutant mat?
Does anyone have a pic of that floating around? I seem to have this vague memory of seeing highlights
from the early 70's and I think Iowa had a giant mat with squared circles instead of oval, and Okie State also had a super giant mat?

 

[minnhawkeye]

Don't have the pic of it try google.
Gable used it because the Pokes where always backing up so he gave them more room to work with.

 

[Pennstate1985]

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/3804

Gary Kurdelmeier also put fans in the stands with innovative promotions. For instance, for the 1975 dual meet vs. Oklahoma, he made a deal with the local McDonald's: If the Hawkeyes held the Sooners to fewer than ten points, each fan in attendance would score a free hamburger.

The promotion didn't stop there. For that Iowa vs. Oklahoma dual meet, Kurdelmeier had a 74-foot square mat put down on the floor of the Iowa Field House. "The mammoth mat practically covered the entire basketball floor, and the circle extended beyond the basketball foul lines on each end," according to Steve Hunte, Iowa's 134-pounder at the time.

"Oklahoma was notorious for playing the edge, hence the huge mat. You should've seen the looks on their faces when they came out into the gym and saw that huge mat for the first time … It really got the Iowa crowd excited."

The big mat worked. The dual meet was wrestled in just 56 minutes, with action being stopped only once for going out-of-bounds. The Hawkeyes drubbed the Sooners 34-5. As then-assistant coach J Robinson told Andy Hamilton for The History of Collegiate Wrestling, "It just about broke McDonald's. All of the sudden they had 9,000 people descending on them for a free hamburger."

In the "Ask Dan Gable" column at Iowa Public TV's College Wrestling website, the legendary wrestler/coach weighed in on the big mat: "The matches were quick because of very few whistle stops. No edge-of-the-mat controversial calls. Scared our opponents. Their coach said, 'It was like getting caught in an Iowa cornfield and not being able to find your way out.' Had a few meets, then it was outlawed by the wrestling rules committee. Rule based on inequality, that not everyone could afford to have a mat of that size."

 

[Pennstate1985]

Don't have the pic of it try google.
Gable used it because the Pokes where always backing up so he gave them more room to work with.

actually it was Kurdelmeier and not Gable. And it was the Sooners and not the Pokes.

 

[El-Jefe]

Still a classic. Not sure even that mat would've contained the Chris Perry - Nick Heflin match.

 

[Pennstate1985]

From the article I posted earlier ...

Another innovation was Gary Kurdelmeier's partnership with Roy Carver, the multi-millionaire wrestling fan from Muscatine, Iowa. Carver's financial backing helped establish and sustain the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, which allowed wrestlers to continue their training after college … and share their knowledge and experience with the young college grapplers in Iowa's wrestling room.

So it looks like Iowa had an Ira Lubert as well to get them over the hump.

 

[21Guns]

Don't have the pic of it try google.
Gable used it because the Pokes where always backing up so he gave them more room to work with.

thanks! That always interested me.

 

[minnhawkeye]

actually it was Kurdelmeier and not Gable. And it was the Sooners and not the Pokes.

Thanks for the correction 1985 my 80 yr memory going downhill.

 

[Pennstate1985]

Thanks for the correction 1985 my 80 yr memory going downhill.

That's okay sir. Until I read that article, I thought Gable was the coach in 1975 too!! And I thought it would have been the Pokes too. So I was right with you.

 

[NittanyLion84]

very

J

Still a classic. Not sure even that mat would've contained the Chris Perry - Nick Heflin match.

The mat would have had to been the size of Rhode Island.

 

[minnhawkeye]

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/3804

Gary Kurdelmeier also put fans in the stands with innovative promotions. For instance, for the 1975 dual meet vs. Oklahoma, he made a deal with the local McDonald's: If the Hawkeyes held the Sooners to fewer than ten points, each fan in attendance would score a free hamburger.

The promotion didn't stop there. For that Iowa vs. Oklahoma dual meet, Kurdelmeier had a 74-foot square mat put down on the floor of the Iowa Field House. "The mammoth mat practically covered the entire basketball floor, and the circle extended beyond the basketball foul lines on each end," according to Steve Hunte, Iowa's 134-pounder at the time.

"Oklahoma was notorious for playing the edge, hence the huge mat. You should've seen the looks on their faces when they came out into the gym and saw that huge mat for the first time … It really got the Iowa crowd excited."

The big mat worked. The dual meet was wrestled in just 56 minutes, with action being stopped only once for going out-of-bounds. The Hawkeyes drubbed the Sooners 34-5. As then-assistant coach J Robinson told Andy Hamilton for The History of Collegiate Wrestling, "It just about broke McDonald's. All of the sudden they had 9,000 people descending on them for a free hamburger."

In the "Ask Dan Gable" column at Iowa Public TV's College Wrestling website, the legendary wrestler/coach weighed in on the big mat: "The matches were quick because of very few whistle stops. No edge-of-the-mat controversial calls. Scared our opponents. Their coach said, 'It was like getting caught in an Iowa cornfield and not being able to find your way out.' Had a few meets, then it was outlawed by the wrestling rules committee. Rule based on inequality, that not everyone could afford to have a mat of that size."

LOL can you imagine working that nite at McDonald's

 

[21Guns]

Now if I can find a youtube or some pics...that had to be crazy on that giant mat, hahahaha.

 

[T J]

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/3804

Gary Kurdelmeier also put fans in the stands with innovative promotions. For instance, for the 1975 dual meet vs. Oklahoma, he made a deal with the local McDonald's: If the Hawkeyes held the Sooners to fewer than ten points, each fan in attendance would score a free hamburger.

The promotion didn't stop there. For that Iowa vs. Oklahoma dual meet, Kurdelmeier had a 74-foot square mat put down on the floor of the Iowa Field House. "The mammoth mat practically covered the entire basketball floor, and the circle extended beyond the basketball foul lines on each end," according to Steve Hunte, Iowa's 134-pounder at the time.

"Oklahoma was notorious for playing the edge, hence the huge mat. You should've seen the looks on their faces when they came out into the gym and saw that huge mat for the first time … It really got the Iowa crowd excited."

The big mat worked. The dual meet was wrestled in just 56 minutes, with action being stopped only once for going out-of-bounds. The Hawkeyes drubbed the Sooners 34-5. As then-assistant coach J Robinson told Andy Hamilton for The History of Collegiate Wrestling, "It just about broke McDonald's. All of the sudden they had 9,000 people descending on them for a free hamburger."

In the "Ask Dan Gable" column at Iowa Public TV's College Wrestling website, the legendary wrestler/coach weighed in on the big mat: "The matches were quick because of very few whistle stops. No edge-of-the-mat controversial calls. Scared our opponents. Their coach said, 'It was like getting caught in an Iowa cornfield and not being able to find your way out.' Had a few meets, then it was outlawed by the wrestling rules committee. Rule based on inequality, that not everyone could afford to have a mat of that size."

It's a long article, but a very good read.

Wrestling fans can appreciate the dedication and innovation that helped make the sport more entertaining. It helped to lay the foundation for the modern era of NCAA College Wrestling.

(Or as we like to call it...
The Penn State/Cael Sanderson Era)