Happy birthday to Olympic gold medalist and Tulsa native Kenny Monday: Take a look back at his career
Happy birthday to Olympic gold medalist and former Booker T. Washington and OSU wrestler Kenny Monday, who turns 59 on Wednesday.
“Before (the 1976 Olympics), I didn’t understand or have a vision of what was possible in the sport of wrestling,” Monday said. “Then all of a sudden it’s like, ‘This is possible. I can go and win the Olympic gold medal, go compete against people from other countries.’
“As a young kid growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a black kid in the sport of wrestling … that really gave me a sense of what, to me, had seemed impossible.”
As Monday blossomed into the most dominant of wrestlers at Booker T., going undefeated was still no easy feat. Especially for a young black man in the 1970s.
Coaches told black wrestlers they needed to pin to win. So pin and win Monday did, and he did it often.
Monday went 121-12-2 and won a 1984 NCAA title at Oklahoma State, where Tahlequah’s Mike Sheets -- the wrestler who gave Monday the tie in Monday's 140-0-1 high school record -- became his loyal training partner.
Monday qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and went on to upset the Soviet Union’s Adlan Varaev in sudden-death for the 74-kilogram gold medal match in 1988. He also won the silver medal at the 1992 Olympics.
Take a look back at his career here:
Kenny Monday
At Oklahoma State, Kenny Monday was a three-time All-American. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
His career record at Oklahoma State is 121-12-2. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
The Tulsa World sports front on Oct. 1, 1988. Kenny Monday had won a gold wrestling medal the night before in Seoul.
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday receives a welcome-home hug from a fan after the 1988 Olympics, in which he won a gold medal. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday walks with his mother, Elizabeth Monday, at Tulsa International Airport in October 1988 after winning a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics. Tulsa World File
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday holds his gold medal that he won in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Photo taken on Oct. 7, 1988. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
During a press conference on Oct. 7, 1988, Kenny Monday holds a drawing by Brad Thompson. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
The Tulsa World sports front on Aug. 7, 1992. Kenny Monday had won a silver medal at the Barcelona Games the day before.
Kenny Monday
Sabrina Monday and her daughter Sydnee, 2, show their American flags as they prepare Friday, July 12, 1996, to leave from their Tulsa home for the Olympics in Atlanta. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday poses for a photo in downtown Tulsa in 1996. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday gives instructions to his student, Tracey Eitel, a 115-pounder from Dallas, during the youngster's match during the Cliff Keen Tulsa Nationals wrestling championships at the Expo Square's Pavilion on Jan. 16, 2009. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday (left) practices with his student, Tracey Eitel, a 115-pounder from Dallas, before the youngster's match during the Cliff Keen Tulsa Nationals wrestling championships at Expo Square's Pavilion on Jan. 16, 2009. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
Several jerseys, including a wrestling uniform of Kenny Monday and Ryan Humphrey, are mounted on the walls inside the Booker T. Washington Hall of Fame. Taken on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011. Tulsa World file
Kenny Monday
Former Booker T. Washington great wrestler Kenny Monday (left) and former Memorial High School great track and cross country runner Michelle Scholtz, both inductees into the Tulsa Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame, chat before the hall's dinner on Jan. 16, 2014. Tulsa World File
Kenny Monday
Currently, Kenny Monday is head coach of the Tar Heel wrestling Club at the University of North Carolina. PATRICK DAVISON/For the Tulsa World
Kenny Monday
Gold and silver Olympic medalist, Kenny Monday, receives the Male Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa on June 18, 2018. JOSEPH RUSHMORE/For the Tulsa World
Kenny Monday
Kenny Monday was among Booker T Washington Ring of Honor inductees on February 8, 2019. JOEY JOHNSON/for the Tulsa World
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