NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME

West Virginia State Chapter

Board of Directors
President: Bill Archer
Vice Presidents: Garry Bender, Roy Michael
Treasurers: Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bennett         
Secretary: Diana Archer

George Keeney, Banquet Chairman
Dr. William Welker
Dr. Tim Miller, Photographer, Website Manager


2018 Inductees

(Additional feature AT THIS LINK)


John Geary (right) receives his award from Wayne Bennett, (WV HOF '08)

John Geary -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

John Geary was a 1973 graduate of Brooke High School where he began wrestling his sophomore year under Coach Ron Mauck and Paul Billiard. After graduation, he went on to Fairmont State College where he was a four year starter on their 3X WVIAC Championship Wrestling Team under Coach Sam Church. He was a graduate of Fairmont State with a BA in Education and later his Master's Degree from West Virginia University.

John was employed with the Marion County Board of Education for 20 years. In 1983, he began his coaching career with Joe Naternicola at West Fairmont High School.

In 1997, he became Head Coach at East Fairmont High School where he held that position until his retirement in 2018. During that time, he coached 24 State Champions, 48 State Finalists, and 95 State Place Winners. John coached his teams to a Dual Meet record of 378-172-1, 8 Regional Championships, 9 Conference Championships, and Runner-Up in 2007 (AAA), 2017 (AA), and 2018 (AA).

John was named NCAC Coach of the Year 6 times. He received the Big 10 Conference Coach of the Year on 3 different occasions. Also John received the Rod Oldham AAA Wrestling Coach of the Year in 2007, the NFCA West Virginia Wrestling Coach if the Year in 2010, and named the Dix Manning AA Wrestling Coach of the Year in 2018.

John and his wife Vicki, of 39 years reside in Fairmont. They raised 3 children; twin boys, Ben and Brandon, and a daughter Natalie. They have 4 grandchildren, Sadie, Maggie, Cooper, and Samuel.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors John Geary with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.





Jim Isaac (right ) receives the award from Wayne Bennett, (WV HOF '08)

Jim Isaac -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

Jim Isaac graduated from Huntington High School in 1965. While there, he was a member of the track team. Upon graduation, he attended Marshall University for two years. Then he joined the Army for three years as a Military Policeman and served one year in Vietnam. Upon military discharge, he reentered Marshall University and received his AB degree in 1973. During the time when he was finishing his degree, he began to officiate wrestling. Also he started the wrestling team at Cammack Junior High School. In 1978, he received his Master's Degree in Educational Administration from Marshall University.

Jim began his teaching career at Huntington East High School in 1973, where he taught Social Studies and Physical Education. While at HEHS, he held the position of Head Wrestling Coach for twelve years. Also he coached football, baseball and boys and girls track. In 1985, he began to officiate wrestling again until 1997, when he became Assistant Principal at Barboursville Junior High School. During this period of officiating, he worked various duals, tournaments, and regional tournaments throughout West Virginia.

In 2002, Jim retired from Cabell County Schools after serving several years as Principal of Beverly Hills Junior High School. For the next two years, he became Principal at St. Joseph Central Catholic High School. Jim has been involved with the State Wrestling Tournament in various capacities during the time it has been held in Huntington.

Jim and his wife Brenda have moved from West Virginia and now reside in St. Augustine, Florida.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Jim Isaac with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.



Mike Litton (right) receives his award from George Keeney, (WV HOF '14)



Mike Litton -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

Mike Litton is a graduate of Parkersburg High School where he lettered in football, baseball, and wrestling. Under the legendary Coach Bob Dutton and Assistants Joe Handlan and Jay Yeardley, he finished State Runner-up in 1970 and 1971. Upon graduation, he attended Marshall University and WVU at Parkersburg and later with his Dad founded D. K. Litton Fabricators and Constructors.

In 1979, he started coaching with the North Parkersburg League and later the Parkersburg Cougars at the YMCA. The Cougar staff with several coaches helped develop kids that later received numerous honors, awards, and state junior titles in WV, Oh, KY, and NH. Many wrestlers went on to college and several have the desire to continue to give back to the sport of wrestling by coaching at the junior, middle school and high school levels.

He feels he has been extremely blessed to have gotten to spend the time with everyone over the years in wrestling.

Mike and his wife Tina reside in Washington, WV. He is the proud father of 4 children, Zac, Lindsey, Brooke, and Chance and step kids, Chandra and Hueston. They have 14 grandchildren.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Mike Litton with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.



Ray Marling (right) receives his award from George Keeney, (WV HOF '14)



Ray Marling -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

A 1972 graduate of John Marshall High School, Ray Marling wrestled for hall-of-fame coaches Bill Hinegardner, and Ed Dugas from 1970-72. Throughout the years, Marling has credited these two gentlemen for nurturing his love for wrestling.

