1. Dan Allen Hodge was an American amateur and professional wrestler, who had a brief professional boxing career.
33 Facts About Danny Hodge
1. 2.
Danny Hodge is in both the US 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.
3.
The Dan Danny Hodge Trophy is the college wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
4.
Danny Hodge was born and raised in Perry, Oklahoma, where he continued to live.
5.
Danny Hodge 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.
6.
Danny Hodge said his strength was due to having double tendons in his hands.
7.
Dan Allen Danny Hodge was born and raised in Perry, Oklahoma, the son of an alcoholic father and a mother who dealt with severe depression.
8.
Danny Hodge was raised by his grandfather, who drank a lot and beat Danny Hodge frequently.
9.
At Perry High School in Oklahoma, Danny Hodge won the 165-pound title at the state tournament in 1951.
10.
Danny Hodge was a three-time Big Seven conference champ at 177 pounds, and won the 177-pound title at the NCAA championships those same three years, pinning all three of his finals opponents.
11.
Danny Hodge was the first and to date only amateur wrestler to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
12.
At Ames, Iowa, in April 1952, Danny Hodge survived the US Olympic Trials, and was coached by Naval Academy Instructor Ray Swartz in the 174-pound division.
13.
Danny Hodge finished outside the top seven in the Helsinki Olympics freestyle middleweight, losing two of his three bouts.
14.
The Dan Danny Hodge Trophy, named after him, is the college wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
15.
Danny Hodge won the 1958 Chicago Golden Gloves at Heavyweight, then won a Chicago Intercity bout in October, beating Charley Hood.
16.
Danny Hodge finished his amateur career with 17 wins, no losses and 12 KO's.
17.
Danny Hodge's father entered the ring during a boxing match on May 27,1960, between Danny Hodge and Savoldi, and stabbed Savoldi with a penknife.
18.
Savoldi required 70 stitches at a local hospital, while Danny Hodge's father was arrested.
19.
On July 22,1960, Danny Hodge defeated Savoldi for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Stockyards Coliseum in Oklahoma City.
20.
Danny Hodge became McGuirk's principal headliner, and by 1962, Danny Hodge was making upwards of $80,000 a year.
21.
Danny Hodge was a perennial NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, holding the title eight times for a total of over ten years, longer than anyone else.
22.
Danny Hodge 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.
23.
Once again regaining the title a few months later, Danny Hodge found himself as an ex-champion again when he eventually faced Roger Kirby.
24.
Danny Hodge was separated from the title until he defeated Dr X, who was holding the title, and Hodge held his title for two more years before being upset by Ken Mantell on December 19,1973.
25.
On March 15,1976, after wrestling that evening in Houma, Danny Hodge was driving his car when he fell asleep at the wheel causing him to crash through a bridge and into a lake.
26.
Danny Hodge was able to escape by punching out his car window and safely swimming back to shore.
27.
Danny Hodge was then transported to a hospital, and the injuries sustained in the accident caused his retirement from professional wrestling.
28.
On September 1,1983, Danny Hodge returned to the ring, facing against SWCW USA Junior Heavyweight Champion Eric Embry, which Embry won.
29.
In 2007, Danny Hodge was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
30.
Danny Hodge made appearances in WWE on Raw in 2005 and 2012 in which he honored his close friends and fellow Oklahoman Jim Ross.
31.
On March 29,2005, Danny Hodge was honored by Oklahoma state lawmakers as an "Oklahoma Sports Hero".
32.
Danny Hodge served as chairman of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, which regulates professional boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts in Oklahoma.
33.
Danny Hodge died at the age of 88 on December 24,2020, and had been suffering from dementia.