“They Gave Melvin a Deer Head”: USA’s Wrestling Legend Dishes on the Bizarre Prizes Won by Fellow Wrestler While Competing

Starting wrestling at a young age, “The Big Cat” has been a promising wrestler throughout his career. Even his transition to MMA was smoother. And this was in the very early growing days of MMA as a league. He became NCAA Division 1 champion twice in his term at Oklahoma State University- Stillwater.

Becoming a national champion in 1997, he represented the U.S. in the World Championship. He was placed fourth in that championship at 130 kg. Switching to MMA, his transition went smoother than most. His MMA career ended with a 9-4-1 record. Now handling his role as an assistant Coach at Duke University, “The Big Cat” has a lot of stories from his time competing in wrestling.

“crazy stuff” as prizes, says wrestling champ

Wrestling is one of the oldest sports and probably one of the weirdest when it comes to the prizes after the games. The origins of wrestling go back to 15000 years ago. It is more than just a game and has instilled itself as a cultural identity. In an online podcast with FloWrestling Tom Erikson discussed all the bizarre things that were given as prizes. FloWrestling posted a video on their X account captioning, “USA wrestling legend and assistant coach for Duke Tom Erikson talks about the crazy stuff he’s won competing at international events”.

In the video, Erikson, the assistant coach at Duke, spoke of some of the craziest kinds of stuff one can get at wrestling events. The host asked Erikson, “What is the best medal or award like… I know they..like in Tbilisi they give you like a crazy coat?” To this Erikson replied, “When you go to these events, they give you crazy stuff…like bushes…crystal bushes of leaves and stuff like that…or these little vases.”

He talked about his time when he won a medal at Yaryigan and got a vacuum cleaner. But the weirdest of the stuff he mentioned was probably the one received by Melvin Douglas. Erikson hilariously stated, “They gave, I think, Melvin a deer head or something like that!”

Part of a huge legacy

Reminiscing about his old wrestling days, he was talking about those wrestling days and how they would win more than just medals. “The Big Cat” talked about how they were given money and “goods” and not just medals. While talking to the FloWrestling, he jokingly said he would prefer money and goods over medals. “That’s a medal, I want money, you know, goods” jokingly said Tom Erikson while talking to FloWrestling.

Read more : Watch: Air Force Academy’s Historic World Champion Wyatt Hendrickson Receives an Epic Homecoming

Wrestling as a sport has changed a lot. With a larger historical background than most sports, it is one of the most glorious sports. Wrestlers like Melvin Douglas or Tom Erikson are part of that huge legacy.

Watch this story : Despite a Bad “History”, UFC President Dana White Praises New Business Partner Vince McMahon: “Michael Jordan of the Business World”