2010 San Jose Sports Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
Arturs Irbe, Bruce Jenner, Keri Sanchez, Dave and Mark Schultz

SAN JOSE, CA – Five South Bay sports icons who made their mark in professional, college, and Olympic sports make up the 2010 Class of Inductees of the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.

The sixteenth class, which will be inducted at the November 16 ceremony at HP Pavilion at San Jose, includes:
* Arturs Irbe: All Star San Jose Sharks goaltender, community supporter and fan favorite
* Bruce Jenner: Decathlon Champion, Olympian
* Keri Sanchez: NCAA Champion and Women’s Soccer Pioneer
* Dave and Mark Schultz: Wrestling Legends, Olympians and Brothers

Dave and Mark Schultz are the first wrestlers to be inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. The late Dave Schultz will be honored posthumously, as he was murdered in 1996. 

The November 16th event, presented by Hewlett-Packard, celebrates 16 years of the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. The event begins with a reception followed by dinner and induction ceremony. Dinner tickets begin at $200 each and sponsorship packages are available ranging from $2,500 to $15,000. For information and to purchase tickets (408) 288-2936.

The 2010 Class brings the total number to 76 of South Bay sports figures in the Hall of Fame, which recognizes each honoree with a bronze plaque permanently installed on the concourse at HP Pavilion. The annual induction is an event of the San Jose Sports Authority, San Jose Arena Authority, HP Pavilion Management/San Jose Sharks and the City of San José. The event benefits Special Olympics Northern California and high school sports programs.

DAVE AND MARK SCHULTZ BIOGRAPHY 
from San Jose Sports Hall of Fame

From their humble beginnings at Palo Alto High School, Dave and Mark Schultz went on to dominate and define a generation of wrestling in the United States. Along with the Banach brothers, they were the first brothers in U.S. history to win Olympic titles at the same Olympic Games, and are the only brothers in U.S. history to win both Olympic and World championships. 

From a young age, Dave Schultz worked hard to learn wrestling technique and was a relentless student of the sport. As a high school senior in 1977, he won a California state title and U.S. senior national titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Mark's first sport was gymnastics, and by his sophomore year in high school, he was a Northern California age-group champion gymnast. Yet Mark was also drawn to wrestling, and in 1977, as his older brother was winning titles, he made the transition to the mat, going 4-6 as a junior. As a senior, in only his second full year in the sport, Mark demonstrated his natural ability as he earned a 27-2 record and claimed a state championship for himself.

The brothers were enrolled together as UCLA, and transferred to the University of Oklahoma one year before UCLA elected to drop its wrestling program. At Oklahoma, they made an immediate impact, totaling a combined four NCAA Championships for the Sooners. Dave won his title competing at 167 pounds in 1982. Mark won his first NCAA Championship at 167 lbs. in 1981. In 1982, his junior season, he moved up to 177 to challenge two-time champion Ed Banach of Iowa. Mark defeated Banach and was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestlers. As a senior, Mark remained at 177 lbs. and met all expectations by capturing his third consecutive NCAA title.

While Mark was completing his third NCAA championship, Dave, in his first year out of college, won a freestyle World Championship at 74kg in Kiev. The following year, Dave and Mark continued their dominance on a world stage when they won Olympic gold on home soil at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Both competed in freestyle, with Dave winning at 74 kg and Mark at 82 kg.

As he had since their days at Palo Alto High School, Mark followed-up Dave's 1983 World Championship with his own World title at the 82 kg weight class in 1985. He added a second World Championship in 1987.

Stateside, Dave Schultz won a total of 10 Senior National titles (eight Freestyle, two Greco-Roman) over 19 years. Internationally, he won five World Cup and two Pan American Games titles. Mark captured four national Freestyle titles, two World championships and a Pan American gold medal. He represented the United States at the Olympics for a second time in 1988, placing sixth while battling through an injury.

Both brothers gave back to the sport they loved as coaches. Dave was an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma, Stanford University, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Mark was an assistant coach at Stanford from 1983-1986, and at Villanova University from 1986-1989. He signed on as an assistant at Brigham Young University from 1991-1994, and then took over as head coach at BYU from 1994-2000.

Dave Schultz was killed in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on Friday, January 26, 1996 at the age of 36. At the time of his death, Dave was a wrestling coach for Team Foxcatcher in Newtown Square. He was the top ranked U.S. wrestler in his weight class and was a prospect for the 1996 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team.

Four months later, on May 16, 1996, Mark paid homage to his brother’s life and memory with a victory in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) IX. The competition was a nearly no-holds-barred match, the only exceptions being a ban on eye gouging and biting. With his foundation in wrestling, and his newly-acquired skills in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and striking, Mark was triumphant via TKO over Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge in what he holds as “the most important victory of my life” which “allowed me to go out a winner.” Mark retired from mixed martial arts with a record of 1-0-0.

Mark was inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995, and Dave soon followed in 1997.

True giants, innovators, and legends in the sport of American wrestling, Dave and Mark Schultz are the first wrestlers to take their rightful place in the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.

About the San Jose Sports Authority

The San Jose Sports Authority is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the City of San Jose’s economic development, visibility and civic pride through sports. Serving as the City's sports commission since its inception in 1991, the Sports Authority has provided leadership and support to attract or host hundreds of sporting events in San Jose and the South Bay. The Sports Authority also supports and operates community, youth and amateur sports programs, including the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, The First Tee of San Jose, and the REACH Youth Scholarship Program. To learn more, visit www.sjsa.org.