Inductees
Larry Morgan
Year: 2011
Gender: Male
About Larry:
At East Bakersfield High School, coached by Leon Tedder, Larry’s wrestling record was 82-2 in his last two seasons, and 156-12 overall. He was a three-time South Yosemite League Champion, and he placed 2nd, 3rd and 1st in the CIF Central Section. He was a two-time National High School Champion. In college, Larry was a four-year wrestling letterman at Cal Poly with a record of 112-21-1. He placed 2nd in the NCAA Division II in 1971 and 1972, then compiled a 38-2-1 mark as a senior — winning a National Championship and Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament in 1973.
He placed 5th in the NCAA Division I Championships that year, and he was selected to wrestle in the East/West All-Star Match. In international competition, Larry was 1st in Freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials and 4th in the World Freestyle Championships at Tehran, Iran, in 1973. He was 1st in the A.A.U. Greco-Roman Nationals in 1976, 1st in U.S. Federation Greco-Roman Nationals, and 1st in U.S. Federation Freestyle Nationals where he was designated the Outstanding Wrestler at the event.
Larry competed in the 1975 Pan Am Games at Mexico City, and he was an alternate for the 1976 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in Montreal, Canada. Larry spent two years as graduate assistant coach at the University of Iowa, and he was Joe Seay’s Head Assistant at Cal State Bakersfield from 1979-1981 when the team won the NCAA Division II Championship each year.
He was volunteer assistant wrestling coach for powerhouse Bakersfield High School for eight years, including their CIF State Championship in 2002 when the team broke state records for most team points, most champions (including his oldest son Nathan), most finalists and most placers. He now serves as the BHS youth/club coach. The Junior Drillers practice at BHS. Larry is a member of the Cal Poly Athletic Hall of Fame, the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame, and the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.
