Hall of Fame Banquet Program Icon 2001 Banquet Program – Download Here

2001 Hall of Fame Inductees

DR. ALLEN ABRAHAM
Allen wrestled at Turlock High School, placing 3rd in the Nor Cal Championships in 1958. He wrestled and played football for San Francisco State College (1958-1961) winning the Far Western Conference title at 191 lbs, 2nd in the PCI championships, and was picked to the Division II All-American football team. Allen coached wrestling for 18 years at S.F. State and compiled a 172-71 record. His teams won 8 FWC titles and coached 47 FWC champions, 25 Division II NCAA All-Americans and one Div I NCAA All-American. Allen coached 3 National AAU Freestyle Champions and two National AAU Greco-Roman National Champions. He was selected 5 times as the F.W.C. Coach of the Year. He has over 60 of his SF State wrestlers are now high school and college wrestling coaches. He was the Director of the Olympic Wrestling Training Camps from 1977-82: member of the NCAA Rules Committee 1977-1983: Junior World Greco-Roman Coach and Team Leader in 1976: Team Leader of the 1980 USA Olympic Delegation and the World Freestyle Team leader in 1981 & 1982. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Wrestling Division of the National AAU from 1977-1983, and served as President, Vice President and Chair of the Personnel Committee, also serving as President of the Division II NCAA Wrestling Coaches Association. Allen is presently a professor of Kinesiology and associate department chair at San Francisco State University.

LEE ALLEN
Lee was a four time undefeated state champion at Sandy High School in Oregon. He was a two-time Pacific Coast Intercollegiate champion and was chosen as the Outstanding Wrestler. Lee also won the National Greco-Roman championship while a student at the University of Oregon. He was a member of the 1956 United States Olympic Freestyle Team and the 1960 Olympic Greco-Roman team. Lee was an AAU National Champion five times. He was a two-time U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman assistant coach and was the head World Team Greco-Roman coach five times. Lee was the head coach for the 1980 Olympic Greco-Roman team. He was one of the founding fathers of the Bay Area Wrestling Association and the Peninsula Grapplers for both men and women.

NED BLASS
Ned was an Oklahoma High School Wrestling Champion, a two-time NCAA champion, a 4 year letterman at Oklahoma State University 1952-55 and team captain in 1955. He was an alternate on the 1956 Olympic Team. Ned was featured on the cover of the 1954 Official Wrestling guide. He is the President of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, California Chapter. He was Coach/Competitor at NTC in San Diego 1956-57, Assistant Coach Oklahoma State University 1958-59, head Wrestling Coach Tulsa Central H.S. Tulsa, OK 1959-63. He was the Head Wrestling Coach Mount Miguel H.S. Spring Valley, CA 1963-73. Head Wrestling Coach Valhalla H.S. El Cajon, CA 1972-82. He was a leader in organizing the California State Wrestling Championships. He has been selected as the California State and San Diego Coach of the Year, and National Coaches Association District 8 Wrestling Coach of the Year. Ned has been inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions as a Coaching Legend, the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997.

KEN BOSS
Ken wrestled at Artesia High School (three-year letterman), at Cerritos College (two-year letterman) and at Cal Poly – SLO (two-year letterman). At Cal Poly, he was a two-time Conference Champion, three-time All-American placing 3rd and 1st in the NCAA Division II Championships and 4th place in the NCAA Division I Championships. His coaching career includes two years at Santa Barbara High School and 18 years at Rio Hondo Junior College, where he coached 34 JC All-Americans and his teams won two JC State Championships and 10 Conference Championships. His many contributions of time and talent to the sport of wrestling include being Competition Director for the 1984 Olympic Games, being a member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Board, officiating at NCAA Division I Championships, and being elected President of the California Community College Wrestling Coaches Association three times. He was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1998.

DAN BRAND
As a member of the San Francisco Olympic Club from 1961-1965, Dan won seven National AAU championships, four in Freestyle and three in Greco-Roman. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler in Freestyle (1963) and twice in Greco-Roman (1963-64). In World Championship competition, he was 4th in 1961, 3rd in 1962, and placed 3rd in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He was also a Japan National champion in 1963. Dan has continued to support wrestling and recently served as the head wrestling coach at Campolindo High School.

