#ThrowbackThursday USA Wrestling History Lesson: Bill Scherr
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by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
Welcome to a new weekly series on TheMat.com called USA Wrestling History Lesson. Each week, we will highlight one athlete that has wrapped up his or her wrestling career, sharing the impact that they’ve had on the sport.
This week, we take a look at Bill Scherr, an Olympic bronze medalist and four-time World medalist, not to be confused with his twin brother Jim Scherr.
A product of Mobridge, South Dakota, Bill was recruited to the University of Nebraska, where he was a three-time All-American and a 1984 NCAA champion at 190 pounds.
He began his international career in 1985, winning the World Super Championship, an all-star tournament held in Tokyo. Months later, he won his first Senior World medal, claiming gold at the FILA World Championships at 90 kg/198 lbs.
Bill went on to represent the USA at the world-level for the next four years, including the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. Here’s a breakdown of his performances:
- 1986 World Championships (Budapest, Hungary) – silver
- 1987 World Championships (Clermont-Ferrand, France) – bronze
- 1988 Olympic Games (Seoul, Korea) – bronze
- 1989 World Championships (Martigny, Switzerland) – silver
Other notable finishes for Bill include a 1990 Goodwill Games gold medal, golds at the 1997 Pan American Championships and Pan Am Games, as well as a 1989 Pan Am Championships title.
Upon finishing his wrestling career, Bill went into finance and has become a successful businessman. In 1998, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member, the highest honor.
His twin brother Jim, also an NCAA champion, multiple World medalist and 1988 Olympian, was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002. The Scherr twins join other Hall of Fame twins such as the Banach twins (Ed and Lou) and the Brands twins (Terry and Tom).
