Entering the 1970 NCAA wrestling tournament, Dan Gable carried a perfect high school and collegiate record of 182 wins and zero losses.

He was simply the monster of the mat for the Iowa State Cyclones.

His opponent for his finale was Larry Owings, a University of Washington sophomore. Owings lost to Gable in high school, but came into this 142-pound title match on a roll, with 33 straight victories.

After the first period, Gable trailed Owings 7-2. He fought back to even the score at eight in the third stanza. Then Owings pulled off a four-point move for the upset triumph.

Gable was crushed. He even had trouble facing his parents. He felt he'd let them down. But like a true champion, he bounced back.

Just two weeks after his highly publicized loss, he won the National Amateur Athletic Union Freestyle Championships and was voted Outstanding Wrestler.

Two years after that, he powered through six matches in the Munich Olympics and won a gold medal.

Years later he said on ESPN.com, "I needed to get beat because it not just helped me win the Olympics, but it helped me dominate the Olympics. I would have a hundred times rather not have that happened, but I used it."

Because of his grappling and coaching career, Dan Gable is considered by many the greatest American wrestler. Though the sport doesn't draw national interest the way basketball and baseball do, wrestling has roots dating back thousands of years. Two athletes meet on the mat and battle it out in a game of physical chess. A match can be won by pin fall — putting the opponent's shoulders on the mat — or by points.

Gable was a giant in that arena. Think Michael Jordan on the court and Babe Ruth on the diamond.

It took lots of sweat to reach that height. Gable was born on Oct. 25, 1948, in Waterloo, Iowa. His father, Mack, was a real estate investor. His mother, Katie, was homemaker.

His parents didn't mind using force when it came to disciplining their children. Once during rainy season, Gable was drinking near a construction site where he fell into a hole. A worker pulled him out and drove him home. When he went in the door, his father hit him on top of the head, leaving more than an impression.

Gable's mom used her own brand of punishment. When she caught Dan swearing, she washed his mouth out with soap. She also broke rulers and yardsticks over his head.

Riding that discipline, Gable charged into baseball, football, track and swimming as a youngster. He won the state YMCA backstroke title at age 12.

Then he found his calling. In a sport where some start as early as 5 years old, wrestling didn't grab hold of him until he was 13.

His father, a former high school wrestler, frequently took him to meets to watch matches.

"It's the only sport I've ever competed in that puts you totally in a situation of constant (motion)," Gable said in Nolan Zavoral's biography "A Season on the Mat." "When I grabbed ahold of somebody, it was with ease that I could control him."

Gable immediately stood out with his work ethic. He loved to work out. His high school wrestling coach even gave him a key to the gym so he could train before anyone got to school.

He kept at it after school.

"If I'd had to do a chore, I'd might as well get a workout out of it," Gable told IBD. He'd put on sweats and weights when he mowed the lawn. His neighbors thought he was crazy, but he didn't care.

In wrestling practice, he was known to wear out two, three, even four teammates. If one stopped to rest or got hurt, Gable would find someone else to train with. The 150-pounder even sparred with a 450-pound teammate. "He was the easiest person I ever coached," Les Anderson, a former assistant coach at Iowa State, said in Zavoral's book. "The reason for that is, No. 1, his intelligence; and, No. 2, his intense desire not to lose, which was far more important than a desire just to win."

On ESPN.com, Gable clarified that intensity: "I think the key is people that are having extreme success in a certain area don't just pick it up at certain times in their mind; very seldom is it far away from their mind, so they are focused more on that 24-hour clock. When something is really meaningful, it can wake you up out of a dead sleep and you can have an answer given to you. Basically, you have a certain drive that creates that mentality that is working nonstop. It just doesn't turn on and off. It is on almost all the time."

At the 1972 Olympic trials, Gable avenged his loss to Owings. This time the Iowan breezed 7-1.

Then it was off to Germany and the Olympics, where the Soviets vowed to defeat Gable. They failed.

Despite an earlier knee injury, Gable unleashed his golden domination. In his six matches, he pinned three opponents and didn't give up a single point. "I would wait for the guy to shoot in and counter that with a front headlock," Gable said of his strategy.

Looking back on his performance in the 149.5-pound class, he once said: "Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."

Prior to the Munich Games, President Nixon invited the entire U.S. Olympic team to the White House. Gable and two teammates declined, as they needed to devote the time for training. He later visited during the Carter administration.

After hanging up his headgear, Gable moved over to the University of Iowa. He took over as head coach in 1976 and quickly built a dynasty. The Hawkeyes' domination mirrored his wrestling career: 15 national titles in 21 years, including nine straight. By the time he was through coaching, his record was 355-21-5.

Gable was also head coach for the U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team on three occasions. At the 1984 Games, his guidance helped the Americans win seven gold medals.

How was Gable different? "Gable was Gable," Rico Chiapparelli, who wrestled for Gable, told IBD. "He was a great motivator and knew how to play to each individual's strengths and weaknesses."

After numerous knee and hip surgeries, Gable retired as head coach after the 1996-97 season. He returned as assistant coach under former pupil Tom Brands in 2006.

The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum stands in Waterloo.

BY VINCENT MAO