Edward Clark Gallagher (September 5, 1887 – August 28, 1940) was an American

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He coached at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College—now known as

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

—from 1916 to 1940. With his knowledge of physical principles like leverage and stress, along with

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, he all but invented the modern style of folkstyle wrestling. He remains one of the most successful coaches in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

athletics history. Overall in his wrestling coaching career at Oklahoma A&M, his teams went 136–5–4, including 19 undefeated seasons and 11 NCAA titles.

Gallagher-Iba Arena Gallagher-Iba Arena, also known as ''"The Rowdiest Arena in the Country"'' and ''"The Madison Square Garden of the Plains”'', is the basketball and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. Originally ...

on campus at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, is named after him. In 1976, Gallagher was inducted into the inaugural class of the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stil ...

as a Distinguished Member.

Early years

Gallagher was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

on September 5, 1887. In high school and college, he excelled in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and track. While a student at Oklahoma A&M (now

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

), Gallagher won the 100-yard dash in a

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

meet in 9.8 seconds. In 1908, he ran for a 99-yard touchdown against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

, which still stands as a school record for longest run from scrimmage. Gallagher didn't wrestle as a competitor, only

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

wrestling during his high school and collegiate days. Later after becoming the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma A&M, he would spend the rest of his career involved in wrestling.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Gallagher earned a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from Oklahoma A&M in 1909. Upon graduation, he stayed at the Stillwater school, where he served as track coach. In 1913, he left Oklahoma A&M for

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...

in Baldwin City,

, where he coached all sports. He held the head football coach position at Baker for the 1913 and 1914 seasons. His football coaching record at Baker was 8 wins and 8 losses.

Oklahoma A&M

In 1915, he returned to Oklahoma A&M as athletic director. During the 1914–15 school year, Oklahoma A&M started its wrestling program, with A.M. Colville as coach. That first season, the team wrestled only one dual meet, and lost to the University of Texas. In the 1915–16 school year, Gallagher named himself wrestling coach while remaining athletic director. The team again had only one dual meet, and again lost to Texas. However, by the second year, Gallagher's wrestlers competed in three duals, winning two (against Emporia State and Texas) and tying with Arkansas. The team did not compete during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In the years immediately after World War I, Gallagher's Oklahoma A&M wrestlers—by now known as the Cowboys—never had a losing season. In the eleven-year period from the 1919–20 through the 1930–31 seasons, the team had 70 straight wins. The streak was broken in the last dual meet of the 1930–31 season against cross-state rival, the University of Oklahoma Sooners. During the rest of the 1930s, the Cowboys lost only one other dual meet (at Southwestern Oklahoma State in the 1936–37 season) and had three ties. In 1928, the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) held its first national college wrestling championship. At that first NCAAs—hosted by Iowa State—Gallagher's wrestlers won four of the seven titles. In the thirteen years of NCAA championships with Gallagher as coach, 22 individual Cowboy wrestlers won a total of 37 NCAA titles.

Olympic success

From 1924 through 1936, fifteen of Ed Gallagher's wrestlers qualified for U.S. Olympic teams, along with Earl McCready competing for his native Canada at the 1928 Olympics, and George Chiga wrestling for Canada in 1936. Four Cowboy Olympic wrestlers coached by Gallagher earned medals. Bobby Pearce and Jack VanBebber both won gold medals at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Frank Lewis won the gold, while teammate Ross Flood earned silver. Ed Gallagher served as honorary coach for the 1936 U.S. Olympic team.

Scientific approach to wrestling

Using his engineering knowledge, Gallagher studied leverage, and how it applied to wrestling. Gallagher selected over 400 wrestling holds, and expected each of his wrestlers to master about 200. Gallagher openly shared what he learned with others. He and his teams often conducted wrestling demonstrations before or after dual meets. In 1939, he and his Cowboy wrestlers demonstrated holds in a three-page photo-article in Life magazine. He also wrote two instructional books, "Amateur Wrestling" and "Wrestling."

Later life

In the 1930s, Gallagher was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. In 1938, he retired as director of physical education but remained on as wrestling coach. February 3, 1939 was "Gallagher Day" at Oklahoma A&M and Stillwater, the day the new 4-H Club and Student Activity Building was dedicated. Soon afterward, it was renamed Gallagher Hall in Gallagher's honor. This structure has since been renamed Gallagher-Iba Arena to honor both Gallagher and

Henry Iba Henry Payne “Hank” Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwes ...

, long-time basketball coach at Oklahoma A&M/State. The Cowboys' first season in the new arena was the last to be coached by Gallagher. He died on a vacation to Colorado on August 28, 1940. His funeral was held in the arena.

Honors

In 1976, Gallagher was inducted into the inaugural class of the

as a Distinguished Member. For the 75th anniversary of the NCAA wrestling championships in 2005, Gallagher was named by wrestling fans as one of the three all-time great college wrestling coaches (along with Dan Gable, University of Iowa, and Harold Nichols, Iowa State University). Gallagher's name is also on the award given each year to an outstanding Oklahoma A&M wrestling alumnus.

Head coaching record

Wrestling

The following table shows Gallagher's wins as coach at Oklahoma A&M:

References

External links

National Wrestling Hall of Fame: Edward C. Gallagher
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Edward C. 1887 births 1940 deaths Baker Wildcats football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls athletic directors Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Oklahoma State Cowboys track and field athletes Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls track and field coaches People from Sumner County, Kansas National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees