Oklahoma State University Athletics
Rex Holt Inducted into Wrestling Hall of Fame
October 11, 2016 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – Radio voice of the Cowboy wrestling program Rex Holt was inducted into the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame last weekend with the 2016 Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award at the Jim Thorpe Museum in Oklahoma City. Holt is entering his 31st year as the "Voice of the Cowboys"."It's been an honor that they've let me broadcast matches for the nation's best wrestling program for all of these years," Holt said. "I've been doing this for a while, and awards haven't been part of the deal up until right now, but it's nice. The fact they let me do it this long, I figure I must be pretty good at it, but it's a nice recognition. It's a big deal for me, my supporters, family and friends."
An Oklahoma State alum, Holt picked up wrestling as a sophomore in high school when he moved to Guthrie in 1971. Despite the late start, he was a starter on the team by the time he graduated.
Holt headed to Oklahoma State where he earned a degree in journalism and began to write for the Stillwater News Press as a sophomore, where he put his wrestling background to work in covering high school and collegiate wrestling for the paper.
In 1977, Holt called play-by-play for his first Oklahoma State wrestling match for KSPI. He would take over the official role as radio voice of the Cowboys in 1979, in which he would serve for the next 18 seasons before a change in station ownership.
"Wrestling originated on KSPI and Jack Griffith was the original play-by-play guy," Holt said. "He was the son of legendary coach Art Griffith and he wrestled at OSU too. He originated the broadcasting of wrestling. I got on the wrestling beat when I was in college and his business took off to where he couldn't do wrestling anymore, so he asked if I wanted to do it. I was a college kid and all of a sudden the voice of one of the best athletic programs in all of sports. I've never taken that for granted. It's the best job there is."
After leaving the News Press in 1997, he returned to the microphone for Oklahoma State in 2004 where he can still be heard on the air with analyst Roger Moore.
"It's well-deserved," Moore said of the honor. "He's underrated when it comes to what he does. He's done this for a long time and built a lot of great relationships. He has a style all his own. He's one of those old-school broadcasters where it's kind of like listening to a math problem and he has a little bit of fun.
"I listened to him when I was younger, before I even thought about getting involved with wrestling, journalism or broadcasting. I listened to him do broadcasts. He was just the guy. When it came to OSU wrestling, that was the voice that I grew up with. It was really cool that he was recognized, and it was a long-deserved award for him."
Also the play-by-play voice for OSU baseball, Holt has been a Stillwater radio staple. He hosts "Game Day Live at Joe's" before and after OSU wrestling matches, football games and basketball games, and he also hosts "The Game," a daily sports talk show on KSPI-AM in Stillwater.
"Ever since I've been here, outside of a few years, Rex has been part of my career as both an athlete and coach," head coach John Smith said. "It would just never seem right without Rex here. He's one of the best in the game, and I just really feel fortunate that we've had him for so long. We're really lucky. Knowing that he's not just great in wrestling, but everything he does. He's been fair and he calls it like it is."
Friend and columnist for the Tulsa World John Klein presented Holt for induction into the Hall of Fame, while his wife Penny presented his Hall of Fame jacket.
Tuesday, July 07
Tuesday, July 07
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
