Josia Henson

Forty-first president of the AAU. He was a retired naval officer earning the rank of captain. While a midshipman, Henson was elected captain of the wrestling team by his peers (which he considered his greatest honor in sports). Both he and the Navy team were undefeated in collegiate wrestling. There were no NCAA championships due to World War II, but one of the most prominent wrestling historians declared the Navy teams of that era were the best in the country and probably would have won the NCAA Championships had they been held. He subsequently competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games and won a bronze medal for his country. Henson was the first American ever to beat a Soviet in the Olympic Games, an achievement of considerable note in the days of the Cold War.

Forty-first president of the AAU. He was a retired naval officer earning the rank of captain. While a midshipman, Henson was elected captain of the wrestling team by his peers (which he considered his greatest honor in sports). Both he and the Navy team were undefeated in collegiate wrestling. There were no NCAA championships due to World War II, but one of the most prominent wrestling historians declared the Navy teams of that era were the best in the country and probably would have won the NCAA Championships had they been held. He subsequently competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games and won a bronze medal for his country. Henson was the first American ever to beat a Soviet in the Olympic Games, an achievement of considerable note in the days of the Cold War.