Bill Welker's Bio

BILL WELKER BIOGRAPHY

Bill Welker was a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) State Champion in 1963 and a PIAA State Runner-up in 1965. He wrestled in college for the University of Pittsburgh.
Bill Welker was the head wrestling coach at old Wheeling High School (1970-72), Wheeling Central Catholic High School (1972-76), and Wheeling Park High School (1979-80). He also helped to produce three West Virginia AAA State Championship Teams at Wheeling Park High School, and was honored as one of the top coaches in the country in 1979 by Scholastic Wrestling News.
Bill Welker has conducted numerous clinics on wrestling over the last three decades, with emphasis on basics, drill work, and the Pancake Takedown Series.
Bill Welker has been named the "WV Wrestling Sportswriter of the Year" an unprecedented six times by the West Virginia Wrestling Coaches Association.
Since 1974, Bill Welker has authored nearly 600 articles on the art and science of wrestling in local, state and national periodicals. Hundreds can be found and copied (without charge) at www.wvmat.com.
In 1990, Bill Welker was inducted into the "PA Sports Hall of Fame" (Bernie Romanoski Chapter).
He was honored as the "1990 Outstanding West Virginia Wrestling Official of the Year" by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission.
Bill Welker has been selected an unprecedented six times as the "West Virginia Wrestling Sportswriter of the Year" (1981-1985-1989-1996-2000-2007).
Bill Welker was a inducted into the "Pennsylvania District IV Wrestling Hall of Fame" in 2000.
Bill Welker was honored by Wrestling USA Magazine as the "2001 West Virginia Wrestling Man of the Year."
Bill Welker was the "2001 National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Section 2 Distinguished Official of the Year." Section 2 includes officials in all sports from the District of Columbia and the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, & West Virginia.
Bill Welker was selected as the "2002 National Wrestling Official of the Year" by Wrestling USA Magazine.
Bill Welker retired as a wrestling official in 2005 after 25 years of overseeing the mats. That summer, his officiating career was profiled in the July Issue of Referee Magazine, the premiere officiating periodical of the country.
Bill Welker was the editor and chapter author of The Wrestling Drill Book, published by Human Kinetics in 2005. The book has sold nearly 15,000 copies nationwide.
In 2006, Bill Welker was commissioned as the Wrestling Consultant for the American Sports Education Program's Officiating Wrestling Methods On-Line Course under the auspices of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
In 2008, Bill Welker not only received the prestigious "Master of Wrestling" award from Wrestling USA Magazine, but he also was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (West Virginia Chapter).
After receiving his B.S. (1969) and M.Ed.(1970) degrees from University of Pittsburgh, Bill Welker earned a doctorate degree from West Virginia University in 1989. He has served as the Reading Specialist at Warwood Middle School in Wheeling, WV since 1976. He was also Dean of Students from 1991 to 2000.
A resident of Wheeling Island since 1972, Bill and his wife Peggy have four children (Billy, Ricky, Tiffany, and Danny), and twelve grandchildren (Cory, Drew, Chase, Camden Rose, Cheyenne, Canon, Shannon, Alaya, Vander, Nathan, Lillian Grace, and Molly Margaret).

Wrestling: A Welker Family Tradition

Bill Welker was the third family member to win a PIAA State Championship (1963), and the youngest in Shamokin High School's storied wrestling history of nearly 75 years. His older brother Floyd was a state champ in 1959. In fact, Bill and Floyd Welker were the first brother-team to win states in District Four. They won their titles during a time when there was only one division of schools, and you couldn't lose at any level of the elimination process. Also, his cousin Harold Welker won his state crown in 1938 at the first PIAA state wrestling tournament held in Penn State's "Rec Hall." They have been dubbed the "First Family of District Four Wrestling."





		The DVD	Order DVD	Dr. Bill Welker Bio

	BILL WELKER BIOGRAPHY Bill Welker was a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) State Champion in 1963 and a PIAA State Runner-up in 1965. He wrestled in college for the University of Pittsburgh. Bill Welker was the head wrestling coach at old Wheeling High School (1970-72), Wheeling Central Catholic High School (1972-76), and Wheeling Park High School (1979-80). He also helped to produce three West Virginia AAA State Championship Teams at Wheeling Park High School, and was honored as one of the top coaches in the country in 1979 by Scholastic Wrestling News. Bill Welker has conducted numerous clinics on wrestling over the last three decades, with emphasis on basics, drill work, and the Pancake Takedown Series. Bill Welker has been named the "WV Wrestling Sportswriter of the Year" an unprecedented six times by the West Virginia Wrestling Coaches Association. Since 1974, Bill Welker has authored nearly 600 articles on the art and science of wrestling in local, state and national periodicals. Hundreds can be found and copied (without charge) at www.wvmat.com. In 1990, Bill Welker was inducted into the "PA Sports Hall of Fame" (Bernie Romanoski Chapter). He was honored as the "1990 Outstanding West Virginia Wrestling Official of the Year" by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission. Bill Welker has been selected an unprecedented six times as the "West Virginia Wrestling Sportswriter of the Year" (1981-1985-1989-1996-2000-2007). Bill Welker was a inducted into the "Pennsylvania District IV Wrestling Hall of Fame" in 2000. Bill Welker was honored by Wrestling USA Magazine as the "2001 West Virginia Wrestling Man of the Year." Bill Welker was the "2001 National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Section 2 Distinguished Official of the Year." Section 2 includes officials in all sports from the District of Columbia and the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, & West Virginia. Bill Welker was selected as the "2002 National Wrestling Official of the Year" by Wrestling USA Magazine. Bill Welker retired as a wrestling official in 2005 after 25 years of overseeing the mats. That summer, his officiating career was profiled in the July Issue of Referee Magazine, the premiere officiating periodical of the country. Bill Welker was the editor and chapter author of The Wrestling Drill Book, published by Human Kinetics in 2005. The book has sold nearly 15,000 copies nationwide. In 2006, Bill Welker was commissioned as the Wrestling Consultant for the American Sports Education Program's Officiating Wrestling Methods On-Line Course under the auspices of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). In 2008, Bill Welker not only received the prestigious "Master of Wrestling" award from Wrestling USA Magazine, but he also was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (West Virginia Chapter). After receiving his B.S. (1969) and M.Ed.(1970) degrees from University of Pittsburgh, Bill Welker earned a doctorate degree from West Virginia University in 1989. He has served as the Reading Specialist at Warwood Middle School in Wheeling, WV since 1976. He was also Dean of Students from 1991 to 2000. A resident of Wheeling Island since 1972, Bill and his wife Peggy have four children (Billy, Ricky, Tiffany, and Danny), and twelve grandchildren (Cory, Drew, Chase, Camden Rose, Cheyenne, Canon, Shannon, Alaya, Vander, Nathan, Lillian Grace, and Molly Margaret). Wrestling: A Welker Family Tradition Bill Welker was the third family member to win a PIAA State Championship (1963), and the youngest in Shamokin High School's storied wrestling history of nearly 75 years. His older brother Floyd was a state champ in 1959. In fact, Bill and Floyd Welker were the first brother-team to win states in District Four. They won their titles during a time when there was only one division of schools, and you couldn't lose at any level of the elimination process. Also, his cousin Harold Welker won his state crown in 1938 at the first PIAA state wrestling tournament held in Penn State's "Rec Hall." They have been dubbed the "First Family of District Four Wrestling."
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