Bill Scherr - Inducted 2003

Born July 27, 1961 in Eureka. 1980 Mobridge HS grad. 1984 Nebraska grad. One of the few Olympic medalists that South Dakota has produced, Scherr earned a bronze medal at 220 pounds in freestyle wrestling at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He was the world champion at 198 pounds in 1985 but moved up to 220 in order to give his twin brother, Jim, a shot at making the Olympic team at 198 (Jim finished fifth at the 1988 Olympics at 198). Scherr was second at the 1986 and '89 world championships and third in '87. He was the World Cup champ in 1989 and he was second in 1985, '86 and '88. He was the 1987 Pan Am Games champ, and he was first at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1985 and '87. He won the AAU national title in 1982. At the 1990 Goodwill Games, he unleashed a winning two-point throw as time expired to beat Andrei Golovko 2-1 for the gold medal and give the United States a win over the Soviet Union. Scherr was U.S. senior freestyle champion five times (1987-90 and '92), U.S. junior freestyle champ once (1980) and U.S. senior Greco-Roman champ once (1982). He was runner-up at U.S. Senior Nationals in 1982, '84 and '85. He was named USA Wrestling athlete of the year in 1982. In 1998 he was named a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. At Nebraska, he had a 133-18 record and was a three-time All-American, winning the 190-pound title as a senior in 1984 (he was third as a junior and fourth as a sophomore). At Mobridge, he was 100-12 and was undefeated as a junior and senior. He led Mobridge to its first state team title in 1980. He also competed in football, track and rodeo.