CHARLIE DOUGLAS
Charlie attended Palmer High School in Colorado Springs and placed 2nd in the state high school championships. He was a three-time conference champion and NCAA participant for the University of Northern Colorado. He coached wrestling at Colorado Springs and San Mateo High School. Charlie officiated wrestling for 37 years. He officiated at most of the major collegiate championships, including the PAC 10’s, NCAA Division II, the Big 8 Conference, the Far Western Conference, the NAIA, and 15 NCAA Division I Championships. He was the first Afro-American to officiate in the NCAA Division I Championships. Charlie retired in June of 2000 after 30 years in education, serving his last seven years as the principal of San Mateo High School. Charlie was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999 as an official.

BOB ERICSON
Bob coached high school 8 years and coached Diablo Valley College for 20 years. His career dual meet record at DVC was 315 wins and 54 losses and at home dual meets were 106 and 8. DVC was the first community college team north of Fresno to win the State Community College Championships. He never had a losing season at DVC and won every major community college tournament in California. Thirty-six of his wrestlers have become California Community College All-Americans and have claimed 12 National titles.,He was California Coach of the Year 2 times and Northern California Coach of the Year 19 times. He coached the Northern California All-Stars in the North-South Classic in 1971 and 1985. He was the first community college coach to be President of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He was NWCA awards chairman from 1983 to 1997 and the first wrestling coach to receive the coveted Meritorious Service Award 2 times, in 1992 and 1996.

DR. MIKE GALLEGO
Mike started wrestling at McLane High School in Fresno and graduated from Pacific Grove High School where he was a North Coast Section champion. Mike attended Fresno State University where he was an NCAA Division I National Champion as a senior and NCAA Division I National Runner-up as a junior. Mike was a two-time Division II National Champion and a 6th placer as a sophomore, a National AAU Freestyle Champion, a World Freestyle Team member in 1971, a first Olympic Team alternate in 1972, and a Greco-Roman World Team member in 1973. Mike was a member of the U.S. national team at the prestigious Tiblisi Tournament in Russia. He graduated from dental school in 1972 and continues to practice dentistry and assists with the Nevada Union High School Wrestling Team.

WEBER LAWSON
Weber wrestled varsity his freshman year for Bristow High School in Oklahoma and wrestled three years varsity for Inglewood High School in California, where he was also a student wrestling coach from 1946-48. His teams were undefeated in dual meets for three years. Web wrestled for Cal Poly SLO and the LA Athletic Club where he won the 1948 U.S. Western Regional Olympic Trials and was voted as the Outstanding Wrestler. In addition, he was a three-time Far Western Champion, won the Senior Open AAU Championships, won 6 SPAAU titles, and won the U.S. Western Pan Am Title. He officiated and coached for 25 years in three different C.I.F. sections, most notably at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale where his teams won 52 straight dual matches and won 4 Central Coast Section titles in a row, and a Northern California Invitational Team Championship. He also served one year as President of the National High School Wrestling association.

CHARLIE LEE
Charlie attended the University of Iowa where he not only wrestled, but also as member of the victorious 1959 Hawkeye Rose Bowl Football Team. He coached Bella Vista High School 22 years with an overall record of 248-28-1. He coached Bella Vista to six Top Five California State places, 5 Sac-Joaquin Section Championships, 8 individual State High School Champions and 15 medallists, including California’s first 3x champion son David Lee (eventual NCAA champ). For his accomplishments, Charlie was selected the National High School Coach of the Year in 1979 by Scholastic Wrestling News. He also developed an outstanding kids wrestling program in the Sacramento area (the Sacramento Superstars) and led them to three National Team Championships.

LARRY MORGAN
Larry was a two-time Junior National Wrestling Champion while wrestling at East Bakersfield High School He was a four year letterman and won the Valley (CIF) Championship in 1969. He attended Cal Poly – SLO where he was a three-time NCAA Division II All- American and the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler in 1973, an NCAA Division I All-American in 1972, and participated in the NCAA East-West All-Star Meet. He was AAU Junior National Champion in Freestyle at 106 pounds and traveled to Europe with the USA Junior National Team (1967). He was a USA Junior National Champion in Freestyle and also won the Junior World Wrestling Championship at 123 pounds (1969). Larry was a Freestyle senior National Team Trials Champion and placed 4th in the 1975 World Championships; a USAW National Champion three times (two times in Freestyle and one in Greco-Roman); an Olympic Trials Champion; an alternate on the 1976 Olympic Team; a member of the Pan Am Team in 1977. He spent two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa, spent 5 years as the assistant at Cal State Bakersfield, coached junior high school in Bakersfield, and is presently a Bakersfield High School wrestling assistant. He was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999.

