Legendary Collegiate Wrestler Hugh Peery Passes Away at Age 84
Hugh Peery, Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Pittsburgh, Penn., at the age of 84. A memorial service is being planned for mid-February in Pittsburgh.
“The wrestling community has lost one of its greatest collegiate competitors who helped comprise one of the most unparalleled family legacies in the 87-year history of NCAA Wrestling,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Peery was preceded in death by his wife Bobbie and son John. Immediate family members living are his daughter Cynde, son Jeffery (wife Sheree) and six grandchildren. Our sincere sympathy also goes to his sister Ann Peery Ritter.
[caption id="attachment_10908" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Hugh, Rex, and Ed Peery[/caption]
Hugh Peery’s Distinguished Member Bio
Peery was inducted as a Distinguished Member in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Class of 1980. His story is the second chapter of his family’s wrestling legend, but Hugh's record stands by itself among the greatest. He won three National Collegiate championships for the University of Pittsburgh in 1952, 1953 and 1954. He won all but one of his 57 collegiate matches, the last 48 of them in a row.
Even before he launched that career, he had earned international honors, capturing a gold medal at the 1951 Pan American Games in Argentina. He earned sixth place in the 1952 Olympic Games at Helsinki, winning two of three bouts.
Hugh Peery followed the lead of his father and coach, Rex Peery, to help create wrestling's fabulous family story. Rex was a three-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State in the 1930s. They were to be joined at that level by younger son/brother Ed, completing a nine-for-nine sweep of national championships.
As a wrestler, Hugh was noted for his speed and clever style. He was an exceptional takedown artist with a wide variety of moves, and his usual pattern was to establish an early lead and maintain pressure with a vast repertoire of rides, escapes and pinning holds.
Under his father's coaching, Hugh was a state high school champion at Tulsa Central in 1949. Rex left for Pittsburgh the next year, but Hugh remained in Oklahoma to win a second state crown. His total competitive record - high school, collegiate and open - numbered more than 100 victories against a mere half a dozen defeats.
“The wrestling community has lost one of its greatest collegiate competitors who helped comprise one of the most unparalleled family legacies in the 87-year history of NCAA Wrestling,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Peery was preceded in death by his wife Bobbie and son John. Immediate family members living are his daughter Cynde, son Jeffery (wife Sheree) and six grandchildren. Our sincere sympathy also goes to his sister Ann Peery Ritter.
[caption id="attachment_10908" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Hugh, Rex, and Ed Peery[/caption]Hugh Peery’s Distinguished Member Bio
Peery was inducted as a Distinguished Member in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Class of 1980. His story is the second chapter of his family’s wrestling legend, but Hugh's record stands by itself among the greatest. He won three National Collegiate championships for the University of Pittsburgh in 1952, 1953 and 1954. He won all but one of his 57 collegiate matches, the last 48 of them in a row.
Even before he launched that career, he had earned international honors, capturing a gold medal at the 1951 Pan American Games in Argentina. He earned sixth place in the 1952 Olympic Games at Helsinki, winning two of three bouts.
Hugh Peery followed the lead of his father and coach, Rex Peery, to help create wrestling's fabulous family story. Rex was a three-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State in the 1930s. They were to be joined at that level by younger son/brother Ed, completing a nine-for-nine sweep of national championships.
As a wrestler, Hugh was noted for his speed and clever style. He was an exceptional takedown artist with a wide variety of moves, and his usual pattern was to establish an early lead and maintain pressure with a vast repertoire of rides, escapes and pinning holds.
Under his father's coaching, Hugh was a state high school champion at Tulsa Central in 1949. Rex left for Pittsburgh the next year, but Hugh remained in Oklahoma to win a second state crown. His total competitive record - high school, collegiate and open - numbered more than 100 victories against a mere half a dozen defeats.
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