Robin Reed (October 20, 1899 – December 20, 1978) was an American

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, and wrestling coach. Throughout his amateur wrestling career he never lost a wrestling match, official or unofficial, to anyone at any weight class. Reed won a gold medal in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

. He led Oregon State to its first team national championship, and as a collegiate wrestler, he consistently wrestled in the 170-pound weight division, despite his actual weight being close to 140 pounds. Reed later wrestled professionally and was a World Welterweight Champion.

Early years

High school

Reed was born in Pettigrew, Arkansas. He grew up in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and first started wrestling at Portland's Franklin High School, where he took a class on wrestling in order to get out of having to take gym. Reed is quoted as saying, "I needed gymnasium credits to graduate from high school, but I didn't want any gym because I was already getting all the exercise I needed operating an air hammer at the shipyards. I was only 125 pounds and could barely hold onto that air hammer, so I was getting all the gym I needed." He learned quickly, going undefeated throughout his time wrestling in high school.

College

After high school, Reed attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

(then known as Oregon Agricultural College), and won every match he competed in, winning the 125-pound National AAU championship in 1921 and the 135-pound championship in 1922 and 1924 (he didn't win a title in 1923, though he still won every match he competed in). While still a student at Oregon State, he coached the local Corvallis High School wrestling team to win the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

state championship.

Olympics

While still attending Oregon State, Reed participated in the Pacific Northwest Olympic team trials. He entered the 145.5, 158.5, 174.0, and 192.0 pound weight classes, winning at each weight class. At the Olympics, he entered the 134.5 pound weight class (the second lowest) and pinned all of his opponents, including fellow Oregon State teammate

Chester Newton Chester Willard "Chet" Newton (September 18, 1903 – May 11, 1966) was an Olympic wrestler for the United States. He won a silver medal in the featherweight division at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, losing only to fellow Oregon ...

in the finals. It was widely established that Reed had the ability to pin every member of U.S. Olympic team, including team members who won gold at 191 pounds and heavyweight. Prior to the 1924 Olympic competition, Reed was hitch-hiking from his home in Oregon to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in route to join the U.S. Olympic team. Reed stopped at

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 ...

and asked the coach if he could work out when it came time practice. When the coach refused, Reed asked if he first pinned every member of the wrestling team, could he then work out with the team. The coach agreed, and Reed proceeded to pin each Iowa State wrestler prior to practice and earned his workout. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, Reed who only weighed around 135 lbs., bet he could pin Harry Steel, the American heavyweight gold medalist, and did so five times within fifteen minutes. It is widely believed that if the rules had permitted it, Reed could have won the gold medal in every weight class.

Post-Olympics

Coaching and professional wrestling

Upon his return from the Olympics, Reed retired from his amateur wrestling career having never lost a match, a feat matched only by Japan's

Osamu Watanabe was a Japanese freestyle wrestler. In 1962, he debuted internationally and retired shortly after the 1964 Olympics. During his brief career Watanabe won all his few hundred bouts. He is considered one of the best wrestlers in Olympic history. In ...

. While still a student, he became coach of the Oregon State wrestling team, and led them to win the national AAU championship in 1926, Oregon State's first team national championship in any sport. In late 1926, he began competing on the professional wrestling circuit, a career he would follow for 10 years. He trained with other feared wrestlers such as Martin Burns and John Pesek, who helped refine his submission skills. He notably lost against Pesek in a private workout match. Reed reportedly took Pesek down before Pesek overwhelmed Reed with his larger size and aggressive

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

skills. Reed's greatest accomplishment in pro wrestling was winning the World Welterweight Championship.

Later life

In 1936, he went into the real estate business following his career in professional wrestling. In December 1936, Reed survived a suicide attempt following a lawsuit from his ex-wife. Reed resided off the

coast the remainder of his life. In 1971, Reed finished up his college degree at the age of 72. He died in 1978 at the age of 79. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1978, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame inaugural class in 1980, and the Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.Robin Reed - Wrestling
''Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum''. Retrieved July 31, 2022.

References

Robin Reed, distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

Oregon State Wrestling History
page 11 {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Robin 1899 births 1978 deaths Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers Oregon State Beavers wrestlers American wrestling coaches Oregon State Beavers wrestling coaches People from Madison County, Arkansas Wrestlers from Oregon Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics People from Lincoln City, Oregon 20th-century American sportsmen