08/27/2026
Known to many as the first wrestling hippie, Rick Sanders was a World Champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist.
READ more about Rick, a Distinguished Member inducted posthumously into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987 -> https://bit.ly/2SCMhV5
Rick was the first American to win a World championship, capturing gold at 114.5 pounds in 1969.
He was a three-time high school state champion in Oregon and an NAIA champion, two-time NCAA Division II champion and a two-time NCAA Division I champion for Portland State University.
Bahne Bahnson’s book 𝑅𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝐼𝑛 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 shares more about the man who died in 1972 at 27 years old in an automobile accident in Yugoslavia. Rick was touring Europe after capturing the silver medal at the 1972 Olympics.
ORDER -> https://amzn.to/3TvUiVL
You can be whatever you desire in this sport because wrestling truly is for everyone!
Rick Sanders was one of America’s most accomplished and unconventional wrestlers. He compiled a 103–2 collegiate record, won national championships across the NAIA and two NCAA divisions, and became the first American freestyle wrestler to capture a World title in 1969. Sanders also earned Olympic silver medals in 1968 and 1972 before his life was tragically cut short in an automobile accident at only 27 years old.
