Dan Gable was not at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia when Gable Steveson fell to Wyatt Hendrickson in the 285-pound finals of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He attended Friday’s sessions but left the next day to watch his grandsons — Gable Mitchell and Danny Gavin — play baseball. 

Even the president of the United States couldn’t persuade him to stay. 

“When Trump entered, he wanted me to be there with him and his crew,” Gable said. “I’ve kind of blanked (the Gable Steveson loss) out of my mind. I haven’t, but I have because it’s kind of emotional. There’s a lot of story here.”

Dan Gable’s story dates back to the 1970 NCAA Championships. The Iowa State senior hadn’t lost a match in high school or college before falling to Washington sophomore Larry Owings, 13-11, in the 142-pound finals. 

The Des Moines Register brutalized Gable in the Sunday paper. 

“GABLE FAILS,” the headline read. 

The seemingly invincible Cyclone star used the loss as a turning point. 

Gable won the 1972 Olympics without surrendering a point before leading the University of Iowa to 15 NCAA titles during 21 seasons (1977-97).

Dan Gable's Namesake

Minnesota’s Gable Dan Steveson — named after Dan Gable, of course — lost his final college match 55 years later. Both won two NCAA titles; neither could shut the door on three. 

Steveson finished third at the 2019 NCAA Championships before winning titles in 2021 and 2022. He dabbled with the WWE and NFL before returning to college wrestling for the 2024-25 season. The Golden Gopher senior was a wrecking ball entering the NCAA finals, dominating 18 straight opponents.

Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson wrestled at Air Force for four seasons before taking down and riding Steveson in the closing seconds of the 285-pound finals — earning a shocking 5-4 win over the 2020 Olympic gold medalist. 

Dan Gable and Gable Steveson at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota

“I tried not to think about his loss because I didn’t want to get that emotional about a guy that’s named Gable Dan Steveson because I already went through a loss 55 years ago,” Dan Gable said. “He’s already won the Olympics. I don’t know if he’s planning to wrestle and I didn’t really want to think about all that because I’m still getting over Owings beating me, but it was the right thing to happen to me. 

“I don’t know if it’s the right thing to happen to him. There were a lot of circumstances that were good for Gable to win but there were a lot of circumstances where it was good for Hendrickson to win. He wrapped himself in an American flag. Trump was going to leave two matches before but he stayed.

“I feel for the guy because I could see him afterward. Gable (Steveson) was hurting.”

Danny And Gable Save The Day

It wasn’t a complete loss for guys named Dan or Gable. 

Gable Mitchell — a junior baseball player at the University of Iowa — hit a three-run home run while his grandfather was in Philadelphia. He hit another when Dan Gable flew back to Minnesota to watch him play.

Danny Gavin — a sophomore baseball player for D3 Gustavus Adolphus — hit a first-pitch home run as his grandfather entered the stadium. Gavin blew a kiss and pointed to Kathy Gable — Dan’s wife — since it was her birthday. 

“Do I want to get all kinds of feelings about this? I better stay kind of neutral right now so I don’t go off the deep end,” Dan Gable said. “A lot is going on with my name right now.

“I saw a dominant Gable (Steveson) in the first period but as the match progressed, that dominance was neutralized. I thought Gable could have scored more earlier. I felt like Gable needed to dominate earlier and score more points.

“I think Hendrickson made a lot of progress with his mind before this match. He stayed close and then he stayed tough on that (final) shot. I don’t think it was the same Gable in the first period that was in the third period. 

“I think Hendrickson pushed through to make sure he had an opportunity to win when he was in a position to win the match. That probably wasn’t the same shot he would have taken in the first period because it probably would have been a score by Gable with a snap-down, and go-behind. Gable has such heavy hips but his hips weren’t quite as heavy this time and Wyatt Hendrickson was determined to get that takedown. 

“He didn’t just shoot and fall. He shot and had to strain probably more than he ever had to strain in his life. It took him a few seconds to cut the corner and get him to the mat. All the energy in the world wouldn’t get (Hendrickson) off because he was squeezing hard. 

“It was an emotional match for me. I don’t want to go through another Larry Owings.”