Select a year below to view the members of each Hall of Fame class.
1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2021
Leroy (Lee) Kemp, Jr.
OhioLeroy (Lee) P. Kemp, Jr. (born Darnell Freeman; December 24, 1956) achieved unparalleled success at the high school, collegiate, and international
levels.
Kemp started wrestling in only the 9th grade at Chardon High School, in Chardon, Ohio and by the end of his high school career had compiled two undefeated seasons while winning two Ohio State titles in his last two seasons. His first state title included wins over the defending state champion and the previous years' state runner up. Shortly after graduating from high school, Lee was one of only four American Junior wrestlers that recorded a dual meet win against a tough Junior Soviet team on their Ohio stop of an eight city United States tour, which resulted in 80 total matches being contested. Lee also won the prestigious AAU National Freestyle Tournament in 1979 and 1982
While competing for the University of Wisconsin–Madison Lee Kemp was a four-time NCAA Division I National finalist, winning the championship three times and placing 2nd, on a split referee's decision, as a true freshman at 18 years old. Lee recorded losses to only three wrestlers in his collegiate career losing his last college match in the NCAA finals as a freshman, posting 110 wins and no losses against collegiate competition in his last three years, which included the historic win over the legendary Dan Gable in November of Lee's sophomore year, while he was still 18 years old. March 10, 2010 Kemp was America's first three-time World Champion, winning his first title in 1978 at age 21, establishing him as the youngest American world champion ever, a distinction he held for 30 years.
Lee was a four-time World Cup Champion, 7-time United States Freestyle National Champion and was a heavy favorite for gold earning a berth on the
1980 United States Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team, but was unable to compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Olympics. Kemp was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990. Then at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, where he was one of the freestyle coaches for the U.S., he became just the fifth American to be inducted into the United World Wrestling (formerly known as FILA) Hall of Fame.
Kemp is the subject of a film documentary, entitled Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story, on his life scheduled for theatrical release Summer 2019,
and is the co-founder and President of LKNutrition (formerly FORZA Technologies), a nutritional supplement company. LKNutrition (formerly FORZA)
was the official corporate sponsor of USA Wrestling and its national teams
Michael D. Diglia
OhioOHSAA (OHIO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION) #136907
WRESTLER FOR 6 YEARS @ ELIDA JUNIOR HIGH & ELIDA HIGH SCHOOL
8 YEARS ELIDA MIDDLE SCHOOL WRESTLING COACH
26 YEARS OHIO HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION REFEREE
CURRENT SECRETARY/TREASURER LIMA-FINDLAY WRESTLING OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION 8 YEARS, PAST PRESIDENT
22 YEARS OHSAA SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT
20 YEARS OHSAA DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
6 YEARS OHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT
14 YEARS AAU DISNEY DUALS TOURNAMENT
AAU NATIONAL WRESTLING COMMITTEE, 2015 OUTSTANDING WRESTLING OFFICIAL
8 YEARS THUNDERBIRD INVITATIONAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
5 YEARS TRI-STATE BOARDER WARS TOURNAMENT
15 YEARS OHIO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
14 YEARS “WRESTLING FOR AUTISM” TOURNAMENT
13 YEARS SPRING YOUTH NATIONALS TOURNAMENT
13 YEARS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT
10 YEARS GRADE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT
8 YEARS NHSCA SENIOR NATIONALS TOURNAMENT
7 YEARS SUPER 32 TOURNAMENT
8 YEARS BEAST OF THE EAST TOURNAMENT
6 YEARS ARNOLD CLASSIC TOURNAMENT
4 YEARS FLO NATIONALS TOURNAMENT
21 YEARS MVKWA (MIAMI VALLEY YOUTH TOURNAMENT)
Stephen Harner
PennsylvaniaEducation
Graduate Norristown High School 1973
Clarion State College 1979 B.A. Sociology/Anthropology
Clarion State College Secondary Education Certificate 1980
Gwynedd Mercy College Master Degree Educational Leadership 2007
Coaching Experience
Assistant Coach Clarion Area High School (1978-1979)
Assistant Coach Bishop Kenrick High School (1980-1981)
Head Wrestling Coach Norristown High School (1985-2004)
Assistant Coach Ursinus College (2004-2005)
Head Wrestling Coach Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades
Head Wrestling Coach Conestoga High School (2009-14)
Assistant Coach Bethlehem Catholic High School (2017-present)
Coaching Accomplishments
Suburban I champions 1996, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04 (9X)
PIAA Sectional Champions 96, 97, 99, 00, 01, 03, 04, 08 (8X)
PIAA District Champions 96, 97, 01 (3X)
PIAA District Team Champions 96, 97 (2X)
PIAA Regional Champions 96, 97, 01
PA All-State Academic Wrestlers 49
PIAA Sectional Champions 72, PIAA District Champions 21, PIAA Regional Champions 14, PIAA State Qualifiers 46, PIAA Medalist 16, One State Champion
Suburban 1 Coach of the year 96, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03 (8X)
District 1 Coach of the Year 90, 96, 97, 01 (4X)
Williamson Trade 23 National Qualifiers 4 All-Americans
NCWA PA State Champions 06
NCWA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year 06
AAU National Coach of the Year 07
AAU Disney National Duals Champions 04, 05, 06, 07, 10, 11, 16, 18, 19, 21 (10X)
AAU Disney National Duals Record (2003-present) 172-12
AAU Junior Olympic National Champions 05, 06, 07, 10, 11, 18 (6X)
AAU Junior Olympic Record 2001-present 195-44
AAU Freestyle All-Americans – 111
Southeastern PA Wrestling Hall of Fame
Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame
Norristown High School Hall of Fame
PIAA State Team Champions 18, 19 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic (2X)
PIAA State individual Champions 19, 20 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic (2X)
PIAA District 11 Team Champions 18, 19 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic (2X)
PIAA District 11 Team Champions 18, 19 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic (2X)
PIAA District 11 individual Champions 19 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic
PIAA District 11 team Champions 18, 19 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic (2X)
PIAA District NE Regional Champions 18,19 Asst. Coach Bethlehem Catholic (2X)
Military Experience
Highest Rank obtained Captain
Rifle and Weapon Platoon Commander
U.S. Army Ranger School
Korean Ranger School
U.S. Army Jungle Warfare School
United States Marine Corp Jungle Warfare School
Mountain Warfare School
Officers Candidate School
Infantry Officers Course
Mike McCready
IowaMcCready, a standout athlete at DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa in the fall of 1968. As a heavyweight, he was a three time North Central Conference Champion and a three time NCAA All-American. He placed third in the 1970 NCAA College Division National Championships and first in the 1972 Championships. He also placed third in the 1972 NCAA University Division Nationals.
