Smith was my idol growing up in Oklahoma.. During high school I had to move from Okc to Seattle. Anyway my senior year 1991 John Smith was traveling doing 2day camps across the country and he came to Tacoma, WA.. I'll never forget bc I signed up and took some highschool teammates with me and I got to talk to Smith just before the camp started and told him I was from Okla... So the entire weekend he used me to show all the moves he was teaching and he and I got to wrestle live a bunch once we finished drilling the moves.. My teammates then realized how cool I was lol . He's such a good guy!!
crazy life,, i was sitting right next to whoever filmed this,, great match,, i don't remember it being so one sided,, brands was still in college ,, at the time but no one could stop smith low single,, heck he still be winning even today!!
I was flying from Dallas to Okla City late one night. the flight attendant was giving her usual safety-features speech about the emergency exit. As I always do, I looked to see who was sitting at the emergency exits and sitting in one of the seats was John Smith. I told my wife sitting next to me, "If that guy can't rip that door off, no one can!"
I had a chance to wrestle against John Smith when he was training for the 1996 Olympics. His speed was absolutely unbelievable. He was on your leg before you could even react. It was embarrassing to even be on the same mat as him.
John Smith literally gave Tom Brands a couple of take downs just so Brands could at least have points on the scoreboard. Score 14 to 4, John Smith wins.
When you look at this video it's easy to get caught up with Smith's takedown mastery. However his par tere work was just amazing. He's not just turning anyone here at will. Brands is\was a tough hombre.
Brand's wasa1 a bale of hey to Randy Lewis or Kevin foti you ever got to see one of the real greats he was CIA Kevin Joseph foti he beat Lewis Smith 125.5 alternate freestyle Olympic team beat Mills and Weaver for 114.5 but his JFK CIA sealed files erased his life
If anyone thinks Tom Brands could have ever beaten John Smith they just don't know wrestling. The only reason Brands won Olympic gold is because Smith retired.
Probably, but your watching a Jr in college vs the best freestyle wrestler in the world in this match. At way different points in there wrestling careers.
Smith and Gable in their primes at a catch weight. Thats what I wanna see. I go with Gable 9 out of 10 in his prime even though Smith was way slicker. I love this sport!
+Steve Collins It sucks that Gable didn't participate in freestyle nearly as long as Smith did. So obviously Smith has more medals and was incredible, but who knows how good Gable could've been. But injuries did take a toll on Gable too. I think Smith is undoubtedly the best US wrestler ever. number 2 could be Gable. Could be Cael. Mark. Dave. Kemp. Baumgardner. Kenny Monday. Kevin Jackson. Kurt Angle. And Im considering NCAA and senior level wrestling. But credential wise Gable isn't in the top 5. Medal-wise its Smith----Baumgardner----Burroughs----Kemp----Monday----Dave----Mark----Kevin Jackson-----Rick Sanders-----Wayne Wells-----Terry Brands-----Gable-----Angle-----Tom Brands-----Sammie Henson----etc
You pick Dan Gable because he is an icon for U.S. Wrestling, but really it's hard to pick between the two. Dan Gable dominated the Russians, Smith put Gold Medalist Randy Lewis into retirement at age 23......
9 out of 10? c'mon man. that's a disrespect to Smith. you think a human being can beat john 9 times? i'm not saying smith would whoop Gable but at the very least a 6 to 4 or 7 to 3 either way seems more reasonable but this is all hearsay.
Well you are right, if everything else is equal, speed wins, it just does. But he was more than just speed--the timing of when to move, then the speed.
the lady announcing this announces our State tournament...as well as many other big time tournaments i believe to this day .i hear her voice and ot soothes me😅 shes a legend..cool to know shes had these guys names come out her mouth if youve ever had your own name spoken by her before.
@HighHeadJim freestyle is all takedowns, if you add in the different rules between collegiate and freestyle, it's a totally different situation. I'd like to have seen brands and smith wrestle with collegiate rules, I think brands would have taken smith.
