Christopher J. Taylor (June 13, 1950 – June 30, 1979) was an American super-heavyweight wrestler. He competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman events at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

and won a bronze medal in the freestyle. At 412 pounds (187 kg), he was the heaviest Olympian ever until the appearance of judoka Ricardo Blas Jr. in 2008 (weight limits have since been imposed).

Amateur wrestling

The 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) Taylor wrestled for Dowagiac High School in

Dowagiac, Michigan Dowagiac ( ) is a city in Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,721 at the 2020 census. It is part of the South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies ...

and then in college at

Muskegon Community College Muskegon Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Muskegon, Michigan. The college offers 49 associate degree programs and 33 certificate programs. The college's main campus is located on a 111-acre campus in Muske ...

and

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

(winning the NCAA heavyweight championship in 1972 and 1973 by defeating Greg Wojciechowski and Jim Hagen, respectively). Taylor won the bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics in freestyle wrestling. He lost only to

Aleksandr Medved Aleksandr Vasilyevich Medved (16 September 1937 – 2 September 2024) was a Ukrainian-born Soviet Belarusian Freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler of Russian ethnicity who competed for the Soviet Union and was named "one of the greatest wrest ...

. It appeared Medved was stalling, but the referee awarded a point to the Soviet, charging Taylor with a lack of action. Later admitting that he felt sorry for Medved because of Taylor's size, the referee was dismissed from the Olympic tournament and banned from international officiating. In the Greco-Roman competition, Taylor was unexpectedly

suplex A suplex is an Offense (sports), offensive move used in Wrestling, sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and Bridge (grappling), bridging or rolling to slam the ...

ed and pinned by a much lighter Wilfried Dietrich, whom he defeated a week before in the freestyle contest.

Professional wrestling career

Taylor wrestled professionally in the American Wrestling Association. His debut was in 1973 vs Rene Goulet. Taylor faced various wrestlers, among them future star

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

. Taylor, trained by

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

and Billy Robinson, was being groomed to be a major star. Chronic health problems limited the amount of work he could do, and said problems forced him to retire from the ring in 1977. He is often seen in video highlights shown at the AWA training camp, most notably in the WWE DVD releases ''The Spectacular Legacy Of the AWA'' and ''The Definitive Ric Flair Collection''. Also appears in a clip on The Nature Boy, an

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

30 for 30 documentary about Ric Flair's life. He defeated Flair. Taylor's finishing move was a variation of the bearhug.

Personal life

On September 9, 1973, Taylor married Lynn Hart. He died of cardiovascular complications at his home in Story City, Iowa, at the age of 29, two years after health problems caused him to retire from professional wrestling. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in

. The couple had one daughter, Jenny Taylor.

Championships and accomplishments

* National Wrestling Hall of Fame **Distinguished Member (Class of 2012) *Iowa State Wrestling Hall Of Fame **Class of 2012 * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2013 Chris Taylor and Wilfried Dietrich 1972.jpg, Taylor vs. Dietrich at the 1972 Olympics Chris Taylor vs Wilfried Dietrich 1972b.jpg, Taylor vs. Dietrich at the 1972 Olympics Chris Taylor with family 1972.jpg, Taylor with family at the 1972 Olympics Chris Taylor vs Rene Goulet 1973.jpg, Taylor vs. Goulet in 1973

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Chris 1950 births 1979 deaths American male professional wrestlers Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in wrestling People from Dowagiac, Michigan Professional wrestlers from Iowa Professional wrestlers from Michigan Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers 20th-century American male actors People from Story City, Iowa Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 20th-century American sportsmen