In the never-ending debate over who has been America's greatest wrestler, the name of Stanley Henson always receives plenty of support. His record as a competitor speaks for itself.

Henson's career was blessed by the leadership of two Hall of Fame coaches. At Tulsa Central High School, under Art Griffith, he wrestled two years, won two state championships and the outstanding wrestler award as a senior.

Then he joined the Oklahoma State University team of Edward C. Gallagher. Defeated only once in three seasons, Henson won three NCAA championships and each time led the Cowboys to the team title.

In 1937 he became the first sophomore to be voted outstanding wrestler of the national tournament. He continued to excel the next two years, but the nation's coaches were not yet ready to present their cherished award to any man a second time. He also won the Pan American Exposition in 1937 and scored a 1938 double with the National AAU freestyle title. As his junior year drew to a close with two championships, Henson already was thinking more of medical school than of wrestling.

During a European tour in the fall of 1938, he suffered a severe shoulder injury which hampered him during his senior year but couldn't prevent a third NCAA title, this one at 155 pounds after two at 145.

After five years as a physical instructor and wrestling assistant at the Naval Academy, Henson was able to concentrate fully on the study of medicine, completing his degree in 1950 at the University of Maryland.

A highly respected surgeon, he was one of the first to combine his athletic and medical interests in the rapidly growing field of sports medicine, where he became a nationally known lecturer and consultant.

As a dominant figure in the sport of wrestling and a continuing example of the qualities of self-discipline, sportsmanship and integrity, Dr. Stanley Willard Henson Jr. is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.