Carr Family Receives Bowlsby Family Legacy Award

By Josh Reilly
GoErie.com


Erie’s own Carr family was honored with the Bowlsby Family Legacy Award at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday night.

The Carrs, part of the Gable Museum’s 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony, were honored at the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa.

A family of 16 children, including nine boys, the Carrs ascended to become one of the most successful wrestling families in the world.

“It was exciting,” Nate Carr said Tuesday of Saturday’s honor. “To think about all that we accomplished as a family, it was definitely deserving when it comes to the wrestling world.”

Five of the Carr wrestlers were Division I All-Americans, an NCAA record.

Fletcher Carr, an All-American for the University of Tampa (Florida), later became the first African-American head coach in NCAA Division I when he led the University of Kentucky.

Jimmy and Joe Carr earned All-America honors at Kentucky. Nate Carr was an All-American at Iowa State and, later, was an assistant coach at West Virginia where younger brother Michael was an All-American.

Nate Carr graduated from the former Tech Memorial High School, where he became a PIAA Class 3A gold medalist in 1979. From there, he won three NCAA individual championships while at Iowa State.

Nate, Jimmy and Joe Carr also were junior world champs.

Jimmy and Nate Carr were Summer Olympians in 1972 and 1988, respectively. Nate Carr won a bronze medal. Jimmy, who passed away in 2013, was the youngest wrestler in U.S. Olympics history.

Nate Carr served as the family spokesman during Saturday night’s dinner. In his monologue, he mentioned a quote by Peter Strople, who said, “Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people.”

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