They will be inducted during the Honors Weekend Banquet and Induction Ceremony in Stillwater, Oklahoma, May 30-31, 2008. The event will mark the 32nd anniversary Class of the Hall of Fame & Museum.
Four wrestling greats will be added as Distinguished Members in 2008. They are:
• Ricky Bonomo of Harrisburg, Pa.
• Mike Houck of Victoria, Minn.
• Wayne Martin of Tulsa, Okla. (deceased)
• Bobby Weaver of Easton, Pa.
Houck and Weaver made their mark within international wrestling. Weaver was a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif. and was a 1979 World silver medalist. Houck was the first U.S. wrestler to win a gold medal at the World Greco-Roman Championships with his historic victory at the 1985 World Championships in Kolbatn, Norway.
Bonomo and Martin were among the best collegiate wrestlers of their eras, both winning three NCAA individual titles during their illustrious careers. Bonomo captured three NCAA titles for Bloomsburg University (1985-87). Martin was a three-time NCAA champion for the Univ. of Oklahoma (1934-36), also winning the Outstanding Wrestler at the 1936 NCAA Championships.
Additional honorees to be inducted during the 2008 Honors Weekend will be:
• Outstanding American recipient Dan T. Cathy of Atlanta, Ga.
• Order of Merit recipient Richard Small of Tulsa, Okla.
• Medal of Courage recipient Dr. James V. Mastro of Bemidji, Minn.
• Lifetime Achievement for Officials award recipient Jerry Wager of Las Vegas, Nev.
The Hall of Fame's Board of Governors approved these selections at its semi-annual meeting held in Las Vegas in December 2007.
"I want to thank our Board of Governors and the various screening and selection committees involved in the six-month process that determines our honorees for induction. This is another exceptional class of inductees whose merits transcend our sport," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum.
The four Distinguished Members were among the dominant athletes of their era.
Bonomo was the greatest wrestler in the history of Bloomburg Univ., a Div. I program in Pennsylvania. For three straight years (1985-87), Bonomo won all of the major events on the schedule, capturing the NCAA Div. I title, along with the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) title and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title at 118 pounds. He was named the EWL and PSAC Wrestler of the Year all three of those seasons. Ricky's career record was a stellar 116-12-3. Ricky and his brother Rocky were the first twins to win Pennsylvania state titles side-by-side in 36 years when they won Class AA titles for Lake Lehman High in 1981, wrestling for the legendary Floyd "Shorty" Hitchcock. Rocky was also an All-American for Bloomsburg, making the Bonomo brothers the most feared lightweight tandem in college wrestling at the time.
Houck made U.S. wrestling history in 1985, when he became the first American Greco-Roman wrestler to win a gold medal at the World Championships with his dramatic victory in Kolbatn, Norway. He competed on three U.S. World Teams during his career, and won three U.S. National titles. He also won an AAU National Greco-Roman title in 1981. Twice, Houck placed second at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He competed for Maranatha Baptist Bible College, winning two Christian College National titles and three All-American honors. Houck worked as USA Wrestling's National Greco-Roman Coach from 1990-95. He coached the USA to two individual medals at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Houck was a founder and coached for the U.S. Olympic Training Center Greco-Roman Resident Program, which was created in 1993 and has become internationally respected for developing champion athletes.
Martin won three NCAA titles for the Univ. of Oklahoma, competing for Coach Paul Keen. He was the first three-time NCAA champion in Sooner history, and the first athlete to win NCAA Div. I wrestling titles in three different weight classes. Martin was the 134-pound champion in 1934, the 145-pound champion in 1935 and the 135-pound champion in 1936, winning the Outstanding Wrestler as a senior. He was a three-time Big Six champion and had a career record of 39-2 with 21 falls. Martin won two Oklahoma state high school titles for Tulsa Central under its legendary coach Art Griffith. His son Mickey was a two-time NCAA champion, and they were the only father-son combination to win NCAA Outstanding Wrestler awards, when Mickey was honored in 1963. Wayne was also a coach for Elk City High School for a number of years and was inducted into the Helms Hall of Fame in 1962.
Weaver was one of the nation's greatest lightweight freestyle wrestlers ever, capped off with his gold-medal victory at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif. He was one of seven U.S. freestyle champions in Los Angeles, competing under Dan Gable. Weaver also qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, which did not compete in the Moscow Olympics due to the U.S. government boycott. He was a silver medalist at the 1979 World Championships and fifth at the 1983 World Championships. Weaver won World Cup titles in 1980 and 1984, and was a 1977 Junior World silver medalist. Weaver won four AAU National titles and two USWF national titles. He competed at Lehigh Univ., where he was third in the 1982 NCAA Championships. Weaver won three Pennsylvania state titles for Easton High School (1975-77) and was a Prep School national champion for Blair Academy.
