Bill Weick (corner) coaching Team USABill Weick, two-time NCAA champ for University of Northern Iowa who went on to have a long, illustrious high school and international events coaching career, passed away Tuesday night at his home. He was 85.
William J. Weick grew up in Chicago, where he won an Illinois state title for Tilden Tech in 1949. He continued his wrestling career at what was then called Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI), where he won two NCAA titles. At the 1952 NCAAs, Weick won the 157-pound title by defeating Oklahoma State's Tom Titsworth, 6-0. Weick then stepped away from college to serve in the U.S. Army for two years, then picked up where he left off by winning his second national title at 157, this time, beating Big Ten champ Mike Rodriguez of Michigan, 6-4, in the finals at the 1955 NCAAs.
It was during this time that Weick began a lifelong connection to international styles of wrestling. He was national runner-up three times and earned a spot on the very first U.S. World Greco-Roman team. In 1954, he defeated the World Greco-Roman champion from 1952. After placing seven times in the National Open Championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Weick began his long affiliation with coaching.
Weick started his legendary coaching career at Maquoketa High School in Iowa, before returning to his Chicagoland home, first at Tilden Tech, then at Mount Carmel and Brother Rice High Schools. Weick's Mount Carmel teams earned national recognition by winning the state dual meet title three years straight years, and finishing second twice. He had 21 individual state champions during his tenure; a number of his wrestlers achieved greatness, including 2004 U.S. Olympic team member Joe Williams, and two-time NCAA champion T.J. Williams. His overall coaching record: a phenomenal 749-112-2. For his efforts, he has been recognized as National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High School Associations.
Weick took his coaching expertise to a higher level, serving as a volunteer coaching staff for U.S. teams competing in international events. He was on the Olympic coaching staff for freestyle in 1972, 1980, 1984 and 1988 and worked with the Greco-Roman team in 1976. He was head coach of the 1975 Pan American Games team that won the team title, and also coached U.S. teams at the 1975 World Cup, as well as three Junior World Championships and the 1981 World University Games.
"He was known for old-school toughness and love," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and himself a World silver medalist. "He would make you laugh and challenge you to do what was best for you to become a better wrestler. It was much more than you thought you could do. He helped wrestlers get their hands raised at all levels. He coached from youth to the Juniors to high school and up to the Olympic level. There was nobody else like Bill. He had a way to get inside wrestlers and make a difference for them."
"Bill Weick was my personal coach at the Olympic Games and World Championships many times," said USA Wrestling President Bruce Baumgartner, a two-time Olympic champion, four-time Olympic medalist and three-time World champion. "He was instrumental in developing the skills, work ethic and mental toughness that set the foundation for my success over the years. I first met Bill in 1981, when he was coach of the World University Team. It was one of the toughest camps I had ever gone to. It was my second international experience, and I won. I owe a lot of my success to many coaches, and Bill was one of them who made a difference and set the groundwork for my success."
One of Weick's strengths was his ability to reach wrestlers of all ages and experience levels, whether a veteran international competitor, or a kid new to the sport.
"He had an ability to communicate with a kid from this generation or an adult from the previous generation. He knew how to reach them," said Jan Murzyn, assistant coach at Brother Rice where Weick still worked up until his death.
The wrestling room at Brother Rice was named in honor of Weick in May 2015. Among the special guests at that ceremony: former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who also wrestled in high school in the Chicago area during the same era as Weick. In fact, Rumsfeld had lent financial support to the construction of the wrestling room.
Weick earned a number of honors over the years. He was welcomed as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition, Weick was honored by the Helms Hall of Fame, the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame, the University of Northern Iowa Hall of Fame, the Glen Brand Iowa Hall of Fame, the Mount Carmel Hall of Fame, and the Tilden Tech Hall of Fame.
Visitation for Bill Weick will take place Sunday, Aug. 20 from 2-9 p.m. at the Curley Funeral Home, 6116 111th St. in Chicago. Funeral mass will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. at the Most Holy Redeemer Church, 9525 So Lawndale, Evergreen Park, Illinois.
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