In 1982 with the blessing of Coach Hinegardner and the guidance of Coach West, Ray, his high school best friend and teammate Rick Kittle and other former JM wrestlers started a middle school wrestling program in Marshall County. A self-supporting venture, it was there that Ray got his initiation into officiating. As a member of the Ohio Valley Wrestling Officials Association (OVWOA), Marling started officiating in 1985. He took on a leadership role of the association in 1988 as the board secretary, a position he held for 14 years. He also served as its Vice President for the last 5 years and was instrumental in starting an official's scholarship for an area wrestler every year.

During those years, Marling served on the Ohio High School East District Association Appeal & Review Board, as well as the Assignor for Sectionals and District Tournaments for 12 years. He retired from officiating in March 2017.

As an arbiter of the mats for over 30 years, Marling worked 28 West Virginia State Tournaments, 30 OVAC Tournaments, 14 West Virginia AAA regional tournaments, 15 West Virginia AA/A Regional tournaments, 19 Ohio Division II & III District tournaments, and 15 Ohio Division II & III Sectional Tournaments. In fact, he is one of only two wrestling officials to be invited to referee the West Virginia State Championships in his first year of eligibility.

Over the years, Marling has received numerous accolades for his mat officiating mechanics. In 1994, he was selected as the West Virginia Wrestling Official of the Year. Marling was also named the 1998 Ohio Wrestling Official of the Year. But most rewarding to Ray Marling is being selected three times as the Larry Deaton Official of the Year (1996 - 1998 - 2005) by the OVAC wrestling coaches. In fact, he was not only the first recipient of the award, but the only Valley official to be selected three times.

A retired underground coalminer for CONSOL ENERGY, Ray and his lovely wife Jackie reside in Bridgeport, Ohio. They have four children - Jack, Jason, Heather and Rob - and are now enjoying their five grandchildren: Drew, Derion, Zane, Maddie and Tori.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Ray Marling with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.



Kim North (right) receives his award from Wayne Bennett, (WV HOF '08)
Kim North -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

A former high school wrestler, Kim North has been covering scholastic and college wrestling since 1983 in the upper Ohio Valley for numerous papers: Weirton (WV) Daily News, Steubenville (Ohio) Herald Star, Wheeling (WV) News-Register, and Martins Ferry (Ohio) Times-Leader.

North is also a professional photographer and has been praised for his superb action shots at dual meets and tournaments over the years.

He has covered the prestigious Ron Mauck Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Wrestling Tournament for 20+ years. It is the biggest conference mat sport competition in the country.

In 1985, North covered the Ron Mauck OVAC Tournament, the West Virginia state tournament and the NAIA National Tournament, all of which were held inside the Wheeling WesBanco Arena.

He has also covered various West Virginia state tournaments and Ohio state tournaments. Last year, North covered the Ohio Team Duals in Columbus and has covered various sectional and district tournaments in the Buckeye State, as well as sectional and regional events in the Mountain State.

As a sports columnist, Kim North spotlighted many area wrestlers and schools with storylines that have promoted wrestling throughout the Ohio Valley for decades. In recent years, North has been instrumental in publishing a special wrestling preview issue featuring over 30 area wrestling teams for the Martins Ferry Times-Leader.

For his efforts highlighting wrestling in the Mountain State, Kim North was named twice as the "Snyder-Miller West Virginia Media Person of the Year" in 1990 and 2017. This distinguished award is especially gratifying to Kim North who stated
This honor means a lot to me because it is the state wrestling coaches who make the selection. My passion and love for the sport of wrestling has been unwavering ever since the first day I stepped on the mats as a middle school grappler. What I enjoy the most about wrestling, no matter how heated a match may be, the competitors end the match with a handshake.
North also promotes wrestling as a regular on a weekly area wrestling radio show, spotlighting local wrestlers' successes on the mats.

In his first high-school match, he suffered a broken left arm, which was not all that bad because it led to Kim North's extended and award-winning career in journalism.

A 1977 graduate of Troy High School in Troy, Ohio, North also received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education at Salem College, West Virginia. Kim North is a widowed father of three: daughter Meika; and sons Skyler and Tyler. He has five grand-daughters: MaeLynn, Sydney, Lyndsay, Aria and Kaia. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jones. He resides in Bridgeport, Ohio.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Kim North with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.


Ray Pernell(right) receives his award from George Keeney, (WV HOF '14)

Ray Pernell -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

A 1978 Red Rider graduate of Weir High School in Weirton, Ray Pernell compiled an outstanding career on the wrestling mat. Under the coaching of Charles "Skip" Murray, Mike Mousadis, and Bob Orlando, Ray completed his career at 43-3. In 1997 and 1978, he earned class AAA WV State Championship Titles, Class AAA Regional Titles and OVAC Wrestling championships at 138 lbs and 145 lbs.

During the 1978 WV State Tournament, no opponent scored any points against Ray. He also recorded the fastest pin in WV State Tournament History in 1978 during the Quarter Finals with a 0:14 second pin.

