The Perry Wrestling Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization located in Perry, OK.  Our mission is to preserve the heritage and history of the Perry Wrestling Program and highlight the many successes of its athletes.  Our purpose is to perpetuate interest, cooperation, assistance, and good sportsmanship between wrestlers and fans around the world.  Our most recent achievement is the completion and dedication of the Perry Wrestling Monument Park, the greatest memorial ever created to honor a high school wrestling program.  One of our top priorities at this time is to bring visitors from across the country to Perry to visit our community, meet our people and see the Perry Wresting Monument Park.

The Perry Wrestling Monument Park was opened on May 14, 2016. To view photos of the planning and construction of the Park click Here.

FACTS ABOUT PERRY WRESTLING

Located in Perry, Noble County, Oklahoma, USA - The Perry High School Maroons have amassed one of the greatest wrestling records in America.

The late John Divine was not Perry's first wrestling coach, however his mark on the program is indelible. Beginning in 1931, Divine coached Perry for 30 seasons and considered the father of the sport. And for his efforts, the home gymnasium of Perry's varsity wrestling team is named in his honor. He coached four wrestler who later became Perry coaches themselves, winning a combined 20 state championships. Yes, Coach John Divine MADE Perry wrestling a lifestyle.

As such, Maroon wrestling is a power unlike any in America when it comes to longevity and winning. From 1961 - 2019, Perry won 41 State Championships and never went more than two years without winning a State title, which means that every senior class in that 59 year time period was part of at least one State Championship Team. It's a place that has crowned 179 individual state champions, 323 other state placers and averaged 8.8 state qualifiers since 1942. No high school athletic program in the State of Oklahoma, regardless of size, can equal Perry's wrestling records.

• With 43 team championships, Perry is listed in the record books of the National Federation of High School Sports as having won more state wrestling titles than any other team in the nation.

• In addition to the 43 state championships, the Maroons have won 20 Dual State championships, 4 Academic State titles and in 2023 the Lady Maroons won the Academic State title for a total of 68 State Championships!

• Perry has crowned 179 individual state champions which is 3rd most in the nation

• In 2019 the Maroons hit a milestone winning its 1000 dual. Only the 4th school in the nation to achieve this.

• Former Perry wrestlers made up half of the starting line-up of the University of Oklahoma's 1957 national championship team, including national champion Danny Hodge and All-Americans Leonard Shelton, Rex Edgar and Gordon Roesler.

• Since 1961, Perry has never gone more than two years without winning a state wrestling championship.

• In the past 69 years, the Maroons have finished first or second at state 57 times.

• John St. Clair claimed Perry's first individual state title in 1942. Tulsa bank executive Wade Edmundson earned the 50th state title in 1969. Scott Chenoweth, who went on to become the schools winningest wrestling coach, was Perry's 100th state champion.

• Perry has crowned three four-time state champions and eleven three-time champions.

• In 1973, the Maroons had one of the greatest teams in Oklahoma sports high school history when they crowned seven state champions out of twelve weight classes.

43 State Championship Teams - National Record

20 Dual State Championships

4 Academic State Championships

lady Maroons Academic State Championship

2023

176 Individual State Champions

DANNY HODGE

One of the most recognized and celebrated names in the history of wrestling, Hodge had his beginnings in Perry where he was an undefeated state champion in 1951. Just one year removed from high school, Hodge competed in the 1952 Olympics. In 1956, Hodge returned to the Olympics and was leading by a large margin in the finals when a controversial fall was called against him, resulting in the silver medal. Danny compiled an unparalleled record at the University of Oklahoma as he finished with an unblemished 46-0 record with 36 falls. He pinned 24 consecutive opponents and was never taken down during his college career! Hodge was a three-time national champion, pinning his opponent in all three finals and was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the National Tournament two times. Hodge is the only wrestler to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April, 1957). In 1958, Hodge won the Golden Gloves championship in boxing, becoming the first athlete to win national championships in both wresting and boxing. Hodge was inducted in the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame 1964 and inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. In 1976, Danny was inducted in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a charter member. In 1998, the Amateur Wrestling News named Danny to their all-time best amateur wrestling team prior to 1958. The Dan Hodge Trophy, wrestling's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, is presented to the nation's best college wrestler each year.

JACK VANBEBBER

Jack Vanbebber was severely injured at age six after being thrown from a wagon. Doctors said he would never be able to do strenuous work or play or he could be crippled for life. He went on to become a three-time undefeated national champion at Oklahoma A&M and won the gold medal in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1950, he was selected as one of the 10 most outstanding amateur athletes in the Western Hemisphere for the first half of the 2oth Century. Vanbebber was inducted into The Jim Thorpe Hall of Fame in 1979. He was also inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1976, Jack was inducted in The National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a charter member. In 1998, the Amateur Wrestling News named Jack to their all- time best amateur wrestling team prior to 1958. In 2008, Jack Vanbebber was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.