Monthly Archives: May 2013
Iowa State’s Chris Taylor versus Andre the Giant
In the early 1970s, Iowa State University was the center of the college wrestling universe and one of its brightest stars was Chris Taylor. This year marked the 40th anniversary of Taylor’s second consecutive NCAA championship in 1973, capping an undefeated two year career at ISU. In between his two ISU championships, Taylor won a bronze medal at the controversial 1972 Summer Olympics. Taylor’s wrestling dominance in 1973 was so total, the Big 8 Conference named him Athlete of the Year. After ISU, Taylor had a brief career in the professional ranks with matches against Andre the Giant, Ric Flair, Baron von Raschke, and others. Mounting health problems led to his early death in 1979. Taylor was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.
