Bobby Weaver


Robert "Bobby" Brooks Weaver, Sr. was a freestyle wrestler who won a gold medal at 48 kg at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He also won a silver medal at the 1979 world championships and was a member of the 1980 Olympic team that boycotted the Moscow Olympics.

Wrestling career

High School

Weaver, who began wrestling at the age of six, won three Pennsylvania state high school titles while competing for Easton Area High School in Easton, Pennsylvania. He won in 1975 and 1976 at the 98-pound weight class and in 1977 at the 105-pound weight class. In 1977 Weaver participated in the Dapper Dan Classic, which features the Pennsylvania all-stars against a national team, and won by a fall in 0:50. He graduated from Easton in 1977 and spent a post-graduate year at Blair Academy, in Blairstown, New Jersey. At Blair he won the National Prep School Championship and the Outstanding Wrestler trophy.

College

Weaver matriculated at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1978. Competing in college was a challenge for Weaver since the lightest NCAA weight class was 118 pounds, well above his freestyle weight class of 105.5 pounds. He red shirted as a freshman at Lehigh and saw little action the following season. However, the next three seasons was a starter for Lehigh at 118 pounds. He won conference titles in 1982 and 1983 and finished third in the 1982 NCAA Division I tournament. He finished his career at Lehigh with a record of 57-14-3 with 16 falls.

Freestyle

Weaver began competing in freestyle while still in high school. He caused a sensation at the 1976 Olympic trials when he pinned his first eight opponents. He eventually ended up as the alternate on the Olympic team. Then just two years out of high school, Weaver finished second at the 1979 world championships in San Diego, California. Prior to his triumph in Los Angeles, Weaver had won six national freestyle championships, two FILA World Cup gold medals, two World Cup silver medals, gold medals in tournaments in Germany, Poland and Cuba and a silver medal at the demand freestyle tournament in Tbilisi.
Weaver was a flamboyant winner, especially when he won by pin. He was known to jump up and down and do somersaults in the air, particularly when he pinned 1976 Olympian William Rosado for the 1980 team berth and when he pinned Takashi Irie in the 1984 48 kg Olympic finals. Following his win in 1984, he circled the arena several times with his young son, Bobby Jr., in his arms.
Weaver was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2008. He missed the ceremonies because of a serious illness, but was able to attend the following year.