You are crazy did you see this match. Smith dominated Brands in just about every position on the mat. And actually Messkath most high level wrestling matches comes down to takedowns. Folkstyle scoring is actually more takedown dependent because it is hard to ride and get back points in folkstyle. While Freestlye there are more ways to score points with turns and slams and exposures. But either way takedowns are the most important thing in high level wrestling.
@TheFredlima dude you're clueless. Okay Brands have 1 more NCAA title than Smith. Whooptie effing doo. By that logic, Smith has 4 more world level titles than Brands, so Smith wins that argument. Brands has 3 NCAA titles as coach; Smith has 5, so Smith win's that argument again. Yes Smith did lose to Reinoso but Smith wrestled in two Olympics to Brands' one so of course there is a higher chance of losing. And sidenote: Smith in 1992 was dealing with a staph infection as well and still won.
@sanitary103 Yeah, for sure 1992. I was going into my junior year in high school and wrestling at the Augsburg Intensive Camp. John worked our legs so hard that everyone was walking down the stairs backwards to alleviate the pain. Man I'm old.
To be fair Brands would have been Sophomore in college and Smith would have been in his first year as head coach at Oklahoma State. I'm sure at the time it was a bigger deal that Brands took him down than it was Smith beating Brands.
that wasn't Tom Brands giving up, that was John Smith using leverage to break Brands grip on his leg. Brands is 2 damn tough 2 give up, which 5:44 is proof of
@jurom7 5 titles in 18 years? yeah brands has 3 in less then half the years i will give smith the fact that for a portion of his career he was competeing against gable but still brands has 12 years less expierence yet turned virgina tech into a solid team and brought iowa back to a consistent contender even in a off year nd the last 2 years theyve tied or gone to creiteria meaning neither coach really is better then the other if they both get their wrestlers riled up like that
IM a fan of Smiths. I dont care for tom too much but to say he sucks is way outta line. Lets see you make it to the olympics in anything. better yet, go wrestle Smith right now and see if he doesnt whoop that ass
it doesn't seem like John Smith was at his prime. He was gassing out towards the end giving up 2 shots at the end by taking sloppy ones. but yes John Smith is pretty sound on his feet I've watched his 1989 matches and he never ran out gas.
You guys are forgetting that Brands was still a young college wrestler here, while Smith was already an Olympian and international competitor. At this time, yeah Smith outclassed him with his experience. This match may have been different if it happened in 1996 when Brands caught up to Smith's level of experience. Either way, both are two of the best of all time. I don't understand why people have to say one is the best and the other sucks.
Thanks for that information. I could not believe how easily Smith handled Brands, and I actually thought it might of been Terry Brands the way Smith beat him so bad. But nope it was Tom Brands. John Smith is the best American wrestler of all time hands down. Gable and Cael Sanderson are probably 2 and 3. Where do you guys think Tom Brands should be ranked in All time American Wrestlers ? Should Tom Brands be 4th ? I dont know
@TheFredlima Well Tom Brands only won one world championship John Smith 5 Tom Brands 1 gold medal John Smith 2. They're both great wrestlers. Please don't get all petty with these stupid stats. To say John Smith wasn't very dominant is plain stupid
Wrong twopoint IQ. Gable 1 world championship gold medal, and 1 Olympic gold medal. Sanderson 1 world championship silver medal, and 1 Olympic gold. John Smith 6 time World Champion, and 2 Olympic gold medals. Not to mention Burroughs, Baumgartner, Kemp, and both Schultz brothers. All had better freestyle careers than both Gable and Sanderson. In fact, a 19 year old Lee Kemp retired Gable after beating him at the 1975 Northern Open.
Tom is not a more successful coach. John Smith has coached more National Champions, All-Americans, Team National Champions, Olympic and World Team members. Not be mean but are you clueless or have you been invovled in wrestling for only two years.
