VanBebber was born and raised in Perry, Oklahoma. He attended and wrestled at Oklahoma A&M University and was a three-time undefeated NCAA national champion. He was coached by Edward C. Gallagher. VanBebber competed at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he won the gold medal in the freestyle welterweight (72 kg) division.[1]
In 1950, he was named one of the ten greatest amateur athletes in the western hemisphere for the first half of the 20th century. VanBebber served four years in the infantry during World War II, three of them in the Pacific theater. He then joined the Phillips Petroleum Company for 39 years until his retirement, and taught wrestling to sons of company employees and to Boy Scouts. He once wrestled Frank Phillips (founder of Phillips 66) at his home in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
For more than 50 years he was the only American-born wrestler to win three NCAA titles and an Olympic gold medal. In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[2]
Further reading
A Distant Flame: The Inspiring Story of Jack VanBebber's Quest for a World Olympic Title, tells more about his life.
