A fierce competitor as a wrestler and equally as fierce a competitor when a coach, Myron Roderick was a winner of championships in both roles. In his three years as a wrestler at Oklahoma State University, he won 42 of 44 matches and three National Collegiate championships, one at 137 pounds, then two more at 130 pounds. He placed fourth in the 1956 Olympic Games at Melbourne, losing a split decision to the eventual champion.

But it was as coach of the Cowboys that he attained his greatest stature. And there was no interlude between his two careers. From national champion in 1956 to the new torch-bearer of the great Oklahoma State coaching tradition in 1957 was an abrupt but highly successful transition.

In 1958, when he led the Cowboys to the NCAA team title he was, at 23, the youngest coach ever to guide a national champion team in any sport. In his 13 years of coaching, he produced seven NCAA team champions. His Cowboys won 140 dual meets, lost only 10 and tied seven, once stringing 84 consecutive duals without a loss.

His wrestlers won 20 individual NCAA titles and four gold medals in the Olympic Games. He also coached his teams to two National AAU championships, was the United States coach in the 1963 World Games and was assistant coach in the 1964 Olympics.

Roderick departed from tradition in one respect. He carried his personal intensity into a search for quality wrestlers and, more than any other man, introduced recruiting on a major scale into the sport of wrestling.

As the first executive director of the U. S. Wrestling Federation, he established the foundation of USA Wrestling, the sport's national governing body. He saw the need for a National Wrestling Hall of Fame and worked not only to bring the dream to life, but also to ensure its future.

In recognition of his great achievements as a wrestler and coach, and his lifelong leadership in the sport, Myron Willis Roderick is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.