Wrestling 11/12/2020 9:00:00 AM Mike Kirk

Hall of Fame Class of 2020: Todd Steidley

Professional wrestling, the kind seen on television with wild theatrics and orchestrated moves, will never be confused with the collegiate style that is so popular in Oklahoma and many other states. But it did help attract Todd Steidley to the mat in the late 1960s, igniting a love for the sport that still burns bright.

"When I was a little kid I would spend summers with my grandparents in the Claremore-Oologah area and one day my grandpa told me he had signed me up for a wrestling camp in Oologah," Steidley said. "I had only seen professional wrestling on TV, Cowboy Bill Watts and those guys, and I was fired up.

"Then we got there and it wasn't what I had seen at all, but I loved it. They had a tournament at the end of the camp and I won it and was Outstanding Wrestler. I was hooked after that."

It was the start of an amazing career, one which culminated with a sensational two-year stint at Central Oklahoma and has Todd headed to the UCO Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020.

Wrestling wasn't the only sport Steidley excelled at growing up. He was a three-year starter at running back for Tulsa Union High School, helping the Redskins make the playoffs every season, but wrestling was still the path to college.

Steidley captured his only state championship as a freshman, then missed the state tournament the next season after suffering a severe elbow injury late in the year. He placed third as a junior and lost in double-overtime in the finals as a senior.

Most of the top college teams were after Todd's services. Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Clemson, Missouri, LSU. UCO -- then known as Central State -- was also in the mix, but Steidley made a surprise choice in signing with Utah State.

"They did a great job recruiting me and I wanted to start as a true freshman," Steidley said of picking the Aggies. "I did that and had a pretty good year."

Todd was conference runner-up as a rookie 142-pounder in 1983-84 and qualified for the Division I national tournament the following season. But he didn't go back for his junior year, instead transferring to Claremore Junior College – which didn't have a wrestling program – and getting his associates degree.

"I was planning on walking on at OSU and D.J. (UCO coach David James) called me," Steidley said. "I came down here and they had just finished the wrestling room, which was really nice. I thought the facilities were good and the program spoke for itself.

"I spent the weekend here and 100 percent knew it was the place for me. When I visited with D.J. we talked about being a national champion and being on a national championship team. The expectations and goals were high and I liked that."

Steidley started the 1986-87 campaign slowly before an early-season loss fueled a stunning turnaround.

"We went to the Oklahoma Open and I got beat out and I was so mad," Todd said. "I did some soul searching and decided if I was going to do this I needed to do it right and be all in. I really picked up my training. I started running on my own and working out at night by myself. In my mind and heart I knew I was outworking everybody else at my weight.

"Our team was awesome and we all bought in. D.J. and the other coaches (Ronnie James and Billy Reid), we would have run through a brick wall for them. Ronnie was on me 24/7, always pushing me."

Steidley went on to win his last 30 matches, finishing with a 43-6-1 record that included 26 bonus-point wins. The No. 2 seed at the NAIA Championships, Todd marched into the finals with four easy wins and then captured the national championship with a first-period fall to help the Bronchos claim their fourth straight team title.

Steidley's senior campaign promised to be even better, but an early-season injury changed everything. A ruptured shoulder joint limited Todd the rest of the way, keeping him out of the lineup for long stretches, and when he did wrestle it was basically with one arm.

"I was concerned every day at practice about hurting it more and not being able to wrestle, but I wanted to compete for another title," Steidley said. "D.J. was great. There were times I couldn't wrestle and D.J. would hold me out, whereas other coaches probably would have made me wrestle."

And still Steidley almost won the national title. He had two routs and two close calls at the NAIA Championships in making the finals before dropping a 2-1 overtime decision. Todd finished the season 21-5-1, giving him a 64-11-2 career record with the Bronchos.

"It was a lot of fun," Steidley said of his UCO career. "We were a family and that's one thing that stuck out to me when I started my coaching career. The thing I learned most from D.J. was making the team feel like a family because you're going to fight harder for your family."

Steidley has had quite the coaching career, which now finds him at the helm of the UCO program. A seven-time high school state championship coach, he's in his fifth year leading the Bronchos.

And now Todd's headed to his third hall of fame, after making it to the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017.

"This one is really special," Steidley said of his pending UCO induction. "Being a graduate of UCO opened a lot of doors for me in my career. It's an honor to be associated with UCO in anything and wrestling in particular. It's very humbling."

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