Commemorating first American World champ, Rick Sanders

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 12, which printed on Sept. 15, 2026. 

By Mike Chapman

“It’s better late than never” is one of the most common phrases in the English language. And that meaning was brought home in stunning fashion on August 15 in Portland, Ore., when a group of determined wrestling fans did something amazing.

That’s when the late, great Rick Sanders was finally given a beautiful headstone on his grave site, some 54 years after he was killed on a lonely road high in the mountains of Yugoslavia.

Shortly after winning a silver medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics at 125.5 pounds, Rick and a friend, Helen Antoinette Torre, were hitchhiking through Europe when the vehicle they were riding in was involved in a head-on collision with a bus. Rick, Helen and the driver died at the scene.

Just three years earlier, in 1969, he and teammate Fred Fozzard, another Oregon product, became the first Americans to ever win titles at the World Championships. Competing at 114.5 pounds, Rick had four pins and a 7-4 decision over an Iranian in the finals.

Rick’s passing at the age of 27 sent shock waves through the wrestling community worldwide, and especially in America and his hometown of Portland. In college at Portland State, he posted an overall record of 103-2 and won five national titles in three different levels — including two NCAA Division I crowns at 115 pounds. In his junior season, 1967, he was national champion in both Division I and Division II — and was voted the outstanding wrestler in both, as well.

His aggressive and unconventional approach to wrestling (and life off the mat too) created a multitude of loyal fans everywhere he competed. He was his own man, with long hair, a beard and even wearing beads at times.

Rick’s family struggled financially and when his body was brought back to Portland, there was no headstone put up, just a small marker. After more than half a century, that all changed on August 15.

I learned of the event from my lifelong friend Bob Buzzard. We lived one block from one another in Waterloo, Iowa, and Bob, a former Iowa State star, was on the 1972 Olympic team with Rick, competing in Greco-Roman at 149.5 pounds. In addition, Bob was a top high school coach in Oregon for decades.

“It was a tremendous event,” Bob told me by phone. “A huge turnout and some very special guests. The main guy who organized it all was Jim Gadberry, a retired coach, principal and school administrator and a great wrestling supporter.”

When I contacted Gadberry, he was quick to give credit to a number of others, including Steve Daniels, a Portland State wrestler from the 1970s who underwrote the project, and Bill Scott. Bahne Bahnson, author of a book on Sanders, served as emcee for the day.

Among the speakers were Fozzard and Olympians Sergio Gonzales, Don Behm and Buzzard, while letters were read from Dan Gable and college champion Warren Crow. Remarks were offered by former PSU wrestler Ron Calhoun and by Don Conway, NCAA champion at Oregon State and a former PSU coach.

Marlin Grahn, another former PSU coach, and Bob Bergen represented the Multnomah Athletic Club, and Stewart White read a poem written by Rick. Among the 150 people at the event was Larry Owings, a native of Canby, Oregon, who became a legendary NCAA champion at the University of Washington.

The Rick Sanders Scholarship for the 2026-27 school year was announced by Dana Cress of the Lincoln High School Alumni Association, the school where Rick won three state titles and had an overall record of 80-1. His combined high school and college record is a stunning 183-3.

During his career, Rick was on two Olympic teams, earning two silver medals, and four World teams, coming home with gold, silver and bronze medals. He also won five national freestyle titles.

He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987 and his bio there reads thusly: “His career was like a meteor — a streak of brilliance and then, tragically, he was gone. But for a dozen years, Rick Sanders was the golden boy of wrestling, our first World champion, and one who would leave an inedible mark on our sport. He is one we will never forget.”

The many folks who gathered in Portland on August 15 took that last message to heart. After all, “it’s better late than never…”

(Mike Chapman is the founder of WIN, the Dan Hodge Trophy, the Dan Gable Museum and the author of 33 books, 17 on wrestling).