The hall of fame honors continue to roll in for Newton native Mike Chapman.
On Monday, Chapman, 66, will be part of a class of four men inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame at the 41st annual inductions in Cresco. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Cresco Country Club.
Chapman is being honored for his lifetime of service in promoting the sport of wrestling. He has written 20 books, including 14 on wrestling, and has been named National Wrestling Writer of the Year five times, by four different organizations.
“It’s always gratifying to have people reach out to you in any walk of life and say they appreciate your years of work,” Chapman said. “Wrestling has been a big part of my life.”
This is Chapman’s sixth hall of fame, and in 2007 he was given the President’s Award by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches Association. In 2002, he received the Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club, a group of boxers, wrestlers and movie actors with offices in Las Vegas. with the help of his wife, Bev, Chapman also founded the International Wrestling Institute and Museum, which was located in Newton from 1998 until 2006, when it moved to Waterloo and became the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum.
“I just love Iowa history,” he said, adding that the history of wrestling has deep roots in Iowa that date back to Frank Gotch, the early 20th century wrestling icon and subject of his latest novel. Chapman has appeared on television networks such as A&E, ESPN, Fox and Friends, Fox Sports, Iowa Public Television and Wisconsin Public television. He has appeared in several documentaries produced by the WWE and has produced three documentaries himself. An adapted screenplay of his novel, “Gotch: An American Hero,” is currently in pre-production by Empire Film Group in Hollywood.
Chapman worked for Shaw Newspapers for 17 years. He was executive editor of Sauk Valley Newspapers in Dixon, Illinois, where the chain is headquartered, for 10 years. He served as publisher of the Newton Daily News from 1998-2002, retiring to run the wrestling museum full time. He and his wife are both retired but still publish Iowa History Journal, a magazine they founded in January of 2009.
As an athlete, Chapman participated in wrestling, judo, sombo (Russian judo) and bench press contests, and he says he still woks out seven days a week.
“All I do is write and work out,” he said.
Others being inducted Monday include: Mark Ironside, a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa and 1998 Dan Hodge Trophy winner; Dr. Jason Smith, a two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State in the early 1970s, and Bob Roethler, who coached Emmetsburg High School to four straight state team titles in the 1970s.
For more information about the event or to buy tickets, call (563) 547-2382.