Smith was my idol growing up in Oklahoma.. During high school I had to move from Okc to Seattle. Anyway my senior year 1991 John Smith was traveling doing 2day camps across the country and he came to Tacoma, WA.. I'll never forget bc I signed up and took some highschool teammates with me and I got to talk to Smith just before the camp started and told him I was from Okla... So the entire weekend he used me to show all the moves he was teaching and he and I got to wrestle live a bunch once we finished drilling the moves.. My teammates then realized how cool I was lol . He's such a good guy!!
crazy life,, i was sitting right next to whoever filmed this,, great match,, i don't remember it being so one sided,, brands was still in college ,, at the time but no one could stop smith low single,, heck he still be winning even today!!
I was flying from Dallas to Okla City late one night. the flight attendant was giving her usual safety-features speech about the emergency exit. As I always do, I looked to see who was sitting at the emergency exits and sitting in one of the seats was John Smith. I told my wife sitting next to me, "If that guy can't rip that door off, no one can!"
Those two are legends
I watched this match live, this was john in his prime and tom was just starting his international career
I had a chance to wrestle against John Smith when he was training for the 1996 Olympics. His speed was absolutely unbelievable. He was on your leg before you could even react. It was embarrassing to even be on the same mat as him.
He retired in 92 so that's not possible unless you meant the 92 Olympics
And then they end up being head coaches for two of best wrestling schools ever.
Smith was our greatest wrestler. Of that, there is no argument.
When you make Tom Brands look like a JV wrestler you are really good
3:54 Keith Richards lol
John Smith literally gave Tom Brands a couple of take downs just so Brands could at least have points on the scoreboard. Score 14 to 4, John Smith wins.
john smith is just ridiculously good
When you look at this video it's easy to get caught up with Smith's takedown mastery. However his par tere work was just amazing. He's not just turning anyone here at will. Brands is\was a tough hombre.
Yeah when it comes to international freestyle, it doesn't get much better than John Smith
damn, smith was killin him on his feet and the scramble, nice video!
Brand's wasa1 a bale of hey to Randy Lewis or Kevin foti you ever got to see one of the real greats he was CIA Kevin Joseph foti he beat Lewis Smith 125.5 alternate freestyle Olympic team beat Mills and Weaver for 114.5 but his JFK CIA sealed files erased his life
If anyone thinks Tom Brands could have ever beaten John Smith they just don't know wrestling. The only reason Brands won Olympic gold is because Smith retired.
Probably, but your watching a Jr in college vs the best freestyle wrestler in the world in this match. At way different points in there wrestling careers.
Brands would beat the brakes off smith today! Guaranteed! Never say “never”!
Smith has the fastest shots I’ve ever seen.
Smith and Gable in their primes at a catch weight. Thats what I wanna see. I go with Gable 9 out of 10 in his prime even though Smith was way slicker. I love this sport!
+Steve Collins It sucks that Gable didn't participate in freestyle nearly as long as Smith did. So obviously Smith has more medals and was incredible, but who knows how good Gable could've been. But injuries did take a toll on Gable too. I think Smith is undoubtedly the best US wrestler ever. number 2 could be Gable. Could be Cael. Mark. Dave. Kemp. Baumgardner. Kenny Monday. Kevin Jackson. Kurt Angle. And Im considering NCAA and senior level wrestling. But credential wise Gable isn't in the top 5. Medal-wise its Smith----Baumgardner----Burroughs----Kemp----Monday----Dave----Mark----Kevin Jackson-----Rick Sanders-----Wayne Wells-----Terry Brands-----Gable-----Angle-----Tom Brands-----Sammie Henson----etc
You pick Dan Gable because he is an icon for U.S. Wrestling, but really it's hard to pick between the two. Dan Gable dominated the Russians, Smith put Gold Medalist Randy Lewis into retirement at age 23......
9 out of 10? c'mon man. that's a disrespect to Smith. you think a human being can beat john 9 times? i'm not saying smith would whoop Gable but at the very least a 6 to 4 or 7 to 3 either way seems more reasonable but this is all hearsay.
10 out of 10 gable man
U ever go mma Jon Jon
Legend has it they're still looking for Keith Richards
Brands went on to win his gold in 1996 so both are legends. There's no shame in losing a freestyle match to John Smith...the guy is a freak
Smith was just a magician out there wow
I was thinking the same thing. How many "final calls" does a guy get?
anyone keep track of the score..?
