Robin Reed - Wrestling

Robin Reed wrestled his way through Oregon State to Olympic gold and left the sport with a long list of admirers and rivals.

Born in 1899, Reed grew up in Portland and graduated from Franklin High, having built a solid body while working at a shipyard. From Franklin, he enrolled at Oregon State, which was called Oregon Agricultural College at the time, and won every match he entered. He won three AAU national titles in his four years, missing a fourth title in a meet in which he did not lose a match. He is also credited with coaching Corvallis High to a state title while at OSU.

In 1924, he not only won the Olympic gold medal at 134.5 pounds, but became a sport legend – winning the Pacific Northwest Olympic trials at four weights. On the boat ride to Europe for the Paris Games, Reed wrestled and pinned all-but-one member of the U.S. team. He won all his matches at the Games by fall, including the final against OSU teammate Chester Newton.

Reed became coach of the OSU wrestling team in 1926 and the school won the AAU national title that year, but immediately dropped the program for a decade. Reed turned to professional wrestling, much of in Corvallis, for the next decade.

After retiring from the sport in 1936, Reed moved to Lincoln City and became a realtor.

 He finished his degree in 1971 at age 72. He died in 1978.

Reed was inducted to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1978, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1980, and the Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.