Bob Dellinger

Bob Dellinger was known as "Mr. Wrestling" to the sport's inner circle, not only in Oklahoma, but also nationally and internationally. His expertise in all facets of the sport created another nickname: "The Authority".

Dellinger never stepped on the mat as a participant or a coach but he carried wrestling to a new level as a sportswriter, tournament planner and scorer, rules interpreter and innovator. He authored two revolutionary rules, the present-day scoring system in 1959 and the current consolation bracketing in 1971.

He won the Amateur Wrestling News Award as Writer of the Year three straight times from 1960-1962 as a sportswriter for the Daily Oklahoman.

He joined the Oklahoman staff in 1952 and served 20 years in writing, editing and administration in the sports department. He was sports editor from 1965-1972, when he left to begin duties at the then new U.S. Wrestling Federation in Stillwater. He served as director until the organization moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1988. By then, he was director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater.

He helped conduct the 1956 National AAU Championships and Olympic Trials as will as his first national tournament, the Greco-Roman Championships in 1959. He officiated more than 300 regional, national and international wrestling events, most them as chief of operations. He worked 22 NCAA, two NAIA, six World Championships, five World Cups, four Olympic Festivals, two Pan-American games, the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1990 Goodwill Games.

He edited the USA Wrestling rulebooks from 1972-1992 and was elected a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1998, he was honored by the International Wrestling Federation with the FILA Diploma of Honour and Gold Star, the highest international award to a non-athlete.

In 1992, he and his wife of 45 years, Doris, founded Oklahoma Bylines Inc, a publishing firm. They co-authored "The Cowboys Ride Again", a comprehensive history of wrestling at Oklahoma State University.

Dellinger was born in 1928 in Otterville, MO. He died in 1999.