Grand Gable: Legendary wrestling coach’s collection of stories includes some oft-told, some new

Dan Gable is more than a wrestler, more than a wrestling coach. He's a storyteller.

Seriously.

If you've ever spent any time with the legendary wrestler and coach, you'll quickly find he loves answering questions - often without much enticing - and telling stories.

And he's got some wonderful stories to tell.

That's what makes 'A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable” such a good read.

Gable's success on the mat is well documented. He won 182 wrestling matches in a row, going undefeated at Waterloo West High School and Iowa State University - until the final match of his career. He went on to win World and Olympic gold medals. He coached the University of Iowa to 15 national titles, 21 Big Ten championships in 21 years and a dual record of 355-21-5.

That in itself is a great story and has been the inspiration for many books.

But this is the first book exclusively with stories from Gable himself.

'I don't think it is necessarily a wrestling book,” he says in a telephone interview with The Gazette. 'I think it's a good read with lots of good philosophy.”

Gable, 66, was approached by Scott Schulte of Milford, Conn., a former wrestler and fan, who wanted to do a story about the murder of Gable's sister, Diane, in 1964 and how it molded his life. That led to more stories and Schulte suggested a book of Gable 'short stories.” 'A Wrestling Life” was born.

While the book was edited by Schulte, these are Gable's words. The two would do an interview, Schulte would transcribe it and send it off to Gable, who would change it to his style.

Many of the stories have been shared oftentimes over the years, in this newspaper and others, on TV and in magazines.

But this is different.

'Because it's coming from a real situation, it hasn't been diluted through somebody else's eyes,” Gable says.

There are some very emotional chapters, including the one on Diane. It's a well-documented story, but one that has often been lost in translation.

'I can get emotional (reading some of the stories), even though I'm the writer,” Gable says.

The reader, too, will feel Gable's pain when reading the story of Diane's murder. Diane was murdered at the age of 19 while Dan and his parents were in Harpers Ferry on a fishing trip. John Thomas Kyle was a neighbor who was infatuated with Diane and had talked about Diane to Dan while walking to school one day in a 'sexual nature about her, which was weird and uncomfortable,” Gable writes.

It was that conversation which led police to question Kyle, who confessed to the murder. Gable writes about his dad sitting atop a fire station across the street from the jail, pointing an unloaded rifle at Kyle as he walked around his cell, pulling the trigger. Gable saw his family falling apart. He took it upon himself to 'save my family,” he says.

'I refused to allow Kyle to destroy my entire family or create a cancer of hatred within my own soul,” he wrote.

Gable focused the family on his wrestling career and he used that to fuel his success.

Gable also writes about his wife, Kathy, and their four daughters - Jenni, Annie, Molly and Mackenzie. He said the chapters about the family - they now have 10 grandchildren with another due in April - are Kathy's favorites because 'people will understand how a family can really get involved with the profession of the family.”

On a lighter side is a well-told story about 'Saving Barry Davis.” It, too, has some new details and more depth than Gable or Davis have shared over the years. Davis, a former Cedar Rapids Prairie High School standout, lost it while trying to make weight for the 1982 Big Ten Championships and quit the team on the eve of the tournament, leaving a note on his locker that stated 'Don't try to find me because you never will.”

Gable sent the team and assistants to Ann Arbor, Mich., to get ready for the meet and set out in search of his sophomore 118-pounder.

Gable writes. ' ... I knew then I was in a Sherlock Holmes moment; I had to find Davis.”

Channeling his inner investigator, Gable found Davis at a local grocery store.

'I saw Gable and I immediately blurted out ‘I haven't eaten anything' and I dropped the bags to floor,” Davis said in the book.

The two talked and Gable had one question for Davis: 'What do you want to do?”

The two made it to Ann Arbor in time for weigh-ins and Davis went on to win Big Ten and NCAA titles.

'That entire experience changed my life,” Davis said in the book. 'Coach Gable didn't give up on me ... with all Coach had done and who he was, he still cared enough about me to find me that morning ... This is amazing and shows the man - the true man - who Dan Gable is.”

The book is filled with great stories, which, of course, was the point. Gable is proud of it, but will be more proud if people enjoy it and learn a few things while reading.

'That's the key,” he says. 'It's like coaching ... if it's only good based on my eyes, it's not good.”

IF YOU GO: Readings

What: Dan Gable will talk with Nate Kaeding about his new book from the University of Iowa Press, 'A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable.”

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: The Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City

Cost: Free

What: Dan Gable will read from his book 'A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable”

When: 7 p.m. March 31

Where: Barnes & Noble, 333 Collins Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids

Cost: Free