Peter Mehringer
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2018) |
Medal record | ||
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Men’s freestyle wrestling | ||
Representing the United States | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1932 Los Angeles | Light heavyweight |
Peter Joseph Mehringer (July 15, 1910 – August 27, 1987) was an Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler from Kinsley, Kansas. Nicknamed the "Kansas Whirlwind," Mehringer undoubtedly ranks as one of the greatest wrestlers ever to attend the University of Kansas.[according to whom?] After learning how to wrestle from a correspondence course, he went on to win two Kansas state championships, and three Missouri Valley Conference titles while at the University of Kansas. In 1932, the KU sophomore won a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games, being the first time a KU athlete ever won the gold.
Mehringer returned to KU in 1932 for his junior season and solidified his place among KU's all-time great athletes by earning All-Big Six Conference honors in football as a 214-pound tackle. Unfortunately, financial considerations prevented him from graduating from KU.
Mehringer then went on to a professional football career with the Chicago Cardinals[1][2] and the Los Angeles Bulldogs, and worked occasionally as a movie extra and stunt man. Although he declined to discuss it in his later years, he is KU's only grappling icon to pursue a career in professional wrestling.
- 1932 NCAA All-American and National 2nd-place finisher - Kansas Jayhawks.
- 1932 Olympic Freestyle Gold Medalist 192 pound weight class - United States.
- National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member - Class of 1983.
- Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame Member - Class of 1984.
References[]
External links[]
- 1910 births
- 1987 deaths
- American football tackles
- People from Kinsley, Kansas
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- American male sport wrestlers
- Players of American football from Kansas
- Kansas Jayhawks football players
- University of Kansas alumni
- Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics