Sports Illustrated Vault: Ben and John Peterson
Originally Published in August 9, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated
By Jerry Kirshenbaum
American wrestler Ben Peterson, a Distinguished Member inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1986, had a comfortable lead against a Polish rival Friday night in Montreal's Maurice Richard Arena when his older brother John, an Olympic teammate, suddenly decided it was not comfortable enough. Bounding from his seat, John made his way to Ben's side just as the second period ended and joined the coaches in offering counsel. "You've got to circle more instead of coming straight at him all the time," he said urgently. "This guy is dangerous." Ben listened gravely, then went out against Pawel Kurczewski for the final round. Circling as instructed, he wrapped up the easy victory.
As the U.S. wrestling brothers went about this sort of thing in the 6,500-seat arena, rivals might have thought they were seeing double. Though 27-year-old John Peterson, a Distinguished Member also inducted in 1986, was competing as a middleweight and 26-year-old Ben as a light heavyweight, similarities between the broad-shouldered, intensely aggressive pair often made it hard to tell which one was on the mat. Something else they had in common was touched on by Paul Peterson, their father, a Wisconsin dairy farmer who allowed proudly that his boys were wholesome lads who wrestled "not just for themselves but for their country." And when John wound up with a gold medal and Ben with a silver, they were, in effect, conjuring up reverse images of the same picture: at the Munich Olympics in 1972 it was Ben who took the gold, John the silver.
The brotherly success might have been even tidier—like both winning golds at the same Olympics—were it not for Levan Tediashvili, a winegrower's son from Soviet Georgia who is considered the world's best all-around wrestler. Tediashvili, unbeaten in international matches since he began competing in 1971, whipped John Peterson in Munich on his way to the gold medal in the 180.5-pound middleweight division. Then he won world championships for the next three years in the 198-pound light-heavy class, the division in which he beat Ben Peterson for the gold in Montreal.
By Jerry Kirshenbaum
American wrestler Ben Peterson, a Distinguished Member inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1986, had a comfortable lead against a Polish rival Friday night in Montreal's Maurice Richard Arena when his older brother John, an Olympic teammate, suddenly decided it was not comfortable enough. Bounding from his seat, John made his way to Ben's side just as the second period ended and joined the coaches in offering counsel. "You've got to circle more instead of coming straight at him all the time," he said urgently. "This guy is dangerous." Ben listened gravely, then went out against Pawel Kurczewski for the final round. Circling as instructed, he wrapped up the easy victory.
As the U.S. wrestling brothers went about this sort of thing in the 6,500-seat arena, rivals might have thought they were seeing double. Though 27-year-old John Peterson, a Distinguished Member also inducted in 1986, was competing as a middleweight and 26-year-old Ben as a light heavyweight, similarities between the broad-shouldered, intensely aggressive pair often made it hard to tell which one was on the mat. Something else they had in common was touched on by Paul Peterson, their father, a Wisconsin dairy farmer who allowed proudly that his boys were wholesome lads who wrestled "not just for themselves but for their country." And when John wound up with a gold medal and Ben with a silver, they were, in effect, conjuring up reverse images of the same picture: at the Munich Olympics in 1972 it was Ben who took the gold, John the silver.
The brotherly success might have been even tidier—like both winning golds at the same Olympics—were it not for Levan Tediashvili, a winegrower's son from Soviet Georgia who is considered the world's best all-around wrestler. Tediashvili, unbeaten in international matches since he began competing in 1971, whipped John Peterson in Munich on his way to the gold medal in the 180.5-pound middleweight division. Then he won world championships for the next three years in the 198-pound light-heavy class, the division in which he beat Ben Peterson for the gold in Montreal.Our Mission: To honor the sport of wrestling by preserving its history, recognizing extraordinary individual achievements, and inspiring future generations