Tom Ritchie Sr. was the first five-year letterwinner at Bemidji High School in Minnesota. He was a two-time region champion and placed sixth in the one-class Minnesota state tournament as a senior while serving as team captain as a junior and senior.

He wrestled for Itasca State Junior College in 1971-72 and won the Lake County Illinois championship.

Ritchie wrestled for the U.S. Army team in 1972-73 and was champion of the 5th Army Championships.

He wrestled for Bemidji State University from 1974-77 and finished runner-up at the North Dakota State University Bison Open.

Ritchie began his coaching career with the Bemidji Minnesota Youth Wrestling program from 1975-77.

He relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska and was an assistant coach at West Valley High School from 1982-87 and at Lathrop High School in 1987-88.

Ritchie became a head coach in 1989 and spent one season at North Pole High School in North Pole, Alaska.

He became head coach at Lathrop High School in 1990 and remained there until 2009.

Ritchie coached 13 Alaska state high school champions, including his son, Tom Ritchie Jr., who was also a state runner-up.

He led Lathrop to its first and second Alaska state team wrestling championships in 1992 and 2002.

Ritchie received the "Best Coach" award from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in 2002 and was presented the "Bald Eagle Award" from the American College of Sports Medicine for his conference presentation "The Pediatric Athlete" in 2003.

During his career at Lathrop every one of his wrestlers graduated on time.

Tom was named USA Wrestling National High School Coach of the Year (Alaska Chapter) and was inducted into the Alaska Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2001.

He was inducted into the Bemidji State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the Bemidji High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015.

Ritchie's curriculum "Development of Good Citizenship, American Values, and their Effect on Academics and Athletics" was recognized by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008.

His wife, Julie Ritchie, is also a member of the Alaska Wrestling Hall of Fame for her work as lead statistician at Alaska state tournaments while his son Tom and his grandson Zachary Thomas Ritchie are co-coaches of the South Anchorage wrestling team, the current and repeat Alaska DI large schools state team champions.