Jimmy Carr
December 28, 1955 - August 15, 2013
Jimmy Carr competed in the 1972 Olympics in freestyle wrestling as a 17-year-old high school junior, becoming the youngest ever American Olympic wrestler.
Carr was Junior World Champion who had actually placed sixth at the 1971 World Championships as a 16-year-old
He biggest title came in 1973 when he became the first high school wrestler to win the prestigious Midlands Tournament, defeating NCAA champion Mark Massery of Northwestern 11-7 and being named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Carr also earned a tie and a 5-3 win over 1972 Olympic gold medalist Roman Dmitriyev of Russia.
He wrestled at the University of Kentucky for his brother Fletcher Carr, earning All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in 1977, and also at the University of Alabama.
Carr accomplished all this despite almost losing his right leg to a staph infection when he was a child.
Jimmy came from family of 16 siblings. Of his eight brothers, all became wrestlers, with five of them becoming college All-Americans, led by Nate Carr, a Distinguished Member of the National Hall of Fame who was a three-time NCAA champion for Iowa State and an Olympic bronze medalist.
He passed away at 57 years old in 2013 from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
All American Awards:
Season
1977
|
School
Kentucky
|
Tournament
Division I
|
Weight
126
|
Place
5
|
Our Mission: To honor the sport of wrestling by preserving its history, recognizing extraordinary individual achievements, and inspiring future generations