Snacks

This week's Snacks highlights one of the greatest and most decorated collegiate wrestlers in American history—Gray Simons.

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Before Carter Starocci, before Kyle Dake, before Cael Sanderson, or Pat Smith—even before the legendary Dan Gable... there was Gray Simons.

Born on August 13, 1939, in Norfolk, Virginia, Simons came up through the storied Granby High School program under Hall of Fame coach Billy Martin. Known for their creative “Granby Series,” the program emphasized speed, precision, and constant movement—all trademarks that would come to define Simons’ wrestling style.

He enrolled at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania, where from 1959 to 1962 he accomplished something no one has done before—or since. Simons entered seven national tournaments throughout his college wrestling career, and won all seven: four NAIA titles and three NCAA titles. He was the first ever to win four collegiate national championships across any division. Even more impressive, he was voted Outstanding Wrestler at six of the seven national tournaments that he competed in.

At the time, the rules allowed athletes from smaller schools like Lock Haven (then in the NAIA and later NCAA Division II) to compete in the Division I NCAA Championships. That means Simons wasn’t just dominating his division—he was dominating the best wrestlers in the country, regardless of school size.

He finished his collegiate career 91–2, with his only losses coming early in his freshman season. After that, he rattled off 84 straight wins, a record at the time.

After college, while serving at the U.S. Military Academy, Simons continued to collect hardware—winning titles in military, AAU, and YMCA national competitions. He also won gold at the 1963 World Military Games and competed for team U.S.A. at the 1960 (5th place) and 1964 (7th place) Olympics.

Known as a technician and a thinker, Simons was soft-spoken off the mat but ferocious on it. His smooth style and elite timing made him a standout in an era when grit often overshadowed grace.

He once joked about how much wrestling changed over the years, recalling how “if you knew four moves and did them well, you could win a national title.” But Gray didn’t just win national titles—he elevated the sport and helped spread nationwide the "Granby Series" of moves developed by his Hall of Fame high school coach.

After his competitive days, Simons became a collegiate coach, leading programs at Lock Haven, Indiana State, Tennessee, and Old Dominion. Across 36 years of coaching, he never had a losing season and mentored multiple NCAA champions and All-Americans.

In 1978, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. And while today’s generation may not be too familiar with his name, his legacy looms large—especially for those who care about the roots of greatness in collegiate wrestling.

So let’s recap: Gray Simons was a 7X Collegiate National Champion and a 2X Olympian. He won four NAIA National Titles and became the first collegiate wrestler to win four national championships—earning Outstanding Wrestler at all four NAIA tournaments.

He also captured three NCAA Division I National Championships and was named Outstanding Wrestler at two of those events. During college, he compiled an 84-match win streak—a record at the time.

After college, he represented the United States in two Olympic Games.

This is the legend of Gray Simons.

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