| 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]
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]