Jim and Tony Nordland have been an effective team for many years supporting and contributing to the great sport of wrestling. Both were introduced to wrestling at Amityville High School, Amityville, New York.

Jim, the older of the two, became a league champion and Suffolk County finalist, as well as a major force on three Amityville squads that won Suffolk County team titles under Hall of Fame Coach, Norm Maisel.

Tony, followed a few years later, as a consistent performer on a number of Maisel coached county championship teams. In his senior year he was a bronze medal Suffolk County winner.

After graduation, Jim moved on to Nassau Community College. He was a mainstay under legendary coach Chuck Henke and helped to win the Regional XV wrestling championship. He then transferred to Oneonta State, where he was a New York Met AAU finalist and a New York State Collegiate Champion.

Tony followed big brother to Nassau Community College, where he was a bronze medal winner in the Region XV Championships and a consistent performer for two years.

Jim’s first coaching assignment was an assistant at Be3rner High School in Massapequa, NY, working with future Hall of Famer Dick Doherty. This coaching team produced a Nassau county Dual Meet championship team and were perennially ranked at the top of the Nassau County charts.

Jim continued his coaching at a Chaminade High School working with Hall of Famer, George Dlugolonski. This coaching combination enjoyed great success winning a number of Nassau County Catholic School Dual Meet Team of the Year honors. In Jim’s final year at Chaminade, he was named Assistant Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Tony began his coaching career at Massapequa High School working with Hall of Famer, Gary Mims. Under this combo, the Chiefs enjoyed outstanding success, with their first NY State Champion, five state place winners and seven Nassau County Champions, among many other team achievements.

In 1979, Jim and Tony produced their crowning accomplishment in the wrestling community when they teamed up with Rudy and Jack Fiorvanti to create The Mat Slap publication and website dedicated to High School/College wrestling on Long Island and New York State. The Mat Slap quickly became a favorite source of information for coaches and fans with commentaries, previews, and rankings of the top teams and wrestlers throughout the state.

Jim is renowned for his achievements as co-editor and writer for Mat Slap. He has been a feature writer for Amateur Wrestling News as well as color commentator on Cablevision covering the Nassau and Suffolk High School County Championships. He is also a longtime member of the National Wrestling Media Association.

Tony has devoted a major portion of his time photographing key events for The Mat Slap, including the National High School All Star meets, the National High School Championships, the NCAA College Championships, and the World Games Championship. Tony is recognized as one of amateur wrestling’s most effective photographers appearing frequently in the Friends of Long Island Wrestling’s annual publication, as well as the New York State Wrestling program, and the Amateur Wrestling News where he has had 9 cover photos over the years. In 2010, Tony won the prestigious National Wrestling Photographer of the Year Award.

We are pleased to welcome Jim and Tony, the Nordland Brothers team, into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame