Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.

Location:  Valley Library, Oregon State University.

Larry Bielenberg (b. 1955) was a student-athlete on the OSU wrestling team who competed from 1974-1977. One of the most highly decorated wrestlers in Oregon State history, Bielenberg earned All American honors three times and won the NCAA championship as a heavyweight in 1975. Still the second winningest wrestler in school history, Bielenberg was inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 and was named to the Pac-12 All Century Team in 2016. Graduating in 1978 with a degree in Health and Human Performance, Bielenberg pursued a career in the pharmaceuticals industry as a technician and manager. In a lengthy and wide-ranging interview, Bielenberg reflects on his hardscrabble upbringing as one of ten children; the evolution of his wrestling career, both collegiately and on the international level; the personality and influence of legendary OSU wrestling coach Dale Thomas; and Bielenberg's career and family life in the years after wrestling.