The beginning of an era

In 1987, Iowa wrestling had experienced something that it had only encountered once before in Gable’s 11 years as head coach: the Hawkeyes weren’t the best in the nation.

After nine consecutive championships, Iowa placed second by a 25-point margin to Iowa State. Then, in 1988, it happened again. Arizona State bested Iowa by 8.5 points, and Gable suddenly found himself searching for a way to reel the program back into his control and the national respect he had built.

Gable’s standard is high — anyone with a toe in the wrestling world knows that. Before his 21-year tenure as Iowa’s head coach, he lost just one match throughout his high school and college careers and won an Olympic gold medal in 1972 without giving up a point to his opponents.

He kicked up his recruiting efforts for the 1988-89 season, looking not just for good wrestlers on the mat, but for people that would set an example and lead the room.

In Sheldon, Iowa, he found the Brands twins, Tom and Terry.

“It’s double the impact, and it was needed right at that time because, you know, we had great fun and great teams, but coach was losing all control,” Gable said. “I think they exemplified to me what I was looking for in wrestling on the mat and then off the mat as well.

“They were a little bit behind in the room, but they weren’t behind in the competition or how they lived their life.”

Tom and Terry didn’t grow up under the best circumstances. Their father was an alcoholic —described by Terry as “a mean son of a ‘B’ ” when he was drunk — and that helped shape the men they would soon become and the way they would one day lead.

In fifth grade, after their parents divorced, the Brands twins were introduced to wrestling by two family friends. Too small for basketball and just scrappy enough to hold their own in the ring, they were shown a crossface and a cradle.

A couple weeks later, they had their own wrestling mat down in the basement.

“It was an awesome situation because you could fight with your brother under rules that made it OK to be down there scrapping,” Terry said. “It wasn’t, ‘Hey, knock it off,’ from Mom yelling down the stairs anymore. It was a ‘Knock it off,’ and we go, ‘Well, we’re wrestling,’ and ‘OK’ even though it was probably more than that.”

That wrestling turned into a drive and a focus to get better.

They loved to win. Gable came knocking, and their energy and determination was funneled through an organization that was known for cranking out the best.

“Dan Gable was the best thing that ever happened to me in my wrestling career, and my brother would say the same thing,” Tom said. “But not for everybody — for us because of how we were raised.”