The special honorees represent tremendous achievements both within wrestling and in society.
Business giant Dan T. Cathy will be inducted as a 2008 Outstanding American, which honors past wrestlers for their success in other walks of life. Since 2001, Cathy has served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Chick-fil-A, one of the nation's largest family owned businesses. Cathy has led the Atlanta-based quick-service chicken restaurant chain to continued success in the industry. The chain was founded by his father S. Truett Cathy, and Dan participated in the business throughout his life. He also served as director of operations, senior director of operations, vice president of operations, and executive vice president before assuming his current duties. In his quest to provide customers with "2nd Mile Service" (exceeding even the highest expectations of a typical fast-food restaurant), Dan has defined a special role for himself – humbly saying, "I work in customer service."
Dan and his brother Donald "Bubba" Cathy were high school state champions for the Woodward Academy. Dan won the state title at 119 pounds in 1971 and had a 40-4 record his last two years. He later wrestled for Furman University. For 20 years, Chick-fil-A and the Cathy family sponsored the state wrestling awards banquet.
The 2008 Order of Merit, given for contributions that further the sport and elected by Hall of Fame Distinguished Members, goes to Richard P. Small, a former wrestler and successful businessman who has been a leader within the sport. Small was high school wrestler in Illinois, and a member of the legendary 1947 Cornell College team which won both the NCAA and AAU team championships. He was a Midwest Conference champion for Cornell.
His corporate business career included serving as chairman and CEO for Cheker Oil Company, as well as president/CEO for Tri-Star Aerospace. Small has served many years on the Board of Governors of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. His leadership has helped the Hall of Fame to raise substantial funds to expand its facility, exhibits, and endowment fund. He remains the most benevolent benefactor of all-time to his alma-mater at Cornell College.
The 2008 Medal of Courage recipient is Dr. James Mastro, who has been blind since birth, has been an outstanding wrestler and athlete, along with a lifetime of achievement in education and community work. He is a tenured full professor of professional education and physical education at Bemidji State University. Mastro is the first individual with a visual impairment to earn a Ph. D. in physical education in the United States. As a tenured full professor at Bemidji State, Dr. Mastro has authored or co-authored 47 published articles and 26 national and international presentations on adapted and developmental physical education for state and national organizations as well as athletes with disabilities. He is past president of the National Beep Baseball Association and was a member of the USABA Board of Directors.
Mastro was a varsity wrestler at Augsburg College from 1968-73, winning a conference title. He also became nationally ranked in Greco-Roman. He won a bronze medal at the AAU Senior Greco-Roman Nationals, and qualified to compete in U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 1972 and 1976. He won numerous medals competing in goalball, judo, track and field, and wrestling in the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) National Championships. In 1995, he was named U.S. Olympic Committee Blind Athlete of the Year. Mastro was chosen flagbearer for the United States Paralympics Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He won a gold medal at the 1995 World Judo Championships for the Blind. Mastro has been a wrestling coach since 1970, coaching on the youth, middle school, and high school levels.
The winner of the Lifetime Achievement for Officials award goes to veteran international wrestling official Jerry Wager, who also had a distinguished coaching career. Wager was a Mid-American Conference champion at Toledo University, and competed in the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Greco-Roman. He was a coach with the Las Vegas YMCA from 1970-1980 and also coached seven age-group World Championships teams for the USA. Wager was a college wrestling official from 1960-1963 and was also the head official for the Southern Nevada High School program from 1963-66.
His major achievements were on the international level, where he was a FILA Referee from 1962-1998. Wager officiated in over 50 major international meets, including the World Championships, Junior World Championships, Pan American Championships, and European Championships. Wager was the first U.S. official selected as a mat chairman, when he worked the 1985 World Greco-Roman Championships in Norway. He was head official for the World Police and Fire Games for 10 years. Wager was recognized as a FILA Lifetime Exceptionelle Referee, and was presented with the FILA Gold Medal. He also won national Official of the Year and Coach of the Year awards and served as National YMCA Wrestling Chairman for 10 years.
The final award to be presented at Honors Weekend 2008, the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, will be announced later in the spring.
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