On Sunday, I attended the Kansas National Hall of Fame ceremony in Colby, Kansas. Seven men were honored for their commitment to the sport of wrestling and their never ending commitment to Kansas Wrestling. I want to give a special thank you to Gonzo for all the work he put into making this a special event.
I wish every wrestler in Kansas could have attended so they could have a full understanding of how Kansas Wrestling started and how far we've come. The tireless effort of these seven men helped make our sport what it is today. A big thank you to all seven men.
I was equally impressed with the people who attended to honor the seven men. Coach Baker (Hoxie), Coach Wilson (St. Francis, Colby Juco),
Coach Welton (Goodland, Garden City), Coach Johnson (Norton), Coach Gabel (St. Francis) Coach Ulmer (Olathe), and others I may not know attended to honor their peers. I know, most or all of this group will someday be inducted. A big thank you to these men for their commitment to Kansas Wrestling.
I would like to thank Bill Keller for all the time invested researching the history of Kansas Wrestling. Your presentation was very enlightening for all of us. One bit of history Bill intentionally omitted from his presentation, he and his father Ed 'Doc' Keller were captains of their respective K-State wrestling teams. They are the only father and son captains of any sport at Kansas State. Thanks Bill for all your hard work.
It was a great day. Thank you to everyone who made this day possible.

Ron: Who were the seven inductees?

Mike,

You can find them by clicking on the "Awards" link at the Kansas Wrestling homepage.

In addition to the new Hall of Fame inductees, you can also find current and past KWCA and Kansas Kids honorees there.

I am truly ashamed of myself. I grew up in North West Kansas and did not even know there was a Kansas State Hall of Fame. I will check in my shoes and head gear tomorrow.

Even more embarassing, Jake Durham (who I used to watch coach when I was a young tike) was inducted.
Congrats to Coach Durham- no one deserves it more.

PS: don't shake the man's hand, he'll squeeze your fingers off!!

A very impressive list indeed. If my memory is correct four of these inductees were coaching in the NWKL AT THE SAME TIME! Easy to see why NW Kansas was so dominant. On a related note Kirk Baker (Hoxie), Dale Samuelson (Oakley), Bill Johnson (Norton), Joe Dreher (Oberlin), Larry Gable (St. Francis) etc. It looks as if the domination may continue for some time to come!