John Smith is as quick as a cat! Hard to beat that!!!
Well you are right, if everything else is equal, speed wins, it just does. But he was more than just speed--the timing of when to move, then the speed.
@mikefeetus do you mean 1992? the man retired after Barcelona..no way he was training in 1996, not that I recall
wow...I saw brands win the 96 olympics live and Smith owns him.
the lady announcing this announces our State tournament...as well as many other big time tournaments i believe to this day .i hear her voice and ot soothes me😅 shes a legend..cool to know shes had these guys names come out her mouth if youve ever had your own name spoken by her before.
Legendary announcer Sandy Stevens! ☺️
coming to NY next year to wrestle each other in the Northeast duels. which was created by one of my coaches...
...... that has to be Sandy Stevens announcing........ wow, what a career!
I swear shes omnipresent. She does my state tournament.
Holy smokes! Johnny B. Good ☺️
Jordan Oliver wrestles so much like his Coach here!
Props to JO, but he couldn't carry John Smith's jock lol
Why do I feel like I hear that lady's voice over the PA at every wrestling tournament ever? It sounds so familiar
That is Sandy Stevens, the most recognizable announcer in our beloved sport! She is known often as “that lady announcer.” 😊
Keith Richards on mat 8? Woh.
@jurom7 no u wrong, Brands may be a late bloomer but he got the attitude, ask any anyone who has ever wrestled for him, he will go down as Gable 2.
Sergei Smal beat him twice and so did the Korean at the 1995 World's. Terry was also beat by Sissaouri in the 1995 finals, the refereeing was bogus.
@HighHeadJim
freestyle is all takedowns, if you add in the different rules between collegiate and freestyle, it's a totally different situation. I'd like to have seen brands and smith wrestle with collegiate rules, I think brands would have taken smith.
You are crazy did you see this match. Smith dominated Brands in just about every position on the mat. And actually Messkath most high level wrestling matches comes down to takedowns. Folkstyle scoring is actually more takedown dependent because it is hard to ride and get back points in folkstyle. While Freestlye there are more ways to score points with turns and slams and exposures. But either way takedowns are the most important thing in high level wrestling.
Nope.
Don't care for Brands attitude, love to watch John Smith!
And Brands don’t give a shit! That’s what I LOVE to watch about him! Sure, Smith is a nice guy. Those are a dime a dozen! Lol
@TheFredlima dude you're clueless. Okay Brands have 1 more NCAA title than Smith. Whooptie effing doo. By that logic, Smith has 4 more world level titles than Brands, so Smith wins that argument. Brands has 3 NCAA titles as coach; Smith has 5, so Smith win's that argument again. Yes Smith did lose to Reinoso but Smith wrestled in two Olympics to Brands' one so of course there is a higher chance of losing. And sidenote: Smith in 1992 was dealing with a staph infection as well and still won.
I agree with this completely.
@sanitary103 Yeah, for sure 1992. I was going into my junior year in high school and wrestling at the Augsburg Intensive Camp. John worked our legs so hard that everyone was walking down the stairs backwards to alleviate the pain. Man I'm old.
dang that was pretty cool
To be fair Brands would have been Sophomore in college and Smith would have been in his first year as head coach at Oklahoma State. I'm sure at the time it was a bigger deal that Brands took him down than it was Smith beating Brands.
John Smith is the one in red, come on, just lok at all the low singles.
Back hand around is under rated. Keith Richards, last call
I don't know which one was Smith but the guy in the red trunks looked tired but BOTH were great wrestlers
that wasn't Tom Brands giving up, that was John Smith using leverage to break Brands grip on his leg. Brands is 2 damn tough 2 give up, which 5:44 is proof of
John is the best take down wrestler I ever seen unbelievable
@jurom7 5 titles in 18 years? yeah brands has 3 in less then half the years i will give smith the fact that for a portion of his career he was competeing against gable but still brands has 12 years less expierence yet turned virgina tech into a solid team and brought iowa back to a consistent contender even in a off year nd the last 2 years theyve tied or gone to creiteria meaning neither coach really is better then the other if they both get their wrestlers riled up like that
Brands is a fighter you have to give it to him.
