About: Paul Prehn

Paul Henry Prehn (September 5, 1892 – May 7, 1973) was a wrestler from Mason City, Iowa, in the early part of the 20th century. He served in the Iowa National Guard during the Border War (1910–19) (as a hand-to-hand combat instructor). In 1919, Prehn won the middleweight gold medal at the Inter-Allied Games held in Paris at the Pershing Stadium. From 1920 to 1928, Prehn was the head wrestling coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign winning 7 out of 9 Big 10 Championships, and ending with a Win/Loss record: 42-5-0 (a record which remains the highest win percentage for any wrestling coach in the history of the University of Illinois). Prehn was a member of the Illinois State Athletic Commission (later elected Chairman on January 3, 1928) and also Ring Commissioner for The Lon