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Bios

Danny Hodge

Nickname: Dynamite

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 220 lbs

From: Perry, OK

Birthday: May 13th

Pro Debut: October 7, 1959

Aliases: Dan Hodge

Feds Worked For: TSW, AACW, MStW, NWA, Japan Wrestling Association (Japan), TWWA, Mid-South Wrestling (AR)

Finisher: Oklahoma Roll

Signature Moves: Hodge Headlock, Abdominal Stretch, KO Punch

Career Highlights: -JWA International Tag Team Champion
-Nebraska Tag Team Champion (w/ Reggie Parks)
-NWA International Tag Team Champion (w/ Wilbur Snyder)
-NWA (Mid-America) United States Tag Team Champion (w/ Lester Welch)
-NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (w/ Shag Thomas)
-NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (w/ Mario Milano)
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion (8x)
-TSW Oklahoma Junior Heavyweight Champion
-TSW North American Champion (3x)
-TSW United States Tag Team Champion (6x; 3 w/ Skandar Akbar, 1 each w/ Lorenzo Parente, Luke Brown, and Jay Clayton)
-TWWA Champion
-USA Tag Team Champion (3x; all w/ Skandar Akbar)

Affiliates: Roy Welch, Jay Clayton, Shag Thomas, Wilbur Snyder, Skandar Akbar, Dale Lewis, Slam Shady, Reggie Parks, Lester Welch, Mario Milano, Lorenzo Parente, Luke Brown

Notable Feuds: Tarzan Baxter, Soldat Gorky, Haru Sasaki, Duke Keomuka, Skandar Akbar, Buck Robley, Angelo Savoldi, Hiro Matsuda, Sputnik Monroe, Chuck Karbo, Karl Von Steiger, Mr. Ito, Lorenzo Parente, El Medico, Roger Kirby, Dr. X

Other Facts: -Began training for fighting because he felt he never fit in anywhere after his home burned down when he was 12. His mom was severely injured in that accident and required 52 blood transfusions and countless skin grafts.
-Was all state junior high school wrestling champion
-Was state champion in wrestling for Perry High School in 1951.
-Graduated from Perry High School
-Wrestled collegiately for the University of Oklahoma
-Was a 4 time National AAU Champion
-Was National AAU Champion for 174 lbs. from 1954-55
-Was National Intercollegiate Champion for 174 lbs. for 1955, 1956, and 1957.
-Boasts a Collegiate Record of 46 wins & 0 losses. He made 24 consecutive pins in his college career.
-Won 3 consecutive Big Seven Championships, pinning all opponents, with an average mat time of 1:33.
-Competed in freestyle wrestling in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, placing 5th due to a botched referee's call.
-Was National AAU Greco-Roman Champion for 191 lbs. for 1956
-Outstanding Wrestler National AAU in 1956 in both free-style and Greco-Roman Divisions. He pinned all his opponents.
-Won Silver Medal for U.S. Olympic Team in Greco-Roman Wrestling in 1956.
-Won NCAA Championship 3 times
-Was also a Golden Gloves compiling an 8-2 record
-The Danny Hodge Trophy named after him is virtually the wrestling equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
-Trained for pro wrestling by Ed Lewis
-Defeated Sasha the Great in his pro debut.
-Only man to hold National Championships in Boxing and Wrestling at the same time.
-The first pro wrestler to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
-Has appeared in 3 movies, "The Wrestler" in 1974, "The Wrestling Queen" in 1975, and "One More Shot" in 1996"
-Career ended on March 17, 1976 following a car accident that broke his neck and nearly took his life
-Former commissioner of Mid-States Wrestling
-Even at his current advanced age, he still possesses incredible strength, capable of crushing apples with his bare hands. This strength came by pulling double sheets of newspaper into a ball with his fingers, reversing then repeating all day and night Monday through Friday.
-When CB radios were popular, Hodge used the handle "Ringmaster" on the long trips between shows and entertained truckers with his stories.
-Only pro wrestler to have his photo on the cover of his hometown phone book.
-Chairman of the Oklahoma Boxing Commission
-Was named one of the 15 greatest college wrestlers of all-time in March 2005
-Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1976
-Inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1994
-Inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996
-Inducted into the International Wrestling Institute and Museum Hall of Fame in 2000
-On March 29, 2005, Danny Hodge was honored by Oklahoma state lawmakers as an "Oklahoma Sports Hero"
-Was honored on September 30, 2006 in Paris, AR where the city made it "Danny Hodge Day" to celebrate his life
-Inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000
-Won the Cauliflower Alley Club's Lou Thesz Award in 2007
-Inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007
-Inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2010
-Inducted into the NWA Hall of Heroes in 2010
-Passed away December 25, 2020 at the age of 88. He had been suffering from dementia for several years and rarely made public appearances after 2014.
-Posthumously inducted into the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2021