Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1935, Dan Brand attended the University of Nebraska. In his sophomore year, he decided to enter an inter-mural wrestling tournament. Brand made it to the finals but his next opponent was the starting heavyweight on the Nebraska Wrestling Team. Dan not only held his own against the experienced wrestler, but won the match.
Nebraska had recently hired 1952 gold medalist, wrestling legend, and eventual Olympic Club Hall of Famer Bill Smith, who recognized the potential in Brand and worked hard to develop him into a world class wrestler. In his senior season in 1958, Brand reached All-American status, placing 4th in the heavyweight division of the NCAA Championships. Brand continued to work with Smith with the hope of making the 1960 Olympic Team.
At the 1960 AAU National Championships, hosted by The Olympic Club, Brand took second in the 191.5 weight class, losing to Frank Rosenmayr of the host club. Brand again faced Rosenmayr in the Olympic Trials, but came out on top. He earned a spot on the 1960 US Olympic Team and took fifth place in Rome.
After the Games, Coach Smith accepted a position The Olympic Club and successfully recruited many of the country’s best wrestlers, including Brand, to join him as Olympians. It was a Golden Era of wrestling at the Club. The team practiced at night in the gym and it was not uncommon to see a room full of National Champions fiercely grappling on the mat. In these practices, Brand was able to perfect Bill Smith’s famous “whizzer” defensive move and used his long arms to work the “cradle” to pin his opponents.
During his career with the Club, Brand flourished, winning AAU National Championships in Freestyle Wrestling in 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964 and Greco Roman Wrestling 1962, 1963, and 1964. Brand competed for the United States in the World Championships in 1961 and 1962, winning the bronze medal in freestyle at 213.5 lb in 1962. In 1964, Brand competed in the Olympic Trials and again won a spot on the Olympic Team in the 87kg weight class for the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
In Tokyo, at the end of four rounds of competition, he only needed a draw in the fifth match to make it through to the gold medal match. At the conclusion of the match against Gungor from Turkey, the 1960 Olympic Champ, Brand appeared to be through. However, in what was a highly questionable decision, the officials, after conferring for some time, agreed to award points that gave his opponent the victory and denied Brand the gold medal match. Despite this set back, Brand went on to win the bronze.
