Danny Hodge

Dan Allen Hodge (May 13, 1932 – December 24, 2020) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, who also had a brief professional boxing career. He is in both the U.S. amateur wrestling Hall of Fame, for his three NCAA titles and Olympic silver medal, and the pro wrestling Hall of Fame, as a seven-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. The Dan Hodge Trophy is the college wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

Hodge was born and raised in Perry, Oklahoma, where he continued to live. He was famous for the ability to crush 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 in his hands.

Early life Dan Allen Hodge was born and raised in Perry, Oklahoma, the son of an alcoholic father and a mother who dealt with severe depression. His home burned down when he was 9, and his mother suffered severe burns over 70 percent of her body, necessitating 52 blood transfusions. Hodge finished outside the top seven in the Helsinki Olympics freestyle middleweight, losing two of his three bouts. Going into May 1956 wrestling trials for the US Olympic team, Hodge was the middleweight favorite. He was eliminated on May 2 by William Smith, who was embroiled in controversy with the Central AAU.

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

Boxing career Danny won the 1958 Chicago Golden Gloves at Heavyweight, then won a Chicago Intercity bout in October, beating Charley Hood. He finished his amateur career with 17 wins, no losses and 12 KO's. Convinced by boxing manager Art Freeman that he was a better prospect than Rocky Marciano, Hodge decided to become a professional boxer rather than pursue the opportunity to compete as a boxer and a wrestler at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. On July 22, 1960, Hodge defeated Savoldi for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Stockyards Coliseum in Oklahoma City. He held the belt for several months until he lost it to Lorenzo Parente; they both continuously lost and regained the title in the span of a year during their feud. After Parente lost the belt to Hodge again, Hodge held the belt for another four months until eventually losing it to Sputnik Monroe on July 13, 1970.

On September 1, 1983, Hodge returned to the ring, facing against SWCW USA Junior Heavyweight Champion Eric Embry, which Embry won.

In 2007, Hodge was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. WWE Hall of Famer and seven-time world champion Bret Hart has referred to Hodge as "one of the greatest wrestlers in pro wrestling or amateur wrestling there’s ever been", and described being in the same room as Hodge at the 2008 National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's award ceremony as "a big, big honor for me". He served as chairman of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, which regulates professional boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts in Oklahoma. There is a statue in his honor at the Perry Wrestling Monument Park in Oklahoma.

Death Hodge died at the age of 88 on December 24, 2020. He had been suffering from dementia.

Championships and accomplishments Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) Lou Thesz Award (2007) Other honoree (1998) George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2000 International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2021 American Wrestling Association Nebraska Tag Team Championship(1 time ) - with Reggie Parks Japan Wrestling Association NWA International Tag Team Championship – with Wilbur Snyder National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member (class of 1976) National Wrestling Alliance NWA Hall of Fame (class of 2010) NWA Mid-America NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Mid-America Version) (1 time) – with Lester Welch Trans-World Wrestling Association TWWA Championship (1 time) NWA Tri-State NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Tri-State version) (3 times) 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 (7 times) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)