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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

Mike Chapman

Mike Chapman is one of the nation’s leading wrestling historians and writers. He has written 16 books (12 on Wrestling) and has been named National Wrestling Writer of the Year four times, by three different organizations. He is the founder of W.I.N. Magazine, the W.I.N. Memorabilia Show, the International Wrestling Institute and Museum (in Newton, Iowa) and the Dan Hodge Trophy, which is given annually to the nation’s top college wrestler. He has appeared on dozens of national radio and television shows, including ESPN, to promote wrestling. He has given hundreds of speeches on the sport all around the country.

Masaaki Hatta

Michigan
MasAaki Hatta was a three-time All-American for Oklahoma State University, winning the NCAA championship at 123 pounds in 1962. He was also an AAU All-American on numerous occasions and won the prestigious Midlands Championship twice. He has been a wrestling coach in Hazel Park, Michigan, for several decades. Among his many highly successful athletes was Steve Frazier, 1984 Olympic champion in Greco-Roman at 198 pounds.

John Purnell

Pennsylvania
John Purnell is President and CEO of the Henson Company, parent company of Brute Wrestling, the leading wrestling equipment and uniform manufacturer/distributor in the United States.

A former varsity wrestler at West Chester State College, John joined Henson in 1975, after two years as a teacher and soccer and wrestling coach. After joining Henson, John helped the company founder, Capt. Josiah Henson, develop and market the complete Brute wrestling product line, including the first ever multicolor wrestling shoe line. John has also directed the development of a long-term contract with the world sporting goods leader, adidas, through which Brute is the exclusive distributor of adidas wrestling products for all of the Americas. Through this association with Brute, the adidas product line has experienced meteoric growth with Brute being the largest customer to the adidas Olympic Sports Business Unit.

Support of amateur wrestling at all levels has always been a cornerstone of the Henson Company and Brute Wrestling operations. For his personal contributions to the sport through these corporate activities, John Purnell has received several honors. In 2002, he was named Wrestling USA’s Pennsylvania Man of the Year, and in 1997, he was inducted into the NCAA Division III Wrestling Hall of Fame. Most recently he was named the Grand Marshall for the 2005 Virginia Duals, one of the largest and most prestigious wrestling events in the nation.

John's commitment to youth has been exemplified in his efforts to assist the AAU clubs in under privileged areas. His leadership in aiding the AAU wrestling committee to develop marketing strategies and new events has been invaluable. John Purnell is more than a business partner; he is a friend of all in AAU wrestling.

Jerry Wager

Nevada
Jerry Wager, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was inducted into the Amateur Athletic Union National Wrestling Hall of Fame on June 22nd in Orlando, Florida. Jerry is a lifetime members of the AAU.

Jerry competed in wrestling and was a 12-time Ohio State AAU Champion. He wrestled for Toledo University and was a Mid-American Conference Champion. He was a U.S. National AAU Greco Roman Champion and on the U.S. Greco Roman World Team. In 2003 he was inducted into the Toledo University Sports Hall of Fame for his wrestling and football accomplishments.

Jerry’s wrestling career also included coaching the USA World Team where he was the head coach for seven consecutive world championship teams. His team was the first Greco Roman team in USA wrestling history to win a world championship. In Las Vegas during the 70’s and 80’s, Jerry also coached 26 national YMCA and AAU team championships. He was the AAU Coachof the Year in 1978.

As a wrestling official, Jerry served as an official in the Big 10, Mid-American, Ohio and MIAA. He was later the head official for the Southern Nevada High School program. He has been a FILA referee/judge since l962. Jerry was selected as the AAU Official of the Year in 1973. He officiated at the Olympic Games in Moscow in l980 and was the first American to be named mat chairman in a Greco Roman World Championship in Norway in 1983. He currently holds the title of FILA Exceptionelle Referee Honoraire (retired), a position he will hold for life.

Sheila Wager

Nevada
Sheila Wager, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was inducted into the Amateur Athletic Union National Wrestling Hall of Fame on June 22nd in Orlando, Florida. Sheila is a lifetime members of the AAU.

Sheila Wager worked her way up through the ranks of AAU, earning her National III, II, and I ratings prior to l975. She gained FILA recognition in 1975. She was the first woman to achieve the rank of FILA Exceptionelle, the highest category in the world. In 1988 in Seoul, Korea, and again in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, Sheila was a U.S. Olympic Team Referee/Judge. She was the first woman in history to officiate the sport of wrestling at the Olympic Games.

Sheila received the honor of being selected “Official of the Year” in 1980 by the Southern Nevada AAU and in l982 by the National AAU. She is also a FILA Exceptionelle Honoraire (retired). In 1995 Sheila received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame.