Lee Kemp remains one of the most important and transformative wrestlers in American history. Here are 10 stats that prove it. 

From Worst To First

Kemp wasn't the worst when he began his wrestling career as a high school freshman, but he wasn’t a transcendent star, either. The Chardon, Ohio, native was 14-2 on the freshman team (1970-71) and 11-8-3 on varsity as a sophomore (1971-72).

Then he took off. 

He went undefeated the next two seasons and reached the 1975 NCAA Championship finals for Wisconsin as a true freshman, then won three straight (1976-78). 

That means he went from a barely .500 varsity wrestler as a sophomore in high school (1972) to the 1975 NCAA finals in three years. 

No One Is Safe

Take what we learned above and apply it to the 1975 Northern Open, one of the premier college tournaments at the time. Dan Gable entered the 158-pound bracket as the greatest American wrestler up to that point. He won the 1972 Munich Olympics without surrendering a point and was an assistant at the University of Iowa. 

Gable hadn’t wrestled a competitive match in nearly three years when he entered, and Kemp hadn’t won his first NCAA title when they met in the finals. Kemp notched a 7-6 win, sending shockwaves through wrestling.

Kemp idolized Gable and attended one of his camps as a high schooler. Gable randomly picked Kemp to demonstrate technique, then Kemp skipped lunch to spy on Gable and study his every move. It worked. 

Almost A Four-Timer

Except for a rare historical window after World War II, freshmen were not allowed to compete, so the maximum number of NCAA titles a wrestler could win was three. That rule remained until the 1968 NCAA Championships, when freshmen were finally allowed to participate.

The race was on to crown the first four-time NCAA wrestling champion, and Kemp came close. He dropped a split referees’ decision (4-4, 1-1) to Iowa’s Chuck Yagla in the 150-pound 1975 NCAA finals before winning three straight 158-pound titles. 

He is the only Badger to win three NCAA titles. 

Kemp explains how he got so good, so fast.

Back-to-Back

Kemp won the 1978 World Championships at 74 kg, then won it again in 1979, becoming the first American to win back-to-back World titles and the first to win multiple World titles. 

First To Three

Kemp won the 1982 World Championships, becoming the first American to win three World titles. The record stood until 1991, when John Smith won his fourth World gold medal. 

Youth Movement

Kemp was 21 (and eight months) when he won his first World title, making him the youngest American at the time. 

1980 Super Champion

The United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, ultimately taking a bite out of Kemp’s legacy. He was the gold medal favorite at 74 kg after winning the previous two World titles.

In December 1980, he proved himself by winning the Super Champions title match against Bulgaria’s Valentin Ratchiev, the Olympic champion earlier in the year.

The 1980 Olympic boycott was like a death to Lee Kemp

One-point Blowouts

Olympic gold medalist Dave Schultz famously said Kemp would easily blow out his opponents 2-1 or 3-2.

Kemp could score on you, and you couldn’t score on him. He dominated without points, and he was virtually impossible to defeat with a lead. 

“Once I learned how to control tie-ups, I realized that you don’t have to shoot that much,” Kemp said. “The harder my opponents tried to score, the more exhausted they got because they were having to break through my tie-ups. 

“I shut people down and waited for my opportunity. Once I got my opportunity, I knew that I could shut my opponent down. I knew I could hold a one-point lead for a year. We could come back to the room every day for a year, and you wouldn’t score on me if that was what my goal was.”

Another World Medal, But No Olympic Gold

Remember, wrestling was a strictly amateur sport when Kemp competed, so there was no money to be made through on-the-mat success. Kemp planned to peak for the 1980 Olympics, win gold, and retire from active competition. 

The boycott derailed those plans.

Instead, Kemp competed at the 1981 World Championships (winning bronze) before his third World title in 1982. He skipped the 1983 World Team Trials, where Dave Schultz made the team and won his lone World title. Kemp tried to make the 1984 Olympic team, but Schultz had passed his domestic rival and won Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Olympics. 

Complete Record (1970-84)

Wins: 425
Losses: 35
Ties: 7
Pins: 128
State titles: 2
NCAA titles: 3
NCAA finals: 4
Freestyle National titles: 7
World Cup titles: 4
World titles: 3
World medals: 4
Olympic Teams: 1

Not bad for someone who found wrestling as a freshman in high school.