The Dan Gable
International Wrestling Institute and
Museum opened its doors to the public on
September 19, 1998, after a year of
planning and construction. However, it
was created in the mind of Mike Chapman,
the founder and director of the museum,
nearly 40 years ago.
Considered the leading authority on wrestling
history, Mike Chapman has been participating in,
watching, studying, writing about, and collecting
the history of wrestling since his school days. Authoring
thirteen books on the sport, Mike has been a
proponent of educating and maintaining it's history
for ours and further generations. This is where the
idea of the Museum was spawned with a simple goal,
expressed as the Museum's mission statement:
The mission of the Dan Gable International Wrestling
Institute and Museum (DGIWIM) is to preserve, maintain
and promote the long and illustrious heritage of
mankind's oldest sport in a manner which will
benefit the sport, educate and entertain the public,
and to inspire youth to dream big and work hard.
Today the museum boasts over 600 displays as it
takes visitors through the history of wrestling,
from ancient Greece through the present day
Olympics. The Professional Wing of the museum has a
half-size wrestling ring, a wall devoted to the
legendary Frank Gotch, the George Tragos/Lou Thesz
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and many other
exciting displays.
The mission of the
Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and
Museum is to preserve, maintain and
promote the long and illustrious
heritage of mankind's oldest sport in a
manner which will benefit the sport,
educate and entertain the public, and
to inspire youth to dream big and work
hard.
The Museum is a not-for-profit
corporation and subsists on donations
from the public, revenue from the many
events it puts on every year, including
the DGIWIM Celebrity Golf Tournament and
the Dan Gable Classic, as well as the
many unique wrestling products that it
sells in the gift shop and online.
Executive Director:
Mike Chapman Marketing Director: Kent Sesker Office Manager: Josh Harding
Board of
Directors
Bob Buckley - President
Bev Chapman
Tom Drake
Dan Gable
Ken Leuer
Chris McGowan
Bill Murdock
Brad Rheingans
Jay Roberts
Frank Santana
Jed Brown
“On
the Mat” is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday
night. The broadcast can be heard live from 6-7 p.m. Central Standard
Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in
Waterloo, Iowa, hosts the show.
“On the Mat” can be heard live on the Internet at
www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan. Feel
free to e-mail
radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with questions or comments about the show. Click here
for archived shows.
Weekly
news, commentary and insight. (
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