Roderick made lasting impact
USA Wrestling and the international wrestling community received the sad news that wrestling legend Myron Roderick passed away on December 28 in Stillwater, Oklahoma at the age of 77.
Roderick was one of the most influential figures in American wrestling history, a man who made an amazing impact as an athlete, college coach, administrator and visionary. His life has impacted so many people within wrestling, and his passion for the sport truly made a difference. He was one of the founding fathers of USA Wrestling in its
infancy, as it developed from the U.S. Wrestling Federation in the late 1960s. He served as the executive director of the USWF from 1969-1974, setting the foundation for the organiza- tion which has evolved into today’s USA Wrestling, the national governing body for the sport.
“He was a giant in the sport, an icon in wrestling,” said USA
Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “The sport and the organization will be forever grateful for his vision and leadership to establish USA Wrestling early on.”
Roderick is one of the legendary wrestling figures who was developed at Oklahoma State, where he was a star wrestler, championship coach and served as their athletic director. A two-time Kansas state wrestling champion, he competed at Oklahoma State for head coach Art Griffith. In three years of col- legiate wrestling competition for the Cowboys, Roderick won 42 of his 44 matches and earned three NCAA individual titles from 1954-56.
He continued his athletic career at the 1956 Olympic Games Myron Roderick
in freestyle wrestling, where he lost a split decision to the eventual Olympic champion.
At age 23, in 1957,
Roderick took over as Oklahoma State’s head wrestling coach. He became the youngest coach in any sport to guide a team to an NCAA championship. His teams dominated the college wrestling for 13 years, winning seven NCAA team champi- onships, 13 Big Eight titles and an amazing 140-10-7 dual record. He produced 20 individual NCAA cham-
pions and three Olympic gold medalists.
Many may not know that he also served as the head coach of the Cowboy tennis program from 1958-1967, claiming a 105-23- 1 dual record and six conference titles. Roderick left the coaching profession when he took on his leadership opportunity to direct the USWF program. In 1983, he returned to OSU as its athletic director, guiding the program for seven years from 1983-1990. Under his direc- tion, OSU teams won more than 30 Big 8 championships, as well as four NCAA championships.
He received the two highest amateur wrestling awards when he won Man of the Year in 1971 and when he was inducted as a Distinguished Member into the Charter Class of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
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