George “Chris” Flanagan was unable to wrestle in high school as his school in Williamsburg, Iowa did not offer the sport as an extracurricular activity.

Upon enrolling at Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa, Flanagan began his wrestling career with Dave McCuskey, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as his coach.

He was the Iowa Collegiate champion and placed second at the Midwest AAU tournament at 135 pounds in 1933. Flanagan won the Midwest AAU tournament in 1934.

Flanagan began his coaching career in 1934 at Grant Consolidated in Ledyard, Iowa, followed by a year in Burt, Iowa.

He was named the wrestling coach at Cresco High School, now Crestwood High School, in 1936.

Flanagan coached 34 individual state champions and teams captured four state championships and finished runner-up six times while winning 10 Northeast Iowa Conference titles. He had a career dual meet record of 317-89-5 and his teams never had a losing season.

He retired from coaching in 1970 and from teaching in 1975.

Flanagan was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Cresco Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1970.