Hugh Peery Explained

Hugh Peery
Full Name:Robert Hugh Peery
Sport:Wrestling
Event:Freestyle and Folkstyle
Country:United States
Team:USA
Collegeteam:Pittsburgh
Birth Date:7 November 1931
Birth Place:Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.
Death Place:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Show-Medals:yes

Robert Hugh Peery (November 7, 1931  - January 10, 2015) was an American wrestler.[1] He won a gold medal at the 1951 Pan American Games,[2] and he competed in the men's freestyle flyweight at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[3] He also worked as a dentist for more than 50 years.[4]

Biography

Peery was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1931.[5] He attended the Tulsa Central High School, where he became an Eagle Scout and a two-time state champion.[2] [5] At the University of Pittsburgh he was a three-time NCAA champion in the early 1950s.[6] At the 1951 Pan American Games, Peery won the gold medal in the freestyle flyweight division.[2]

Peery was selected to represent the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.[7] At the Olympics, Peery competed in the men's freestyle flyweight event, and was eliminated by Georgy Sayadov of the Soviet Union.[5] [8]

Following his wrestling career, Peery graduated from a dental school in 1956,[9] going on to serve in the United States Navy Dental Corps.[2] Following his military career, he returned to Pittsburgh, where he worked as a dentist for more than 50 years.[2]

In 1980, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member,[10] and he was also posthumously inducted into the University of Pittsburgh hall of fame.[11] His brother, Ed, and his father, Rex, were also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hugh Peery . EIWA Wrestling . February 28, 2022.
  2. Web site: Hugh Peery . Olympedia . February 28, 2022.
  3. Hugh Peery Olympic Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418104925/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/rodolfo-davila-1.html . dead . April 18, 2020 . March 8, 2019.
  4. Web site: Obituary: Robert Hugh Peery / Wrestler who became a North Hills dentist 'to help people' . Post Gazette . February 28, 2022.
  5. Web site: InterMat Rewind: Hugh Peery . InterMat . February 28, 2022.
  6. Web site: Legendary Collegiate Wrestler Hugh Peery Passes Away at Age 84 . NWHOF . February 28, 2022.
  7. News: Hugh Peery makes first Olympic wrestling team . Newspapers.com . July 14, 1952 . 19 . 1 March 2022.
  8. Web site: Flyweight, Freestyle (≤52 kilograms), Men . Olympedia . 1 March 2022.
  9. Web site: DR. ROBERT "HUGH" PEERY . Legacy . February 28, 2022.
  10. Web site: Hugh Peery . National Wrestling Hall of Fame . February 28, 2022.
  11. Web site: Hall of Fame: Peery Family . University of Pittsburgh . February 28, 2022.
  12. Web site: Olympian Peery kept wrestling record under wraps . Tribe Live . February 28, 2022.