Bob Buzzard

2012 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

His wrestling career began in Waterloo in 1953 and continued through 2012 in Oregon. While the start was a bit shaky, Bob Buzzard has made a significant impact on the sport as both a competitor and coach.

“Bob was allowed to wrestle with the junior high wrestlers as a fifth grader,” Buzzard recalls. “At the time I was about 80 pounds and wrestled a guy named Bobby Carey, and every day he put a whoopin’ on me.” Buzzard said that Carey, who went on to win a state championship, helped shape his wrestling career: “because you either get better or you don’t come back.”

Buzzard’s wrestling record speaks for itself. He went on to wrestle for East Waterloo while in high school. While there, he won two individual state titles, and the East teams won three team championships. His high school record was 50-4.

Buzzard then attended Iowa State University, where he was a two-time Big 8 champion, a Midlands champion, and a two-time All-American. He placed fourth at the NCAA Championship as a sophomore and third as a junior. He was not allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament as a senior due to an injury hardship rule. His college record was 54-5.

Not ready to give up the sport, Buzzard continued wrestling and became a National Freestyle Champion in 1967. From 1967 through 1972, Buzzard was named to several national Greco-Roman and freestyle teams, and he was a member of the 1972 Olympic team.

After coaching in Libertyville, Illinois during his post-graduate competitive years, Buzzard was drawn to the outdoors of Oregon, where he began a very successful coaching career. “The first year at North Salem we had nine out for wrestling. The second year we had 42,” Buzzard recalled. With no junior high program at North Salem, Buzzard started a freestyle summer program that was financed through the sale of firewood the wrestlers would cut and sell. “We’d get them 30–35 matches a summer, and the program came around very well. The kids started believing in themselves and the success followed.”

Coaching highlights included his Cascade team winning the state team championship in 2012, after Buzzard was talked out of retirement to become an assistant coach. He also pointed to a second-place team finish while at North Salem and coaching with his son at Cascade as other highlights.

Buzzard insists that the keys to wrestling success are a love of the sport and wrestling without pressure to win. “Wrestling for fun… free of pressure, that’s when it all comes together,” he said.

Buzzard was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, along with Marv Reiland, Gene Doyle, and Mark Sindlinger.