He was the first American wrestler ever to win an Olympic medal in the Greco-Roman style, in itself a spectacular achievement. But Steve Fraser's Olympic medal was gold, and that makes it part of history.

Although the shadow of an Iron Curtain boycott tarnished the image of the Los Angeles Games, there was no dearth of talent in the 198 pound class of Greco-Roman wrestling. The favorite was Frank Andersson of Sweden, three-time world champion and six-time World medalist.

But Fraser was armed with The Headlock, an awesome weapon that had knocked one opponent unconscious and had defeated a future World Champion during the USA Olympic trials, then had pummeled another Olympic champion-to-be during two weeks of training.

Andersson, too, fell victim to this deadly attack, a three-point throw spurring the American to a stunning 4-1 victory. Fraser then vanquished another World medalist, Ilie Matei of Romania, for the gold medal.

Fraser was a state high school champion at Hazel Park, Mich., and twice an All-American at the University of Michigan. He placed fifth in the Junior World Championships in 1977. In the five years after his graduation, he excelled in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman, winning national titles in both styles. He captured the gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 1983 Pan American Games, was a member of two USA World teams and won international tournaments throughout Europe.

During his post-graduate years of competition, Fraser was a deputy sheriff. After retiring from the mats, he joined a national pizza firm. He later was called by USA Wrestling as national Greco-Roman coach.

He has carried the torch for wrestling at speaking engagements from coast to coast, has served as a clinician, produced a video tape on technique and has represented athletes on USA Wrestling's board of directors.

For breaking the trail at the ultimate level of competition, Steven Howard Fraser is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.