Ray was selected to attend the 1978 Olympic Training Camp for 1980 and 1984 USA Olympic Team. He took first place at the AAU Freestyle Championship and qualified for the National AAU Tournament in Chicago for Freestyle and Greco Roman. In addition to winning the Pittsburgh, PA Newsboy Classic for the WV All-Stars, Ray traveled to West Germany with the All-Star Team for Freestyle and Greco Roman.

Ray was offered 6 wrestling scholarships. Due to personal reasons, he chose instead to begin his professional occupation with the International Operating Engineers. In 1981, he married his high school sweetheart, Debbie, and in that same year began his 32 years coaching career in wrestling as well as football and baseball. He also volunteered countless hours to the Weirton Pee-Wee football program and the Termite Baseball Association. During his last 3 years as head wrestling coach at Madonna, Ray was instrumental in the development of an elementary school wrestling program where his team volunteered their time after practice to introduce the sport of wrestling to the youth of the community.

During his years as Head Varsity Wrestling Coach, Ray coached the first three time State Champion in Madonna High School history. He coached 4 additional WV State Champions, 63 WV State Qualifiers, 15 Regional Champions, 37 WV State place finishers, 3 OVAC Champions, 4 OVAC Runners-up and 35 OVAC place winners including 22 at Madonna and 13 at Weir High School, In 1986, he led his team to an 11-1 OVAC Dual Meet Championship and in 2016 his team placed 4th overall at the OVAC tournament which was the highest finish in the school's history.

Ray and Debbie still reside in Weirton and are the proud parents of two children, Jamie and Justin. In addition to their grandson, Aaron, they are looking forward to maintaining the title of Grandparents in 2019 with the arrival of 2 grandchildren.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Ray Pernell with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.




Gary Porter (right) receives his award from Roy Michael (WV HOF '05)

Gary Porter -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

Gary Porter started his wrestling career at the early age of five years old. Gary was a graduate of Parkersburg South High School in 1985. While wrestling for the legendary Coach Rod Oldham, he was the WV State Champion at 119 lbs. his senior year and a member of the WV State Wrestling Team Champions three times.

After graduation from West Liberty State University, Gary became the coach of the Jr. Patriot Wrestling Club from 1993-2012 and an assistant coach at Blennerhassett Middle School from 1999-2002 with his brother Steve Porter. From 2004-2013, he became the assistant coach at Parkersburg South High School under both Paul Jackson and Tim McCartney. During this time, PSHS Wrestling Team won 5 team titles and 2X runner-up. In 2013, Gary was awarded the National Wrestling Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year for WV.

Gary and his wife Tammy live in Washington, WV. They are the proud parents of Dr. Chad Porter, 4X Division I wrestling qualifier for Liberty University, and daughter Katelyn Rogers (Chris), 4 yr. starter Glenville State Softball team.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Gary Porter with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.




Chuck Satterfield (right) receives his award from Roy Michael (WV HOF '05)

Chuck Satterfield -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

Chuck Satterfield is a 1982 graduate of East Fairmont High School, where he was a member of the wrestling under Coach Bob Brookover. Chuck began his coaching career in 1998 and for the next 20 years he has been coaching at the East Fairmont Junior Wrestling Club and also coached at East Fairmont Middle School and East Fairmont High School. In 2009, Chuck coordinated for WV wrestling to be represented at the national level. He organized a team consisting of the best high school seniors of West Virginia to compete and win the 35th Annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic in Pittsburgh and was honored to have coached alongside Coach Roy Michael and Coach Larry Shaw.

Chuck and his wife Robin reside in Fairmont, WV.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Chuck Satterfield with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.




John Staggers (right) receives his award from Roy Michael (WV HOF '05)

John Staggers -- "Lifetime Service to Wrestling"

John W. Staggers II graduated from Keyser High School in 1965 and attended Potomac State College. In 1971 he graduated from Shepherd College with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration / Economics.

In 1974, John began his career in wrestling as a coach and an official. Along with Tom Harman, Mel Evans, Tom Woods and Neal Faulk, he formed the Potomac Valley Wrestling Officials Association in 1976. John served as President of the association and officiated many regionals and tournaments in West Virginia and Maryland.

Also in 1976, John was instrumental in starting the Keyser Youth League Wrestling Program. The program continues to be successful today, and in 2017, John was recognized for his continuous support to this worthwhile program.

John was selected the 2013 WV Wrestling Official of the Year and retired from officiating in 2014. His career in wrestling has spanned more than 40 years.

John and Betty Kay have been married for 52 years and are the proud parents of two sons, Jeff (Gina) and John (Kerri). They have also been blessed with four precious grandchildren, Brooke, Cade, Makenna, and Chase.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors John Staggers II with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2018.





2018 Induction Ceremony Feature


Hall of Fame Main Page

Return to the WV-Mat front page