Mike Chapman

2010 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

Mike Chapman, a prolific author and historian, is the third non-wrestler to be inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame. He is being honored for his contributions to the promotion of wrestling.

Chapman, a native of Waterloo, Iowa, has devoted 40 years of his life to promoting the sport. He has been named National Wrestling Writer of the Year five times by four different wrestling organizations and is the author of fifteen wrestling books. In addition, he has produced three videos about the heroes of the sport.

As if those accomplishments weren’t enough, Chapman is the creator and former executive director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo. The Institute is filled with wrestling displays that span hundreds of years. Chapman takes pride in preserving the history of the sport in a manner that is “both educational and entertaining.”

Chapman is a member of five other wrestling halls of fame, including the AAU National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2007, he received the Order of Merit for Lifetime Achievement from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. That same year, he received the President’s Award from the Iowa High School Wrestling Coaches Association. In 2002, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club. He was also inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame at the Institute in Waterloo in 2009.

As an athlete, Mike competed in wrestling, judo, sambo, and bench press contests. “I did not wrestle in high school. However, I did wrestle three years in the Navy, defeating the All-Navy heavyweight champion twice in dual meets,” Chapman recalled.

An avid bodybuilder, Chapman won many bench press contests, including one where he lifted a personal best of 440 pounds at a body weight of 202 pounds.

In addition to the books and videos (listed below), Chapman is also the creator of WIN Magazine, the WIN Memorabilia Show, the Dan Hodge Trophy (considered the Heisman Trophy of Wrestling), and the winner of the Jim Melby Award as the top writer in professional wrestling.

Chapman was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010 along with Mike Ironside, Jason Smith, and Bob Roethler.