Daniel Allen Hodge

Daniel "Danny" Allen Hodge (born May 13, 1932)is an American wrestler and boxer. He is renowned for his wrestling career, both amateur and professional, and has also been a boxer. Hodge was born, grew up, and still lives in Perry, Oklahoma. Danny Hodge is famous for crushing apples with one hand, a feat which he demonstrated live on ESPN during the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He said his strength was due to having double tendons. It is said that he can break pliers. Hodge made a brief appearance on "RAW" in early 2005.

Amateur Wrestling career

Hodge was a collegiate wrestler for the University of Oklahoma. He was never taken down from a standing position while in college and won the NCAA title three times and going undefeated at 46-0, with 36 pins. He was the first wrestler on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He worked as a professional wrestler for eighteen years, and was a 5-time USA Tag Team Champion, with Skandor Akbar, among others.

His reputation as a high school wrestler preceded him when he joined the US Navy in 1951. At Ames, Iowa, in April 1952, Hodge survived the US Olympic Trials, and was coached by Naval Academy Instructor Ray Swartz in the 174-pound division. National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 224, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 1-55022-741-6 ] At the Helsinki Olympics, Hodge was defeated by Russia's David Cimakuridze. Going into May 1956 wrestling trials for US Olympic team, Hodge was middleweight favourite. He was eliminated on May 2 by William Smith. Smith was embroiled in controversy with the Central AAU and Hodge was his substitute. After two Olympics appearances, Hodge placed 5th in 1952, and won the Silver Medal in 1956, in Melbourne, Australia.

The Dan Hodge Trophy, named after him, is the amateur wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

Professional Wrestling Career

Trained by Leroy McGuirk and "Strangler" Ed Lewis, Hodge made his debut as a professional wrestler in October 1959. Hodge's first major feud was with National Wrestling Alliance Junior Heavyweight Champion Angelo Savoldi. Hodge's rivalry with Savoldi led to a bizarre event.

Hodge's father entered the ring during a boxing match on May 27, 1960, between Hodge and Savoldi, and stabbed Savoldi with a pen knife. Savoldi required seventy stitches at a local hospital, while Hodge's father was arrested. National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 225, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 1-55022-741-6 ] On July 22, 1960, Hodge defeated Savoldi for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Stockyards Coliseum in Oklahoma City. Hodge became McGuirk's principal headliner, and by 1962, Hodge was making upwards of $80,000 a year.

Danny Hodge was a perennial NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, holding the title eight times for a total of over ten years. This was longer than anyone, including Nelson Royal. In 2007, Hodge was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Boxing career

With virtually no boxing training, Danny won the 1958 Golden Gloves tournament in New York City by beating Charley Hood in the finals. Convinced by boxing manager Art Freeman that he was a better prospect than Rocky Marciano, Hodge decided to become a professional boxer rather than puruse the opportunity to complete as a boxer and a wrestler at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. In his professional boxing debut, he scored a first-round knockout victory over Norman Jackson. As a professional, he had a record of 8-2 but he retired on July 9, 1959.

Personal

On March 29, 2005, Danny Hodge was honored by Oklahoma state lawmakers as an 'Oklahoma Sports Hero'. [http://www.lsb.state.ok.us/house/news7439.html] He also serves as chairman of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, which regulates professional boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts in Oklahoma. [http://www.health.state.ok.us/box/]

Championships and accomplishments

*Japan Wrestling Association
**NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Wilbur Snyder [ National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 238, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 1-55022-741-6 ]

*National Wrestling Alliance
**NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)¹

*NWA Tri-State
**NWA North American Heavyweight Championship "(Tri-State version)" (1 time)
**NWA United States Tag Team Championship "(Tri-State version)" (5 times) - with Skandor Akbar (2), Lorenzo Parente (1), Luke Brown (1), and Jay Clayton (1)
**NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

*Cauliflower Alley Club:*Lou Thesz Award (2007)

*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI Stanley Weston Award (1996)

*Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
**(Class of 2007)

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
**Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

¹The records are unclear as to where two of Hodge's eight NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship reigns began. The records are also unclear as to which NWA affiliated promotion or promotions Hodge wrestled for when he won the championship on those two occasions.

External links

References