McCready competed in track and field. He was a four time All American and an eight time NCC Champion. He won four titles each in the shot put and the discus throw.
Mike was the AAU National Freestyle Champion in 1975 and 1976 He finished Runner up in AAU National Freestyle Championships in 1973, 1974, and 1978.
McCready was the first athlete in the history of the University of Northern Iowa to be a NCAA National Champion in two different sports. He was an NCAA National Champion Shot Putter.
Following graduation in 1972, McCready competed in Freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. From 1972-74 he wrestled for the Athletes in Action wrestling team and from 1975-1984 represented the Hawkeye Wrestling Club of Iowa City, Iowa. During that time he won fourteen different National Championships and represented the United States in world
championships in 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1977. He won the 1975 Pan American Games as a heavyweight in freestyle wrestling. McCready represented the United States as a wrestler in Iran, Poland, the Soviet Union, Turkey, Bulgaria, Mexico, Switzerland, and Canada.
McCready coached wrestling for twenty-five years. At Upper Iowa University in Fayette, IA, he helped develop twelve NCAA III All Americans, three NCAA III National Champions and Four NCAA Scholar All Americans. Every wrestler at Upper Iowa who competed for four years also graduated. He was the Athletic Director at Upper Iowa University for ten years.
McCready served as the Tournament Director of The USA Wrestling Open Freestyle Championships in 1985 and the NCAA Division III National Championships in 1999. He was been inducted into the Dubuque Senior High School Hall of Fame University of Northern Iowa Hall of Fame and NCAA Division III Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Bruce Baumgartner
New JerseyAmateur freestyle wrestler Bruce Baumgartner won the U.S. national championship seventeen times in as many years. An eight-time Midlands
Champion, he medalled at four Olympic Games, from 1984-96, earning gold medals in two. After winning the World Cup Championship in 1997
for the eighth time, he retired from competition. In 2002 Baumgartner was named to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Perennial Champion
Armed with a master's degree from Oklahoma State, in 1984 Baumgartner moved to Pennsylvania where he settled into a paid position as a
wrestling coach at Edinboro University. With limited funding from USA Wrestling, the New York Athletic Club, and an athletic shoe manufacturer, he continued to train and compete. By the time the Olympics came around in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988, Baumgartner had prevailed in a second and third World Cup in 1985 and 1986 respectively. He took a bronze at the 1987 World Championship, and a silver at the World Cup in 1988. Also in 1987 he won an unprecedented eighth consecutive Midlands Championship. Winning everything—and winning all the time—Baumgartner's unbroken string of victories at the national freestyle championship would endure from 1980-96. For good measure he won gold medals at the World Super championships in Tokyo in 1985, at the Goodwill Games in Moscow in 1986, and at the Pan American Games in 1987. Although he missed the gold at Seoul, he returned from his second Olympic competition with a very respectable silver medal.
Most significant in the mid 1980s was his gold medal win at the World Championships in Budapest. There, Baumgartner prevailed over the Russian David Gobedjichvili and became the first American to win a gold medal at the World Amateur Heavyweight competition. Although the tables turned at the Seoul Olympics when Baumgartner settled for silver while Gobedjichvili took the gold, Baumgartner's revenge would come at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where he defeated Gobedjichvili for the gold. Baumgartner, in fact, at Barcelona became the first American wrestler to win medals in three Olympic competitions.
In 1993 Baumgartner entered his fourteenth year of competition since winning the national finals for the first time. That year he won a gold medal for the second time at the World Amateur Heavyweight competition. He won his fifteenth national title in 1994 and took a gold medal in the World Championships again in 1995. That year he slowed his pace to undergo surgery to his left shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Athletic Honors
Baumgartner, who was nominated for the AAU's James E. Sullivan Award in 1986, and from 1992-94, captured the elusive honor on a fifth nomination in 1995. He bested an impressive field of competition for the award that year, including golfer Tiger Woods . Baumgartner was only the second wrestler to receive the Sullivan since its inception in 1930.
At his fourth Olympic competition, in Atlanta in 1996, Baumgartner was named U.S. team captain and carried the national flag into the ceremonies. He returned from the games with a bronze medal that year, thus joining an elite field of only four other U.S. athletes who had won medals at four different Olympic competitions.
