Jim "Bongo" Bayly Bayly led a life devoted to wrestling. He wrestled at Omaha South High School for Iowa State mat alum Beau Haizlip and assistant coach at the time, Mike Denney. It was Denney who encouraged Bayly to continue his athletic and academic career at Southern Utah State University, where Denney's former college coach, Joe Lopour, headed up the program. After graduating with a degree in Physical Education, Bayly started his coaching career at SUU as an assistant.
Bayly returned to his native Nebraska to take on coaching assignments at Boys Town outside Omaha, where he coached for 31 years. He also worked with Denney to establish the Kaufman/Brand Open, which grew to become the largest wrestling tournament in the nation. More recently, Bayly had worked for the Omaha Public Schools.
Jim Bayly demonstrated talents beyond teaching, coaching and school administration. He served as an announcer for a number of major wrestling events, including the Nebraska State High School Wrestling Tournament and the State Dual Meet Tournament. In addition, he was instrumental in putting together the award-winning wrestling yearbooks for the University of Nebraska-Omaha and at Maryville University in St. Louis.
Here's how Mike Denney, best known as the legendary wrestling coach first at the now-defunct NCAA Division II championship program at UNO, then at Maryville, paid tribute to Bayly, his friend of nearly a half-century, on Facebook:
"It was a privilege, pleasure and honor for Bonnie and me to spend time with my friend, my side kick, my running mate, my pal, my partner for 48 years Jim "Bongo" Bayly and his family, his wife Joyce, sons Jimmy and Jeremy, and daughters Sheila and Stacy. Many other family members and friends were there also. He is battling cancer. Coach Jim 'Bongo' Bayly has been a loyal and dedicated friend to me, Bonnie, our family, our Wrestling Families at the "other university" and Maryville University. He has been a coach, mentor and friend to hundreds of athletes, coaches and anyone else who knew him He has been a gift to his family, our family, to our wrestling family, and to me. When you can never repay someone for their loyalty, dedication and commitment sometimes the best you can do is say, 'thank you, thank you, thank you.' Coach Jim 'Bongo' Bayly, you have found the good fight. You have finished the race. You have kept the faith. Well done, good and faithful servant. We love you."
Kelley Jordan, who first came to know Bayly in 1974, wrote the following on Facebook:
"(Bayly) loved coaching wrestling and mentoring struggling youth with his sage advice and counsel. Like two other sport greats, George Steinbrenner and Al Davis, Bongo was born on the Fourth of July. He had so many friends and his smile would light up a room. We both married up and both ended up with four children.
"Bongo believed in service. He believed in sharing, and that was the word that seemed to get the emphasis, the sharing that had characterized this man as he reached out to so many others in so many ways. Bongo will best be remembered as a teacher. He was always teaching. He taught by example, he taught by coaching and he taught by individual counsel."
Jim Bayly has been enshrined in a number of sports halls of fame, including the Maryville Kaufman/Brand Hall of Fame, the Maverick Wrestling Hall of Fame, Omaha South High School Hall of Fame, and the Nebraska Wrestling Hall of Fame.
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