HUGH MUMBY
Hugh graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a three-sport letterman. He lettered in gymnastics, track, and wrestling. He wrestled for four years at Berkeley for Henry Stone. Hugh was Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Wrestling Champion in 1946 and 1947 at 175 lbs and at 191 lbs. He served as assistant wrestling coach at UC Berkeley under Stone. In 1952, at age 24, he went to San Jose State University as head wrestling coach. For 20 years he guided the Spartans to a continually prominent position in West Coast wrestling. Mumby was known as one of the finest mat technicians in collegiate history. He coached wrestling at San Jose State from 1952 to 1969, and then in 1971. Hugh coached many Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Champions during his tenure, including two-time Olympian and Hall of Fame inductee Russ Camilleri. Hugh is considered by his colleagues to be one of the finest gentlemen to ever coach intercollegiate wrestling in California and an exemplary role model for wrestlers, coaches and officials.

TED MUMBY
Ted coached wrestling in India at Lucknow College, at Stanford and at San Jose State College (SJSC), now San Jose State University from 1946-52. He graduated from the University of Indiana and then went to Christian College of Lucknow in India. He became athletic director at Lucknow and stayed there for twenty years. In 1932, Ted was the coach and manager of the India Olympic Team, which was primarily a track and field team and also included a group of wrestlers that competed in Los Angeles. Ted also led a delegation of Indian athletes, including wrestlers, to the British Empire Games in 1934. Ted held degrees in psychology and mathematics and was an ordained minister. After his experience in India, he went to Stanford University for four years to gain training and certification in teaching and coaching. While at Stanford, earning a degree in Physical Education, he helped start the wrestling program. In 1946, Ted took over the SJSC wrestling program from student coach Gene Gratton and Coach Delamogorie and produced some great Spartan wrestling teams. Ted coached tennis, gymnastics and wrestling at San Jose State. In 1952, suffering from a re-injured and re-occurring tennis elbow problem, Ted passed the San Jose State wrestling program on to his son Hugh.

LARRY NELSON –  interview
Larry was a Wisconsin State High School Champion and Wisconsin State AAU Champion. He attended the University of Michigan and won the Michigan AAU Championship, was Midwest Olympic Trails Champion, and was a Big 10 Champion – wrestling for legendary coach Cliff Keen. Larry started the wrestling program at Vacaville High School, was head coach for more than 30 years (1961-94) and was the Vacaville assistant coach to his son Dave from 1995 present. Larry’s teams have dominated the Sac-Joaquin Section for many years. His coaching accomplishments include leading teams to numerous section individual and dual meet championship championships, and producing many California State CIF Champions. He was also a former Bay Area Wrestling Association President, California State Wrestling Advisory Committee Member and California State Coach of the Year.

ERIC WAIS
Eric was an outstanding high school wrestler at Woodland High School where he was a three-time league, a two-time CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Champion and a two-time CIF State Wrestling Champion (1975 & 76). He wrestled at Oklahoma State University where he was a three-time All-American, a 3 time Big 8 Champion and an NCAA Wrestling Champion and NCAA Runner-up. Additionally, he placed 4th in the NCAA’s. In 1981, he was the National Open Freestyle Champion. He now coaches at Woodland High School.

HANS WIEDENHOEFER
Hans is regarded as, “The Father of Central Valley Wrestling”. An outstanding San Jose State wrestler, boxer and football player, he won the PCAA Championships twice and was a Far Western Champion. He then wrestled and played football for the Marines during the war. When he returned home, the Fresno City Schools hired him to teach a combatives unit at each high school. Wrestling was very popular among the coaches and they pushed to start competition against other schools. The following years, many of the county schools started their programs. He coached Fresno City College for 7 years (1959-65). They won 5 league championships, 2 regional championships and 2 California State Junior College Championships, as well as a second and two thirds in the State Championships. He coached 12 individual Junior College state Champions.

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