Apr 12, 2016 4 min read

Tom Teagarden spent a good chunk of his Tuesday evening with a caterer, as his wife made plans for a celebration.

That’s what one does after being inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame.

Teagarden, a 1971 graduate of McGuffey High School and 1976 graduate of Penn State University, is one of the most well-known wrestlers of his era. His bouts against Washington’s George Bryant were legendary in the area at the time.

“I was bear hunting when my wife called to tell me,” said the 63-year-old Teagarden. “I thought something might be wrong. But my wife said I got the call. I was surprised.”

Teagarden was enshrined with seven other individuals at a dinner Sunday at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center in State College.

Joining Teagarden were Ken Wunderley, inducted as a contributor and who previously covered the sport as a freelance writer with the Observer-Reporter; Doug Buckwalter, a longtime coach at Central Mountain High School; Bob Derr, an official from District 3; Gilbert Fink, a two-time state champion from Tyrone; Bill Luckenbaugh, a state champion from West York; Rob Waller, a state champion from Mount Pleasant; and David Warnick, a two-time state champion from Meyersdale.

“There were no speeches,” said Teagarden. “Everyone got a video made and they played it at the banquet.”

If Teagarden had been able to talk, he might have said he was taken down by just one wrestler, Bryant, whom Teagarden defeated in nine of the 11 times they met in high school and college. Teagarden’s scholastic record was 68-3-1 and he was undefeated in dual meets.

Teagarden won his first and only state title as a sophomore in 1969. His run for a second title was stopped by an overtime loss to Dan Blakinger of Manheim Township in the 103-pound state finals one year later. Bryant upset Teagarden in the section finals, stopping him from qualifying for the state tournament. Bryant went on to win the 112-pound PIAA title.

“Fuddy was my teammate and roommate on the first Pennsylvania freestyle-greco roman team,” Teagarden said. “We went to Wyoming to compete and I finished fifth at 105.”

At Penn State, Teagarden was the first freshman wrestler in the school’s history and was a two-time EIWA silver medalist. A knee injury derailed his career.

“I had three operations,” he said. “My goal was to coach in college but I needed some credentials (from wrestling). I had to take off about 45 pounds to get back. I lost to kids I used to easily beat.”

The coaching job came, but not in the way he expected. Lou Moore, the principal at Bentworth, called and said they were starting a program and wanted him to coach. Moore was Teagarden’s shop teacher at McGuffey.

“I never coached a day in my life before that,” Teagarden said. “The schedule was already made when I got there: Canonsburg, McGuffey, Chartiers-Houston. We didn’t win any matches. Our kids never saw a wrestling mat before. When they lost, they got mad and wanted to fight. In the third year though, we had a winning record.”

Teagarden spent 22 years as head wresting coach at Bentworth High School, where he led the Bearcats to a WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament title in 1991 after a 34-30 win over Chartiers-Houston in the finals. That achievement earned him Class AA Coach of the Year in the WPIAL. He coached the 1991 Pennsylvania Team against the United States Team in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic. Teagarden retired in 1998 with a 170-23-2 coaching record.

“Winning a state title was important, winning the WPIAL team title, a winning record in my third year at Bentworth, those are all highlights,” Teagarden said. “It was always important to me to motivate my wrestlers, to have them set goals. I hope I had a positive influence on them.”