Those in the wrestling world, especially those connected to Iowa State, had heavy hearts this weekend.

Not only was it the final regular-season match for Iowa State’s seniors, but the news of the death of Harold Nichols added to the somber feeling. Nichols, a native of Cresco who coached wrestling at ISU from 1954-1985, died Saturday night at Mary Greeley Hospital. He was 79.

Even though Nichols retired more than 10 years ago, he continued to have an effect on Iowa State wrestling. He used to come to every home meet, sitting mat-side, until his health got the better of him.

“He was totally dedicated to Iowa State wrestling in every conceivable way,” said Head Wrestling Coach Bobby Douglas. “He wanted to make sure Iowa State stayed on top. There was a special aura about this guy.”

Nichols’ name is synonymous with ISU wrestling. He became only the third coach ever at ISU when he succeeded Hugo Otopalik as head coach, and he has been credited with building the program up to the level it is today.

Otopalik’s departure was supposed to spell doom for ISU’s wrestling program, but Nichols surprised all of the naysayers. He started off with immediate success; his squad compiled an 8-0 record by the end of his first season.

From 1959-64, Nichols’ squads always finished well, but they had a hard time knocking Oklahoma State off the top of the heap. Finally, though, in 1965 fate smiled on ISU: The team defeated OSU by one point to win its first national championship under Nichols.

In the following years, his teams racked up five more NCAA titles, finishing second three times, and seven Big Eight titles. He produced 38 NCAA individual champions and 91 individual Big Eight titlists.

It was during these golden years that Nichols tried to get Bobby Douglas to come to Iowa State. Douglas said that “Nick” recruited him when he was in high school and again when Douglas was a sophomore in college.

Douglas, however, chose Oklahoma State, but “we still remained friends,” he said.

That friendship continued to blossom once Coach Douglas came to ISU as an assistant to Nichols in the early ’70s. Even after Douglas moved on, Nichols continued to support him.

“I learned a great deal from him,” Douglas said. “He was just instrumental in setting my goals in coaching. He did everything he could do to help me. He recommended me for my first coaching job, and he was instrumental in my getting the job at Iowa State.”

Nichols’ career record, an untouchable 456-75-11, speaks highly of both his longevity and his teams’ dominance. His winning percentage is an unbelievable 84 percent.

Nichols and his teams compiled many of these wins in the Armory, which was home to wrestling duals before Hilton Coliseum opened in 1971. Meets against conference rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State — still Iowa State adversaries — used to fill the Armory’s 7,000 seats.

Most of the wrestling records that still exist are held by athletes or teams under Nichols’ tutelage. Mike Land holds the fastest pin (1976); Chris Taylor, who went on to win a bronze medal at the ’72 Olympics, still has the most pins in a season at 44 (1972-73).

The 1969-70 team boasts the most pins at 66, while the 1984-85 squad still has a hold on three records: most team wins in a season (20), most individual wins in a season (50 for Joe Gibbons) and most team points in a season (720).

“The records he set will never be broken,” Douglas said. “I know I’ll never break them. I won’t live that long.”

The numbers did not go unnoticed by Nichols’ peers and the rest of the wrestling world. He was named coach of the year three times, and Amateur Wrestling News tabbed him Wrestling Man of the Year in 1966 and again in 1982.

His greatest wrester, Dan Gable, now coaches at the University of Iowa. Now in his 21st year of coaching, Gable has had success similar to that of his one-time coach.

”He coached a style that gave you a chance to develop the type of confidence that’s needed to dominate and to really learn how to break opponents. Athletes need little things to make them good and he provided that for a lot of them,” Gable said.

Gable went undefeated in high school and college; he won two NCAA championships before losing to Washington’s Larry Owings in the national finals as a senior in 1970. He still holds the school record for the most career pins at 76.

Gable went on to win an Olympic gold medal at 149.5 pounds in 1972 without giving up a single point.

Nichols also coached other wrestling legends, including Ben Peterson, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ; Chris Taylor, an Olympic bronze medalist and two-time NCAA champ, and Nate Carr, Olympic bronze medalist and three-time national champion.

Nichols retired from coaching and Iowa State in 1985, at the age of 68. That same year, Nichols’ assistant (and former pupil) Jim Gibbons was named head coach at the age of 26.

Nichols never won a state championship in high school, but he made up for it later in life. He nabbed Big Ten and NCAA titles at Michigan in 1939 as a 145-pounder.

He also served in the Air Force during World War II, earned a master’s degree at Illinois and a doctorate at Michigan.

As Coach Douglas said, no one can ever replace Harold Nichols: “He’s a class act.”

Nichols is survived by his wife Ruth and sons Harold and William. Funeral services will be held Thursday at the First Evangelical Free Church in Ames.

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— The Associated Press contributed to this report.