Carlton Haselrig- The best athlete you probably never heard of!

Thrillbilly Jim

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Carlton Haselrig passed away this morning. You probably have never heard of him before, but some of his accomplishments include:
  • Playing 5 years in the NFL even though he never played in college
  • Becoming a first-team Pro Bowler in 1992
  • Winning 6 NCAA national championships in wrestling as a heavwyweight (3x Div I, 3x Div II)
  • 8x NCAA All-American
  • A Junior Greco-Roman and Freestyle World Champion in wrestling at 19
  • Was a Pennsylvania PIAA state wrestling champ despite the fact his high school didn't have a wrestling team
  • One of the few people to beat future NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle
  • His collegiate career record was 143-2-1
 
Carlton Haselrig passed away this morning. You probably have never heard of him before, but some of his accomplishments include:
  • Playing 5 years in the NFL even though he never played in college
  • Becoming a first-team Pro Bowler in 1992
  • Winning 6 NCAA national championships in wrestling as a heavwyweight (3x Div I, 3x Div II)
  • 8x NCAA All-American
  • A Junior Greco-Roman and Freestyle World Champion in wrestling at 19
  • Was a Pennsylvania PIAA state wrestling champ despite the fact his high school didn't have a wrestling team
  • One of the few people to beat future NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle
  • His collegiate career record was 143-2-1

Good of you to post this information, thanks.
 
Impressive athlete for sure! Gone too soon!
 
Carlton and I share a hometown. His uncle was my ninth grade history teacher. My mom’s declining health had me out here on the day he died. When his legendary wrestling coach arranged interviews with interested NFL teams, Steelers Personnel Director Tom Donahoe said, “I haven’t seen shoulders that size on a man since Joe Greene.”

As mentioned in the TribDem article, his collegiate feat can never be duplicated. The NCAA implemented the “Haselrig Rule” after his run.

Another TribDem article recounted his first NCAA Div I tournament, where a reporter ask him how it felt to be going up against wrestlers from large schools like Oklahoma, and he said, “You think I’m gonna say, ‘Man, I can’t beat this guy because he lives in a bigger house than I do?’ No.”
 
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