Mar 21, 2019 3 min read

The decision was made before the season, because Mark Caffrey knew it was time.

A hall of fame coaching career was coming to an end.

Caffrey, who compiled an incredible 417-103 record over 28 seasons, submitted his letter of resignation to the McGuffey School Board Thursday evening, bringing to an end a career that produced seven PIAA individual titles, three WPIAL Class AAA team tournament championships and two regional titles.

“There was no other reason other than I’ve done this a long time. It’s time.” said the 63-year-old Caffrey. “Winning the three WPIAL team championships were phenomenal highs for a coach.”

Caffrey ranks 23rd on the PIAA coaches list for victories and was one of eight active coaches with 400 or more victories. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005 after surpassing 300 victories, the benchmark for inclusion.

Interestingly, Caffrey was inducted into the hall with the same class that included Jeremy Hunter, who won four PIAA titles with Caffrey in the corner by the time he graduated in 1996.

“I’ve had a lot of great wrestlers,” Caffrey said. “I had seven state champs and a lot of quality wrestlers. … Jeremy was a great wrestler and a great person. What set him apart was he out-trained and out-worked everybody. He didn’t just wish to be good. He prepared to be good.”

With Caffrey at the helm, McGuffey put on dominating performances throughout the 1990s, winning three WPIAL team titles (1996, ’98, ’99) and making seven trips to the finals.

Caffrey had two stays as Highlanders’ head coach. He took the job in 1983 and remained for 21 seasons before retiring after the 2004-05 season. Caffrey returned in 2012 and added 110 more victories to his résumé.

“I thought this could possibly be his last year. We talk a lot and are pretty good friends,” said McGuffey athletic director Ed Dalton. “He told me when he got back from states.

“Clearly, we are way better off than when he arrived. He did a great job. The numbers are up. We’ve been extremely competitive. The norm now is multiple wrestlers at the state tournament. His legacy in the 1990s was something folklore is made out of.”

Caffrey finished strong with McGuffey, guiding Christian Clutter to a silver medal in the Class AA 170-pound weight class at the state tournament in Hershey two weeks ago.

“This year was a great year coaching Christian Clutter,” said Caffrey. “He has a lot of good character traits.”

Caffrey’s top two assistants are Jared Roberts, who wrestled at Trinity and Waynesburg University, and Rich Burgdolt, who was head coach at Washington High School.

Caffrey is a 1973 graduate of Immaculate Conception High School, where he was a four-time Catholic Regional Champion and one-time Catholic State Champion.

He graduated from California University in 1978 and was co-captain of the wrestling team in 1978.

Caffrey was inducted into the Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 2005.