Brands was still in college at this time right? It would have been a better match later on in Brands' international career.
more successful how?? don't have the stats in front of me, but coach Smith has much more hardware than Brands..plus he actually has class
Brands would slap the class out of Smith! Hah ha ha! Beast!
its so old!
Didn't Tom.beat up on John a couple years later?
Awesome the old and the young lion.
IM a fan of Smiths. I dont care for tom too much but to say he sucks is way outta line. Lets see you make it to the olympics in anything. better yet, go wrestle Smith right now and see if he doesnt whoop that ass
OKI State baby. Brands got owned!
it doesn't seem like John Smith was at his prime. He was gassing out towards the end giving up 2 shots at the end by taking sloppy ones. but yes John Smith is pretty sound on his feet I've watched his 1989 matches and he never ran out gas.
You guys are forgetting that Brands was still a young college wrestler here, while Smith was already an Olympian and international competitor. At this time, yeah Smith outclassed him with his experience. This match may have been different if it happened in 1996 when Brands caught up to Smith's level of experience. Either way, both are two of the best of all time. I don't understand why people have to say one is the best and the other sucks.
Thanks for that information. I could not believe how easily Smith handled Brands, and I actually thought it might of been Terry Brands the way Smith beat him so bad. But nope it was Tom Brands. John Smith is the best American wrestler of all time hands down. Gable and Cael Sanderson are probably 2 and 3. Where do you guys think Tom Brands should be ranked in All time American Wrestlers ? Should Tom Brands be 4th ? I dont know
Idk how y’all can see with all that CAKE in ya face from the blonde
I love seeing the Brands lose.
What was the final score? 21-0? LOL SMITH>BRANDS
@triumph3dx lmao. that announcer was pissed.
I thought I was the only one that noticed that girl until I seen the other comments :D
They made up rules to have a better game man
@TheFredlima Well Tom Brands only won one world championship John Smith 5 Tom Brands 1 gold medal John Smith 2. They're both great wrestlers. Please don't get all petty with these stupid stats. To say John Smith wasn't very dominant is plain stupid
Final score 14-4 wtf ? John Smith stopped wrestling after 14-0.
You know who is more sucsessful then both of them. Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson. Enough said.
twopoint Takedown at the college level, but not on the international level, nobody compares to John Smith at that level.
Wrong twopoint IQ.
Gable 1 world championship gold medal, and 1 Olympic gold medal.
Sanderson 1 world championship silver medal, and 1 Olympic gold. John Smith 6 time World Champion, and 2 Olympic gold medals.
Not to mention Burroughs, Baumgartner, Kemp, and both Schultz brothers. All had better freestyle careers than both Gable and Sanderson. In fact, a 19 year old Lee Kemp retired Gable after beating him at the 1975 Northern Open.
At 4:28 Brands is mentally broken.
He doesn't even try to finish the single leg he has on Smith.
Now that is what I called PWNAGE on your opponent.
Grinding grit and athleticism vs very high level technique here.
Tom is not a more successful coach. John Smith has coached more National Champions, All-Americans, Team National Champions, Olympic and World Team members. Not be mean but are you clueless or have you been invovled in wrestling for only two years.
those who only look at JS beating TB...yah okay just like les gutches beat cael sanderson. just saying. can't compare someone who doesn't train FS ...
He overslept at the hotel and ended up forfeiting the match
In 91 maybe...In 96 no one will know.
John just got too much heart!!!
@HighHeadJim haha, dude thats funny as fuck lol
Tom shud have talked to Dennis hall 1st Man U wud have got woman man
I'll drink 2 that lol
@triumph3dx lol, I'll ask him and let you know.
'
@dallaswoodbam lol me too!
untrue brandsonly has 2 national championship smith has a few more and his teams were far more dominate... osu will be back
me2